My sister and I didn’t hear any discussions about getting into fights at school, probably because we didn’t have brothers. I was interested in the stories I heard about a couple of tussles including the Wilson brothers. The first one happened about 1926, when they’d just taken a new job as tenant farmers along Old Creamery Road in Madison County, Iowa. The Wilson youngsters began classes at the nearby country school.
Husky followed the five oldest as they hiked the gravel road to the rural school on the corner not half a mile south. Delbert and Donald were sixth graders at the Penn Township school. Doris was the only one in third grade, so the teacher had her join the fourth graders. Twins Dale and Darlene were first graders.
Delbert soon got into a fight with Howard Davidson, the biggest kid in the school. Delbert won. The boys became fast friends, all the way through high school at Dexter.
Clabe had told his boys that if they ever got in a fight, to make sure their thumb was on the outside when they made a fist. Hitting someone with the thumb inside the fist could easily dislocate the thumb.
During the 1930s middle brother Dale got into a fight with a bigger kid on the way home from school. Danny and Junior ran ahead to tell their mother. The high schoolers, Delbert and Donald, were already home.
“Donald, you go see what’s happening.” Leora paused, holding a dish towel. “Danny and Junior, you boys stay here. Donald, make sure it’s a fair fight.”
A bedraggled Dale came home with Donald. “Mom, it was a fair fight,” Don told her, “but the other boy’s shirt got torn. His mother is really mad. She even said, ‘Mrs. Wilson had better get over here or she’s liable to take a trip’.”
Leora laughed. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a trip!” She asked Dale if he was okay. He was, just roughed up a bit.
That episode got around the neighborhood. Next time neighbor Mr. Neal saw Leora, he called out, “Mrs. Wilson, I hear you’re gonna take a little trip!”
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What messages did you grow up with about getting into fights?
Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression has more stories of the seven Wilson children. It’s become readers’ favorite of the Leora books.
I never heard of someone calling out a mother because of a boys fight in school. Pretty rough in Iowa, eh?
And the neighbor man hearing about it!
Sound travels on open country, eh?
Mr. Neal was a neighbor. I’ll bet the boys just told him the story!
Oh my goodness, Joy. I’d entirely forgotten about the phrase, “liable to take a trip”! But I heard it! And old ‘over the clothesline’ taunt between ladies when I was growing up, as a reference to how mad another woman was…so much so that she might ‘take a trip’ to make her point and get in another woman’s face. Thanks for the smile and for sharing more stories and photos. Keep your thumb tucked in. Right! 🥰
Oh, thanks, Vicki! No, keep your thumb on the OUTSIDE!
LOL! Good thing I’m not a fighter or a coach! 😂 Thanks, Joy! ❤️
Whew!
I’d never heard the phrase “liable to take a trip” before. It must be a regional expression?
Could be. I was surprised that someone else knew about it.
🥰
I don’t remember any fights at school, but whenever two people had a disagreement, the preferred solution was for them to meet off school grounds across the street in the Baptist church’s parking lot. The reason was if they fought on school grounds, they risked being disciplined, possibly suspended or expelled. Off school grounds, however, was a different matter. Sometimes fights erupted on the school bus, but the drivers usually put an end to them before much damage was done. I usually just walked away from potential fights. Only once do I remember whacking a fellow in the face on the playground. Apparently the teacher thought he deserved it because she never disciplined either of us!
They were “safe” if they fought in a church parking lot! Did you ever tell your folks about your altercation?
Fun stories as always. I got into too many fights, but thankfully won most of them.
Wow, you must have known about the thumb trick!
Gus Cramer lived next door. He stood a full foot above me and loved to pound me everyday. One day after school he punched me in the face which caused my nose to bleed. I went home for sympathy and all I got was go give Gus a bloody nose and then we’ll give you all the sympathy in the world. Well I did just that and Gus never bothered me again. Wise parents.
Wow, and he was bigger! John, what a memory!
Hard to forget those lessons. 😁
There were mostly boys in my neighborhood and many were friends, but I did end up in some fist fights. One fight stands out in my mind. I was eleven-years-old standing on the side of a road horsing around with other kids. One of my classmates, a boy named Russell, punched me in the stomach knocking the wind right out of me. Enraged, I tackled him, pinned his shoulders to the ground with my knees, and rubbed road gravel in his face. Leora sure knew how to raise her boys to fight their own battles!
Nancy! What happened to Russell after that? You sure knew what to do to a bully! Leora grew up with seven younger brothers so I bet she watched how her mother/folks handled things.
Russell never bothered me again. He played baseball on a team his dad coached. He’s fortunate word didn’t get back to his dad that he hit a girl-unprovoked-and then got his clock cleaned. With all those brothers, Leora had to be very familiar with how brawls were handled. It certainly served her well with her own sons. 🙂
My mother would reward us boys with ice cream if we stood up to someone and got in a fist fight. My older brother and I would practice our moves and work on our reflexes together. The results of the practice were good.
Hurrah for older brothers and ice cream, huh!
I love the school picture! It does seem like many times after a fight, the kids become good friends. It certainly is good to know how to hold your fist with the thumb on the outside…painful lesson to learn otherwise.
Thank you, Linda. I’m thankful I never needed the thumb on the outside tip!
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I don’t remember any fist fights growing up. There was a tussle between two high school boys that caused quite a stir, but that’s about it.
I don’t remember any either. Delbert had been in other fights, but this is the only one I heard about Dale in one.