Faye McCoy 
By 
Kristen Chopra, Kate Schaake, and Chelsea Gentry 

Faye McCoy was born on October 3, 1913, near Spivey, Co. Kingman, Kansas. She grew up in a new farmhouse, along with her parents, Lin and Mable (Haden) Bertholf, a brother, Lloyd, and a sister, Ada. All five were religious and went to the Methodist church regularly. The family farmed their land, three miles from Spivey, and lived by the themes of pride in the family name and remembering who one is. 

Faye went to school in Spivey. By the time she was in seventh grade, it was 1925, her brother and his wife had a three-year-old daughter, her sister was in college, and Faye was interested in politics. She rode her horse, Beauty, to school. Her father would put saddlebags on the saddle, and young Faye would put her books and lunch in the bags. At school, her horse would be put up in the stable, and at lunchtime, she would come back to the stable and feed Beauty with a bag of grain that her father had brought. 

Classes were much the same. Language, English, math, history, and geography were taught. One difference, however, was the penmanship class. This class taught students to write legibly and correctly. Different hands were also taught, including Spencerman and Houserman. Pens were used, although a memorable gift received by Faye was a red Eversharp pencil. Recesses were also different. There was one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and an hour for lunch and recess at noon. School did not start until nine, and ended at four. The dictionary was the source of all knowledge, and there a large bookshelf in the classroom that served as a library. 

There were several standards to be kept. There was a superintendent over all of the schools in the county. All students took a standardized test in seventh grade. However, this was not like most tests taken today, which simply serve as a sort of benchmark for teachers to mark progress. This test had to be passed for a student to go to eighth grade that year. The state sent practice questions to the teachers giving the examination so that they could read the questions to the students to help them prepare. The teacher in this case was a "really fine man". However, he had a side business of buying furs. He got caught up in this business and forgot his real job of teaching-and drilling those questions. Out of the class of twelve to fifteen, only five passed into eighth grade that year. These were Faye, another girl, and three boys. 

Socially, things weren't very different. There were cliques of girls and boys to tease them. Basketball was played on a dirt court. Music was also important, with classes and programs given. One major event was the box lunch auction. Lunches were auctioned off as a fundraiser. Boys would buy lunches for the girls and the girl would have to eat with who ever bought her lunch. Boyfriends would always bring extra money to make sure and get their girl! At home, Faye had various chores. When she came home, she had to take care of her horse, help start a fire, and go after the milk cows on her horse. She also helped her mother, including feeding the cats and chickens. 

Holidays were also similar. Christmas was "fun", with many relatives coming to visit. Relatives also came for the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Relatives from Wichita and farther away would come to their farm at the Fourth of July and there would be an all-day picnic and fireworks at night. Birthdays were celebrated with her cousins and her mother always made a cake. Sometimes her cousins would give her a quarter, which was a very big deal to her. 

Faye's life was different from many lives in today's world. However, one common vein runs true-the vein of education, family, and friends.