Portland Observar Thursday, December 14, 1978 Page 3
This is Christmas
by Kathryn H. Bogle
Sorting through a b o x fu l o f
momentoes and pictures o f a long
teaching career, Emma W alker
Chiles pauses to examine more
closely an old snapshot or two. This
one is o f a Christmas tree decorated
by a Couch School class back in
1949; another one is o f herself with a
6th grade class she was teaching in
1953 at the same school. A ll the faces
in this latter photograph are smiling,
relaxed as the children are in the
midst o f a Christmas program for
their school room . “ Joy to the
W orld” proclaims the block letters
on the blackboard. Emma Chiles
stands behind her class, happy with
them,
*‘ I d id n 't have a spectacular
career,” Emma smiles contentedly as
she reminisced. “ I was always happy
w orking w ith children. I enjoyed
being among the little ones —
hearing them say, ‘Oh, now 1 see — .’
That is why I went on to work to gain
Ready to start a new day at Ken
ton School, 1963
my Masters degree. I was a tough
teacher I made them study. And
countless times, they who had a d if
fic u lt tim e achieving in th e ir
classwork, have come to me in later
years and thanked me. They have
told me: ‘ You are the first teacher
that cared whether or not I learned.’
That spells happiness for me.”
Born in Louisiana, but educated in
the segregated primary and secon
dary schools o f Tuscon, Arizona,
Emma won her BS degree from the
U niversity o f A rizona. Her firs t
school was in Globe, a tiny mining
town in that state. The school was
indeed all hers. Emma had a one-
room school accomodating fifteen
children scattered through grades
one through eight, with the structure
having been converted fro m the
original bakery no longer in use.
Emma enjoyed the challenge o f the
situation, faithfully lasted all year,
but was ready to move on to Tuscon
when the o p p o rtu n ity came the
following fall.
A gain Emma taught in a
segregated situation where she was in
charge o f 4th, 5th and 6th grade
children. Her assignments included
her own favorites: Home Eco
nom ics, A rt and M usic. To the
girls o f that school, Emma brought
Holiday Sales.
20% off
Men’s sleepwear
Sale 6.40
Mrs. Chiles' 1952-1953 sixth grade clses at Couch
School with paper mache' "piñata" made by students for
the happiness o f belonging to the
“ G irl Reserves,” a popular YW CA
organization o f those years.
Marriage to C liffo rd Walker in
terrupted Emma's teaching career
when the bridegroom and she
decided to come to “ God’s Coun
try ,” Oregon to make their home.
To make their home a real home for
their children and themselves, the
couple decided that Emma should be
a full-tim e mother, and stay at home
she d id , fo r ten years, u n til the
death o f her husband.
Faced with the total care o f her
children, Emma made applications
both at Vanport, and in Portland, to
become a classroom teacher or a
Home Economics teacher.
H ired in 1948 as a 6th grade
teacher in Vanport, though she had
had hopes o f a Portland position,
Emma never actually taught in Van-
port. The disastrous flood o f that
period swept away Vanport schools
and Vanport itself. Suddenly Port
land had to provide housing and
schools for thousands o f dislocated
families with children.
P ortland school adm inistrators
had a few- hurdles to overcome. And
quickly. Here were children o f all
races needing to be taught. Crowds
oM hem . They would be new to a
school and many would be trans
ferring out o f that school as soon as
th e ir d is traught parents could
acquire more desirable housing, a
situation surely unsettling to teachers
as well as to the children themselves.
Here also were a handful o f Black
teachers well recommended, commit
ted to Vanport but standing available
on the doorstep o f Portland schools.
Portland met its obligations. There
were two Black teachers “ already.”
Now there would be more. There had
tobe.
An administrator questioned Em
ma, “ Can you be c o m fo rta b le
teaching white children?”
“ Children are children — no mat
ter what color they are,” Emma
replied. Her first white class was at
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IT’S CHEAPER AFTER 5.
If you can wait until 6 P M
to make th at call back east,
you'll cash inona.WJt discount
That's if you dial direct without
operator assistance
(Q
This 36% discount holds un
til 11 P M during weekdays. A t
11, the night owl talkers get an
even better break— 60% off to
be exact.
Pacific Northwest Bell
Christmas pageant.
