Lois E. Smith

is honored with a Brick from the Corbin Family.

A cold one-room school usually awaited the young teacher as she rode on horseback to make the fire in the pot-bellied stove and ready the school for students of eight grades. The students rode on horseback or walked across the prairies of Butler County, Kansas. Lois E. Smith was only sixteen years of age when she obtained her first teaching position near Rosalia. In those days, teachers could not marry. Later, they could marry, but would be dismissed if they became pregnant. Teaching children of all grades, including a time at Andover High School, was a delight for Lois. Many years later she could talk of students by name and did correspond with many of them.

Over the years she moved "schools" several times and finally arrived at College Hill Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas. At retirement at age 67, she had taught at College Hill for 28 years with a total teaching career of 46 years. During the same time Lois completed a Bachelor's Degree and many hours past a Master's Degree in Education.

Fun for Lois and her husband, Bill, was to attend Wichita State University games. She is still attending basketball games at the age of ninety. A box of homemade chocolate chip cookies for the players has been a yearly gift from Lois.

Worldwide travel was another interest. At the age of eighty, Lois climbed a mountain in Tibet. She still gives slide presentations to many groups years after the trip.

Kansas children, her nieces and nephews have greatly benefited from the intelligent, beautiful, blue-eyed teacher and aunt, Lois E. Corbin Smith.

September 5, 1998