Memoirs of Kelly,NM and the Mines
School Days:
I entered public school at age of 6, when I entered the first grade in Kelly. My teacher was Miss Buchanan - also my first love. The schoolhouse was a one-room frame structure with a big sheet-iron stove up front, which stoked to a cherry red with wood, kept the front rows reasonably warm. The big boys and girls, mostly from near-by ranches, sat in the rear. I visited the school many years later and was surprised at how the crude desks had shrunk with time. The old whittled initials and defacements were still there.
One great advantage of the schoolhouse was that it was ideal for playing ante-over. Two sides were chosen, one for each side of the building. Whoever caught the ball led the crowd full-tilt around the building and tagged as many of the opposing side as possible. The winner, when the game was called by the ringing of the recess bell, was the side with the most kids. It was a good source of arguments and fights. Imagine trying to play ante-over on the modern school buildings. Poor kids!
Memoirs of a Miner, Magdalena, NM
Sally Parsons forwarded us the memoirs of her father who was born in 1885 in Kelly, NM and lived there until going to prep school in Socorro. Thank you Sally for sharing this history. Her words of her father are in the sections below:
Part I: The Beginning and The Early Days (From the Lion's Jaw)
Part II: Lessons from Mule Drivers and The Uncertainties of Mining.
Part III: School Days.