I believe that most small towns had a "caste" system when I was growing up. Those who have money and/or social standing were the elite - my Mama referred to them as "the 400." The rest of the people were considered "common."
My family was not rich and, as far as social standing, - well, you could say we were members of the common folks. There were lots of folks in this group.
Sometimes a person could see that "the 400" and their kids were treated differently than the common folk and their kids.
Some school teachers were homegrown. They returned to teach in their hometown after they got their teaching credentials. Some were fair and square to all their students. Other teachers played "favorites" and their favorites came from "the 400." I can think of one elementary teacher in particular.
The only year Ness City High School didn't have a validictorian was the year I graduated. Those in "the 400" were not the very top students. So the school board (who were very aware of who was society and who was common) decided they would honor the "top ten" students in the class. The "top ten" were listed alphabetically on the graduation program.
This favored behavior often showed up in other areas, too. It sometimes happened with merchants who wanted to be sure that the common folk didn't have exactly the same "stuff" as "the 400." The more exclusive the store, the more it was visible. This behavior often caused bad feelings.
Even with the "caste" system, my little hometown was still a good place to grow up.
1 comment:
the 400 club still existed when I was in school. I graduated 1975 but my cousin Kathy Conley was our validictorian. I was proud of her however while in 8th grade I followed her in the next period of Mr. Teels history class and he would always say "why can't you be more like your cousin Kathy" Did I mention I hated History and Mr. Teel?
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