It finally was located in the bottom of an old steamer trunk, thrown in with other memorabilia of a life long past. Amazingly the material, although wearing thin in places, remains white. Some of the stitching is unraveling, but the graduation dress, sewn on a treadle sewing machine 90 years ago, still is intact, a reminder of years gone by.
Spring is the time for school graduations.
Women of all ages will spend hours shopping for the perfect dress to wear as they walk the ceremonial procession to receive their certificates. Smith was no different from any other high school graduate in Bridgeport, Texas, except that Chastina, with the help of her mother, sewed her dress. The year was 1909. Every time you turned around, Earl was trying to boss Tine. Tina's junior and was not born until three years after Tina graduated, she still remembers the stories she was told as a child.