The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1959-08-07
Mrs. Adele H. Watkins Climbs Another
Notch In Degree Ranks At Long,uood
By REN BOWERS

Saturday will mark another mile
stone in the career of a Farmville
teacher whose higher education
endeavors began at LongWood Col
lego Mrs Adele j. NJ Watkins
viii receive her master of science
degree in education during com.
mencement exercises of the col
lege' S summer session August 8.
Born in Greenbrier county. W Va
Mrs Watkins received her elemen-
tary education in Norfolk and her
secondary schooling in Charles
ton. W. Va. before entering Long
wood.
In UNDERGRADUATE days at Long
wood. Mrs. Watkins served As an
assistant 10 the late Miss Mary B.
Haynes in the kindergarten at the
training school There. she said Il
learned almost everything about
tcchniaues Of teaching She added
more than that. ! learned to love
to teach. and that's important in
the profession To the late Miss
Grace E Mix. supervisor of kinder
garten at that time, she attributed
much Of her early success in
teaching.
A Brief Answer
And when did Mr. Watkins enter
into the picture2 was a question
pointedly answered brief sight
of him came in those undergradu-
ate days. Said she. L liked him
then. but he paid little or no at
tcntlon to me Sometime later the
story changed
Graduation at Longwood in 1881
was the prelude for Mrs Watkins to
put to practice what she had been
taught. She went into the teaching
business in the real way she
accepted position in a mining
camp in West Virginia
Really a time" snffices as
brief description Of her work there
during the depression Mrs. Wat
kins started teaching with AZ in her
classroom. which stood out for its
lack of modern conveniences.
There. teacher responsibility in
cluded everything from building
warming fires to having charge of
all community social work Times
have changed now. but not too
much remarked the teacher. one
thoroughly familiar with the many
sideline responsibilities of the pro
fession
From the mining camp she went
10 Winchester to teach six years
five as first grade instructor and
one as assistant principal and in
structor of class for retarded
children. Her aiIing father drew
her to Charleston and out of the
profession for a year after that
Returns To FarmyilIe
While in Charleston. she received
letter from the late Dr.. j. L.
.Tarman. Longwood president re-
guessing her to take the place OF
Miss Mix who was retiring In the
fall of 1899. she returned to Farm
vile and it has been home since
that time 20 years
II want long after her arrival
here that a certain gentleman nov
a FarmviDe banker began paving
his respects to a certain lady They
we're married in the fall of 1910
MIS- Watkins continued to teach for
five years before resigning to raise
a family
That family consists Of two daugh
ters. Sally and another Adele
In l949 while not teaching S h
organized the Little School. a
nursery for three and fouryear
olds. Her children fit the age limit
and we're two Of the maximum en-
rollment of Is IN the school which
celebrates its tenth anniversary this
September. She ran the school for
five years before returning to pub
lie school teaching then leased the
operation. 7 hi 5 fall it will be
operated BY Mrs Robert Merritt
Approved BY the American AS
ISOLATION Of University Women. the
school is operated on professional