By Beth Simmons
If you were a student at Davis Grade School or Gassaway Junior High, you probably knew of (or were a student of) Mrs. Ressie Boggs. Mrs. Boggs’s teaching career spanned thirty-nine years (from 1931-1975 with a ‘time out’ of four years living in Belle, West Virginia). Hopefully, this trip through the career of a lady who taught, inspired and cared for many of our county’s children will bring back pleasant memories for readers.
From 1931-1933, Mrs. Boggs taught at Long Run School (pictured) in Canfield, West Virginia. The property for the school was donated by Will Tucker who was best friends with Mrs. Boggs’s (then Ressie Snyder) father, Lafe Snyder. A spring was behind the school that was used for the school to have water. Usually, the older boys would have carried the water and would have taken care of the fire (although, often, the teacher took care of those duties).
Following those years at Long Run School, Mrs. Boggs was employed by the Braxton County Board of Education to teach at Davis Grade School in Gassaway (pictured) from 1933-1935. Good fortune allowed Mrs. Boggs to continue her teaching career at Davis Grade School (after moving ‘home’ from Belle) from 1940-1969.
As a side note… I was in her 6th grade class when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. We were at recess at the Gassaway Park, and when the teachers got the news, they took us all back to the building immediately. Mrs. Boggs explained what had happened and proceeded to comfort a large class (40+) of terrified students. It was a frightening event in an otherwise innocent time in our lives. I’m sure many of my classmates have stories and fond memories of poems memorized, a daily opening song, etc., in Mrs. Boggs’s classroom. One favorite story is how her son Jimmy (of whom she was so very, very proud) would “buzz” over Gassaway in his jet when he was in the vicinity. Jimmy was an Air Force fighter pilot. Mrs. Boggs would take us out in the school yard, we would hear the BOOM, and we would jump and wave at a real, honest-to-goodness fighter pilot!!
From 1969 until 1975, Mrs. Boggs taught at Gassaway Junior High School. On July 1, 1975, Mrs. Ressie Boggs retired from teaching.
This trip through a teaching career would not have been possible without help from Linda Sears, Wes Davis, Paul Davis, Carolyn and Jim Boggs, Denise Mowery and Bev Rollins. Their help was greatly appreciated.
Devoted to Braxton County, West Virginia
