Kennedy Street

Old Victorian House

 

Many years ago, in Oakland where I grew up, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Martin lived with us while they were job searching and hunting for a house for their family. 

Uncle and Aunt liked the old Victorian house on Kennedy Street which they purchased with its two stories and a grammar school nearby. 

The train station was just a stones throw from where Uncle obtained a job like unto my Dad, a switchman for the Southern Pacific railroad.

Kennedy Street was located near the Cotton Mill and just beyond the railroad tracks; where many of the Portuguese workers lived and walked to the mill each day to work. 

A Catholic church was also couple of blocks away and the Priest would visit their neighbors and my aunt suggested to me that it was to collect money.  Aunt always had an answer for everything.

She enrolled her two children in public school, but Aunt was not pleased when Billy received a less than appropriate report card. 

 

Naturally this called for a visit to the school, where the teacher told my Aunt not to be alarmed, because there is always a need for fruit pickers and cotton mill workers.

Aunt was an intense fiery person, and she knew her children were smart and she blamed the lazy teacher for not giving them work that would challenge them.

She did what many other parents have done and that was to pull her children out of the public school system.  In those days home school was not heard of, so her recourse was to enroll her kids in the Catholic School, several blocks away.

Billy excelled and so did his sister.  Billy went on to college and became a public school teacher, but he was one that encouraged his students to learn.

Understand from experience, I realize there are many excellent teachers in the public schools, and I enjoyed their encouragement and probably you did too.

* * *

 In life there are times when it difficult to motivate yourself, and you need someone to inspire and encourage you. 

That is why as Christians it is important to surround yourself with other believers in Jesus and to attend church regularly. 

 

1 Corinthians 2:16 - For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.