The onset of cold days can do strange things, such as causing one’s mind to drift back to earlier days when the glowing embers in a fireplace or heater were the sole means of trying to stay warm.

I was introduced to another winter season Sunday morning when I stepped outside and faced a huge frost that covered the landscape as far as I could see. I ducked back inside and set the thermostat on heat.

That’s when I was re-introduced to the school I attended as a farm kid in the 1940s.

Barfield School was a rock building constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s. It was not insulated, had no plumbing and relied on a coal-burning heater in each classroom for heat.

The school had no janitor. Consequently, duties that they would normally handle were assigned to the faculty and students.

For example, eighth and ninth grade boys were assigned as hallway sweepers, trash burners and woodchoppers. Each classroom had its own assigned janitors. Boys carried coal and kept the heater fire going, girls cleaned the blackboard and emptied pencil trimmers.

It was everyone’s duty to keep their desks clean and organized and pick up litter on the school grounds. A discharge of duty was rewarded with a “Thank you for your help.” A failure to do as you were told would get you sent to the principal’s office where a reprimand was usually followed with a paddling.

Since a fire in a coal heater does not start by itself, an employment opportunity as a fire starter was offered to boys 13 and older. Qualifications for the job included experience starting fires in a fireplace at home and living within walking distance of the school. Fortunately, I met both requirements and was hired as a fire starter.

I had responsibility to start fires in three classrooms at 7 a.m. each school day. The object was to have the heater hot when students arrived. Part of the job was to make sure kindling had been cut the day before and two filled buckets of coal were on standby. My pay was $2.50 per week.

Heat from a coal-fired heater left much to be desired. The smoke was stifling, the heat was either too hot or not hot enough and if your desk was on the window side of the room, you couldn’t stay warm on a cold, windy day.

Thankfully, conditions have changed for the better. Most of us can now deal comfortably with the worst winter has to offer, as long as we can afford the peaks of a cold weather utility bill. 

Clif Knight is a staff writer for the Hartselle Enquirer.