While in the eighth grade, we had a math teacher who would become one of our favorite teachers. She had a no-nonsense approach to education and the value it would offer. This approach to education made her disliked by some but loved and respected by us all. Mrs. Mary Ella Jarman was one of the best!

Mrs. Jarman was a stately looking lady who was always well-dressed. She reminded me of a Southern lady: always poised, graceful and confident in whatever she did. Her voice had enough of a southern drawl that you knew she was from Washington.

Her classroom was in the old Seventh Street school annex that adjoined the high school. It was our first introduction to changing classes, so we walked from Mr. Smith’s class every day over to her room. Jamie Weatherly, Brenda Dixon (Hardy), Kenneth Cratch, Bill Nolley and I remembered an analogy that she once used to spur us to work up to our potential and the level she expected from all of us. We were underachievers, and she wanted nothing more than to see us work up to our potential and to the level she knew we were capable of. This gave our class a “chip on the shoulder,” and we all wanted to prove her wrong from that day moving forward. We did!

The math we learned in the eighth grade is now taught in the sixth grade, and maybe earlier. Mrs. Jarman would have enjoyed using laptops and calculators that students and teachers use today. Still, it is hard to replace the addition, subtraction, division and multiplication she taught us the old fashion way.

Another memory I have of Mrs. Jarman occurred at our church. Her family attended our church and rarely missed a Sunday. Her sister Mildred, mother (Mrs. Cutler) and Mrs. Jarman, would walk in late every Sunday morning. They would walk down the left aisle holding Milly’s hand, to their pew which was always empty, as if reserved for them. Dr. Alexander never stopped the service. Milly’s dad was walking behind the ladies like a gentleman should.

Mrs. Jarman was a single parent, having lost her husband early in her marriage. Her son, Billy, was the apple of her eye and together they lived in Washington Park. I spent many mornings in the summer being tutored at her home for two hours, and she shared many stories with me that helped me growing up. I am appreciative for her lessons in life.

My class misses Mrs. Mary Ella Jarman, but we will always appreciate how she made a bunch of underachievers work to their potential. Had it not been for her pushing and prodding, who knows what our futures would have been? I know she is looking down from heaven with her big smile and saying, “Those were my children, and I am so proud of them all.”

Thank you, Mrs. Jarman, for all that you did for us and the influence you had on our class. We will always love you and miss you even more, especially, Jamie, Brenda, Bill, Kenneth and me!

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.