The cornerstone at May Greene School, at 1000 Ranney, near Fort D, reads South Grade School and says it was erected in 1920. The land was purchased in 1917 for $3,200. It was supposed to cost $55,000, but a special election had to be called in 1920 to vote another $35,000 in bonds to complete the building. It was dedicated in 1927, and eight rooms were added in 1927.
Named for May Greene
The school was named for May Greene, who taught in Cape Girardeau schools for 53 years.
I wrote about Jefferson School earlier. There’s an interesting link between Jefferson and May Greene.
In 1953, when schools in Cape were still segregated, black students attended John S. Cobb School. When it was destroyed by fire, the city fathers saw that integration was coming, so they moved the white students who had been at Jefferson down to May Greene. The black students attended Jefferson until the schools were integrated.
May Greene School is now a Mission Church
May Greene and Washington Schools were closed in 1999 when Blanchard School was opened. Washington School was bought by Southeast Missouri State University and torn down. Here are two stories I’ve done about Washington School:
May Greene is now a mission church for the Cape First Assembly of God Church.
Teacher Margaret Sharon Manning Meyr
You never know what you’re going to find when you start searching for info. I started with Google, looking for May Greene School Cape Girardeau. One of the links took me to an obituary for a woman from Jonesboro, Ark. It turned out Margaret Sharon Manning Meyr had taught at May Greene and Franklin Schools. On closer read, I discovered she was married to CHS Coach Dutch Meyr. The link has some interesting photos in it.
May Greene mentioned in former slave account
Ima Bird, who participated in the Federal Writers’ Project, recorded this interview with Mrs. Margaret Davis, 209 S. Lorimier Street, as part of the Slave Narratives. The report was written May 27, 1036. It has very little to do with May Greene School, but it’s too interesting not to include.
She was hired out as nurse maid before she was ten years old–she stood on a chair to wash. She had done a washing the day I interviewed her. Her granddaughter teaches at Cobb School.
Her father was offered $1000 by Gen. Scott and tried to buy his family from slavery but their master would not sell them–so he bought a farm.
She remembers wading in the branch on William Street from Lorimier’s Spring with Doctor Maple’s wife. (Doctor Maple was a pioneer pastor of First Baptist Church at Cape Girardeau). There were fish in this branch.
A soldier was hanged on a big gate near St. Francis Hospital. He is buried in Lorimier Cemetery. They put his hat on a stick on his grave. Before his death the priest went and talked to him. He just whistled and danced and sang. His father came to see him, and told him, “I have bought you out from under the gallows three times and I won’t do it any more.”
She went up to the courthouse and looked through the iron bars at him. He was a Yankee soldier with Colonel Ross’s Regiment. She was always afraid to go toward the cemetery for fear of seeing his hat waving at night.
Fortifications in Cape
“Right across” from Hirsch’s store there was a fort for light artillery tor emergencies. There was a company for every street as a guard. There was a camp near May Greene School.
Punishment of soldiers
To punish soldiers who didn’t obey orders they bucked and gagged them. This was done if they didn’t get back to town on time. They were stretched out in the sun for hours.
Treasure found.
When Mr. Jack Painter died he had a chest out in the shed where he threw scrap iron. But after his death, money was found in the chest. His home was on the levee next to Dempsey’s Store on about where Albert’s Store is at 101 Water Street.
(This negro uses unusually good language. She has pictures of many of her “white babies”.)
May Green was my grade school. It was in 1968 when i was on the fire dept. doing building inspections the first time i went back in the school since the 6th grade. It was like all the steps inside the building got shorter. they were tall back in grade school. The inside of the building was not as big as it seems 10 years later. After school was out we used to shimey up a drain pipe on the east side of the building to retreave balls that was hit upon the roof.
The former slave account is riveting. Ken, thank you for including it.
I attended May Greene School for five years and was looking forward to my sixth year because only sixth graders could particpate in the May Pole Ceremony. However, due to extenuating circumstances I was not able to partipcate but I will always have fond memories of May Green School and my classmate, Ann Ellis.
Attended May Greene 1st & 2nd grades (1937/38). remember Kite flying contests where everyone cheered for Mr Wilkinson (janaitor) in highest kite contest. Had other categories; biggest, smallest, prettiest, etc.
Also remember sliding down big concrete slam outside Fort D coming home from school.
