Clyde Graves Age: 76 Occupation: School Board Member Hometown: Allensville Interviewer: Ashley Caudill

What is your first memory of Allensville?                 

Interview

The following Paragraphs is a paraphrased transcript of an interview with Mr. Clyde Graves, age 76, he’s lived in Allensville, Ohio all of his life. After discussing his child hood, he spent most of the interview discussing the school system.

"My name is Clyde Graves and I have lived in Allensville, Ohio all of my life. I can remember when we would get up in the morning to do chores. Early around six o’clock all of the kids would get up to feed the animals and milk the cows. On the weekends we would take turns going to town in our horse and buggy. That was a big time when I was a kid. We would take turns; one of the kids would go one week and then the next week someone else would be allowed to go.

"I also remember when I was in school. There wasn’t any electricity in our school until I was a junior in high school. Before that we had gas lamps for light. I think that it was about 1936 when they brought electricity to Allensville.

"Before the school consolidated, the school was one room with eight grades all combined. When the school consolidated it was with for townships: Eagle, Jackson, Richland, and Curry. I was fine with the consolidation and so were others in the town. The new high school was built in the 1960’s. The four townships had attended the new high school in Allensville.

"I was on the school board during the time that Vinton County consolidated all of  the schools together. There were many hard feelings and I lost a lot of friends, but I feel that it was the best decision we could have made for education of the kids."

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