Week 5

January 3rd Begins by recounting how the principal at the time (Chando O’Dell announced the new Hillcrest plans on January 2nd of that same year). It says six classes will take place Goss Memorial Methodist Church and only one class being held at Fern Creek Elementary. Also, it assures parents that the students will stay with their teachers from the semester before.  It gives assorted teachers names like how one was named Mrs. Stella Scarborough and Mabel Randolph was a second-grade teacher. The teachers themselves would be a fascinating first person account of the rebuilding processing. That period, while likely tumultuous and hard to recount all the events, is a time with a treasure trove of information (if the many Orlando Sentinel account is indicative of anything. While Also, it reveals a busing situation based on certain streets, and reveals the kids would have hot lunch provided for 30 cents.

Jan 8th article recounts how the Hillcrest PTA was asked to make a ‘vote of confidence’ during a meeting at Goss Memorial Methodist. Some people of note speaking to the PTA was city commissioner Doug Barnes and head of the Colonial Town Businessmen’s Association. Parent Don Barbour aspired to spearhead a campaign to rebuild Hillcrest, saying “If the need for a school was there December 22nd, the need is still there (today)”. He also would go on to say “The area is too big without a school” and stating it was 4 sq. miles of Orlando land. Also, a demographic check exists saying now that 388 students go to Hillcrest. Demographics have been fluctuating per accounts given, which seems to demonstrate variance in people’s account. This happened when the author of an earlier article claimed Hillcrest was built in 1925, when hard evidence exists from the “Biennial Report” that in fact it was completed in February 1924. It gives me perspective to be careful what sources I take as fact, as a reporter is likely to make a mistake when compared to superintendent (who wrote the Orange County portion of the Biennial Report).

I hope to begin the process of preparing to conducting oral history interviews, a key component of the Hillcrest project. As mentioned last week, I will be taking workshop with Professor Gannon to hopefully give me the tools but of course Professor Lyons will guide me as usual.