I also remember that concrete slab, was told often by parents NOT to go down it.. but we always did.. I went to MayGreene my 1st and second grade.. then went to Marquette school till High School..
That is a picture of Fort D where we used to have our Ham Radio meetings. We built a powerful transmitter and had a very nice Amateur Radio station there for years. i was about 13-16 years old then and what a great group of Hams. Some were from the spark gap days of early radio and I sit spellbound for hours listening to their stories of the beginning of radio
I too went to May Greene School all thru to 6th grade. My first grade teacher was Miss O’Hara. My Mom was always homeroom mother and she would bake for every school event for the class. I remember Miss Alma was our principle. This is the first I had heard that the school had closed down.
I was one of the students who had to leave Jefferson School and go to May Greene when the John Cobb School burned. I attended May Greene all the way through sixth grade. My teacher that year was Mr. Charles Clippard, and we girls thought he was a wonderful (and handsome) man. We were so sorry to find out that he had a WIFE.
I will always have fond thoughts of May Greene School and Miss Alma. No child could have better memories of their early school years.
I have very fond memories of May Greene School. I went there all 8 grades and lived a half block from there. It was our school during school hours and our playground after. I have skated a thousand miles around that place as well as riding my bike. It took only a few minutes to get up a neighborhood softball game on the schoolyard. My sister and brother and I had a wonderful childhood growing up in such a safe and happy place. We were taught manners, character and a respect for others by the dedicated teachers and principal. In later years while working at P&G I was a volunteer in the Adopt a School Program at May Greene. Even though it had been many years since I was a student there I was still looking for Miss Alma. She was a person I loved, feared and had great respect for.
Janet,
Did you see the two pieces I did on the school named for Alma Schrader?
Kindergarten class first day of school 1967
and
The celebration of Alma Schrader’s 50th Anniversary.
Janet, this was such a great description. Thank you.
I attended all eight grades there. They were the best years of my life. I remember while playing siftball one day I saw my first jet plane and asked a buddy what it was, when he told me I immediately stated that I would work on them which I did.The things I most remember about Miss Alma was her teachings of courtesy and respect. In our house her words might of as well been from the bible. May God always bless her.
I attended May Greene throughout my elementary years and had some great teachers there. Mrs. Sewings, who just recently passed away and Mr. Clippard, who still works everyday at Wal-mart. We lived accross the street for several years and later moved a few blocks away. We played a lot of baseball and football there and made lots of friends for life. Some of those friends are Gary Wren, Bob Keller, Roy McFall,Steve Hurst, and Bill Cracraft. When we were about 11 years old, we began to be able to hit the baseball far enough to break the windows of the school. We were so proud of this ability we began to see it as a goal to achieve each day of the summer. That summer we broke over 30 windows with our outstanding line drives and were amazed that the school system didn’t acknowledge our achievements with some sort of award—but they didn’t. We later began to hit the balls on top of the school and we really thought that was something. Even though this activity was very expensive for the school system, we all developed a tremendous love for the game that lasts til today. Fortunately, as we matured we began to realize that breaking so much glass was not beneficial to the finances of the school so we began to make great efforts to keep it to a minimum. To this day I have great memories of May Greene School.
what can i say about may greene elementary except that my three years there were some of the worst years of my life due to the nonstop bullying, the school being corrupt-the teachers favored the black kids only because they were scared of them the children tormented me, a little white girl, who didnt fit in and being harrassed every day of attendance. we werent allowed to talk in the lunch room i learned later on it was due to gangs being formed, i mean, REALLY?! those rules didnt stop a little black girl from chasing me all over the playground only to catch up with me and hand me my ass while the teachers looked the other way. the funny thing is every single morning like clockwork the morning announcements would come on and at the end the principal would always recite “…and this is may greene, the school with a heart where you are filled with love and kindness, lets have a wonderful day..” kids would make up clever songs about me using words like “dookie” it was pretty catchy. in closing, i took in nothing about that school except the character that i built and the smile on my face as i found out that i didnt have to go there anymore because of the hell hole closing its doors and ironically being turned into a church
My Mother taught at The May Greene School in 1929! I’m delighted to see these pictures and hear the comments…..and saddened at the concluding years of the school.
I went to May Greene in the late 1940s. My English teacher was Mrs Short, Shop was Mr Miller, Music was Mrs Kinder, etc.