Linda Schilling Mitchell had seen her mother’s scrapbook many times over the years. Her mother, Victoria Schneider, was a teacher at York Street School in Newport from 1937-1940. Schneider saved notes from students’ parents, along with photos and other documents, by pasting them into her book.
When Mitchell found the scrapbook a few years ago, she gave it a closer look and considered scanning some of the brittle 80-year-old pages to preserve them for family. She mentioned her project to friends, who were interested in it and asked how they could get a copy. It was then that Mitchell decided to publish. The resulting 72-page book is titled Dear Miss Schneider, Please Excuse Walter …
Dear Miss Schneider, Please Excuse Walter … is made up of scanned images of hand-written letters—some with beautiful handwriting, others that are grammatically incorrect—all with heartfelt words from women of that era who likely had only a few years of education. For privacy considerations, the last names were removed from the notes.
“This was a blue-collar community made up of hard-working, regular folks,” Mitchell said. “And on top of the Depression going on, there was the 1937 flood.”
Life was hard in those days, and these notes reveal the woes of mumps, toothaches, and a child who couldn’t come to school because he had no shoes. Although the reasons for requesting an excuse varied, the reader can detect a sense of pride these mothers had by reading between the lines, whether they were discussing their child’s health or behavior.
“My goal was to give a keyhole peek into the family life” of the students, Mitchell said.
The book contains a class photo of the students, and the reader can’t help but wonder which child might be the Walter of the title.
Originally released in 2011 by Dog Ear Publishing and re-released by Mitchell this year, the softback book can be purchased by contacting the author at lmitchell4261@yahoo.com.