Couch. She was their first Black
teacher. Her love for children and
her devotion to teaching soon made
Mrs. Walker a beloved figure in the
halls at Couch. Rapport with prin
cipal and other teachers was woven
into the fabric o f her several years at
Couch, and when her principal was
transferred to another school, he in
vited Emma to join his new faculty
there.
Mrs. Chiles in retirement, 1976.
“ There’ s a lot o f storage space
there for your art work — and,” he
promised, “ You w ill have your very
own sink!” This sink, prized highly
by art teachers, proved to be a
deciding factor, that and the 98%
Black enrollm ent at E lio t. M rs.
Walker joined the Eliot faculty. At
about this time too, Mrs. Walker
remarried and became Mrs. Chiles.
Black role models are necessary
“ somewhere along the lin e ” fo r
Black children, is Emma’ s feeling.
They can get inspiration from white
teachers if they are looking for in
spiration — and i f the teacher has it
to give. Black teachers can make a
contribution to both Black and white
children. “ White children have come
to me and have said, ‘ I don’ t know
NAACP elects
new president
Lucuis Hicks, IV, director o f the
Portland Stale U niversity Educa
tio n a l C enter, was elected Pre
sident o f the P o rtla n d Branch,
NAACP, Sunday. He w ill take office
on January 21st.
Hicks defeated incumbent Presi
dent, Reverend John H. Jackson.
Elected first Vice President was
Reverend Rozell Gillmore, who was
selected over Bob Boyer and Dr.
Clarence Pruitt.
Thirteen persons were elected to
the executive board: Mrs. Carrie
Cannon, U.P. Cannon, Mrs. Janet
C lam m cr, Ms. Cleo F ra n klin ,
Reverend L. Fisher Hines, Mrs.
Grayce Kennedy, C.C. McCowey,
Mrs. Bobbie Nunn, Isaac Payne,
Reverend A ustin Ray, Charles
Straughter, Harry Ward and Harold
Williams. Candidates who were not
elected were Herm an H ouston,
Thomas Kennedy and Ms. Rosie
Taylor.
A dditional officers elected: Ms.
Brenda K napper, Second Vice
President; Mrs. Clevonnc Jackson,
Secretary; L.C. Ellison, Treasurer;
and Mrs. Lorna Marple, Parliamcn
tarian/Sergeant-at-arms.
"Never
untie."
cut
Reg. $8. Coat front pajamas
w ith long legs are c o tto n /
polyester broadcloth in neat
prints or solids. Sizes to fit
most men.
what you can
Joseph Joubart
why I ’ ve been told — and they then
te ll me some m yth th e y’ ve been
taught about Black people,” Mrs.
Chiles related.
“ A belligerent child — a girl —
had been disruptive in a class before
mine; now she was following her old
pattern in my class. One day I took
her aside and I let her know that
many times I had had to wear shoes
with holes in the soles, and that my
parents had made many sacrifices to
rear me and my brothers and sisters.
This girl turned out to be a different
ch ild in the classroom . The
revelation that I, too, knew what
sacrifice and deprivation meant in a
family, reached her. She responded
to me, and she responded to her
work as now something reachable,
achievable. We had built an under
standing. What does it matter what
color she was? She was more com
fortable with herself.”
Mrs. Chiles taught longest at Ken
ton School where she spent eleven
years, and where, again, she was the
school’ s first Black full-tim e teacher.
When she went there there was one
Black ch ild among 500 children
enrolled. The enrollment o f Blacks
has significantly altered since then.
M rs. C hiles retired fro m A p
plegate School, a primary school of
about 300 pupils. This population
changed complexion with the white
exodus spurred by the intrusion o f a
freeway into the area. Black families
purchased the vacated homes and the
percentage o f their presence has risen
sharply.
In retirement, Mrs. Chiles lives
quietly and travels a bit to Hawaii or
toY ucata n,
which
she finds
fascinating. T y p ic a lly , she finds
greatest jo y with her fam ily and
grandchildren.
Men’s velour robe
Sale $18
Reg. $24. Men s shawl collar robe of
Arnel® triacetate/nylon velour comes
in its own gift box for your convenience.
Fashion colors in sizes to fit most men.
Sale prices
effective
thru Saturday
This
© Family Album Northwest 1978
now at meier & frank!
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