| Biographical Non-Fiction posted June 2, 2020 | Chapters: |
...38 39 -40- 41... 
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I attend a Printing Institution for further training.
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
Nashville
by BethShelby
| Background I work at a printing company in Jackson, Mississippi. I'm being sent for further training to Nashville, Tn. and my mother is traveling with me. My husband is keeping the three children while I'm away. |
Mother and I left on Sunday heading for the Hotel and Printing Institute in Nashville where the company was sending me for two weeks. You and the children had bid me a dreaded good-bye, but you were relieved Mother would be traveling with me. With the one exception when I’d stayed in the college dorm for two weeks, this was the first time you and I would be separated in our twelve years of marriage.
When we got to Nashville and found our hotel we were very pleased with the accommodations. It was an older but very elegant hotel near Vanderbilt University and a few blocks from the Parthenon on a lovely tree lined street. Mom had brought plenty of reading material and knitting to keep herself busy while I was taking the printing courses.
I had a map of Nashville and was able to locate the Printing Institute. I had to be in class at 8:30 on Monday, and I arrived not having any idea of what to expect. I was shocked to see only a couple of cars there. A few more cars arrived, and it was soon evident that the others, like me, didn’t know what to expect either. Eventually we found a main door and went inside. A middle aged man greeted us and said that he was our instructor. He took us into a conference room and seated us around a big table.
There were only six students. The instructor told us the classes are kept small so there can be plenty of individual instruction. I was the only female there. The men's ages ranged from twenty to fifty-five. The teacher gave us a notebook and a pen and had us introduce ourselves and tell something about the company where we worked. There was only one other student from the South. Two were from Michigan, one was from Ohio and one was from New York. The other Southerner was the youngest of the group, and he was from Georgia.
Eventually, the teacher took us into the main area and assigned us each a light table and T-Square, triangles, Exact-o knives, magnifying glasses, rulers and other tools we would be working with. He showed us the drawers where our masking sheets and metal plates were located and familiarized us with the graphic-arts camera and the plate burners. He said we would work for four hours a day. The first week we would be there eight a.m. to twelve noon, and the second week we were to come in at two p.m. and work until six p.m.
I was happy that this schedule would leave us plenty of free time to explore the Nashville area. None of the others were booked at my hotel. After about two hours, the teacher dismissed us and told us to be back at eight on Tuesday morning ready to work. When I returned to the hotel, I found Mom in the lobby reading. I picked up some tourist brochures and told her we were free to go and see what this city had to offer. I was on an expense account for food, and as long as I kept up with my expenses, I would be reimbursed.
That afternoon, we drove around the city to get a feel for the layout, and then, we drove down our street a couple of blocks and explored the Parthenon. Nashville is nicknamed The Athens of the South. In 1897 for the bicentennial event, the Parthenon was constructed as a centerpiece for the celebration. It is an exact replica of the original in Greece. It’s located in the lovely landscaped Centennial Park. We walked through to see art work from local artists and the art of school children which were on display. Much work has been done on it since we were there. Now, it is an art museum displaying some large sculptures and wonderful art displays from all over the world.
I called you that first night and every night thereafter. It was apparent that I was missed, and you hoped the time would pass quickly. You were coping, but you hated me being away. I missed you and the children, but I was probably having more fun than you were.
The classes were intense, but I was learning a lot. I understood now why it was so hard for us to get the color registration right. We needed a pen register system, and we needed to be using the vinyl masking sheets and heavy clear plastic stabilizer sheets. I also realized this was not going to be something Robert wanted to hear. He would be sure to balk at the additional expenses that would be incurred in buying these materials. He needed to realize that if we got it right the first time, it would save time and money remaking the aluminum plates. It was good to know the fact that we weren’t getting perfect color registration was not my fault.
One other thing which I learned that I was sure Robert wouldn’t like was that I was being grossly underpaid for the work that I was doing. I understood the wages in the South are lower than in Eastern states, but surely not four times lower.
The guys in the class all treated me with respect and as an equal. There was no touching or sexually suggestive language that I had become accustomed to hearing from my co-workers and often clients and salesmen. I started to wonder if what I’d experienced in the past was a Southern problem.
With so much free time and no work to do outside of class, Mother and I got a chance to do a lot of exploring. We had never been to Nashville before, and it seemed to have a lot to offer. There were formal gardens, arboretums , historic cemeteries and a planetarium. The latter was especially interesting because neither of us had been in one before.
Nashville was known as the country music capital, so of course, we had to go down on Music Row and take in some of the recording studios and see where Elvis got his start. On Saturday night we went to the famous Ryman Auditorium which was the original home of The Grand Ole Opry.
One afternoon, we visited The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson. Inside the mansion, the rooms were set up and decorated as they were during the time of Jackson. The kitchen was separate from the house, as many kitchens were in plantation homes built in those days. It was to keep the house from being overheated during Summer months and also because it was less likely that fire might get out and destroy the home. The grounds were covered with massive old oaks which were likely around at the time Jackson lived there.
We also drove on some of the parkways into the hill country and visited a few outlying towns and a school where a friend of Mother's worked. Mom and I got along better than we had in years. We were both having too much fun to argue.
We timed it right the day we decided to visit the State Capital. We went into the legislative chamber, and it happened to be a day in which the famous singer at the time,Tennessee Ernie Ford, was making a guest appearance. After he performed, a guard told us that if we wanted to get a picture of him as he was leaving, we should go to a certain exit. I had my camera ready to snap a picture as he got into a car with his aides. He happened to see us, and he said, "No, wait. Let me come up there.” He was unbelievably gracious. He put his arm around me and had one of his aides take a picture of us.
Every day, we found something interesting to do. I know Mother enjoyed this trip better than the one in which she spent time in the back of the pickup truck on our misadventure to Colorado.
On the second week at the school, since we were having evening classes rather than morning, it was nearly dark when we finished each day. On the next to the last night, we got a shock when a brick came hurling through a window of the old building, and broken glass scattered over the floor. This is when I realized we weren’t in a prime location, and there was some problems with local hoodlums. Our instructor decided the final class would dismiss earlier in the evening. We were given our diplomas the next day, as well as some of the furnished tools and text printouts. We were allowed to take home the color proofs of the work we’d done while there.
Mother and I left Nashville going back to Jackson the following morning. I had gifts for you and all of the children. I had spent quite a bit of money getting each of the children something I thought they would enjoy.
It was gratifying to know that I had been so missed, because I got a very loving welcome from everyone. You seemed especially happy to have me back home. I was shocked to find that you had missed me so much, you’d actually written me a love poem. This was a first, because it wasn’t your nature to be so sentimental. It was something I would treasure forever.
When we got to Nashville and found our hotel we were very pleased with the accommodations. It was an older but very elegant hotel near Vanderbilt University and a few blocks from the Parthenon on a lovely tree lined street. Mom had brought plenty of reading material and knitting to keep herself busy while I was taking the printing courses.
I had a map of Nashville and was able to locate the Printing Institute. I had to be in class at 8:30 on Monday, and I arrived not having any idea of what to expect. I was shocked to see only a couple of cars there. A few more cars arrived, and it was soon evident that the others, like me, didn’t know what to expect either. Eventually we found a main door and went inside. A middle aged man greeted us and said that he was our instructor. He took us into a conference room and seated us around a big table.
There were only six students. The instructor told us the classes are kept small so there can be plenty of individual instruction. I was the only female there. The men's ages ranged from twenty to fifty-five. The teacher gave us a notebook and a pen and had us introduce ourselves and tell something about the company where we worked. There was only one other student from the South. Two were from Michigan, one was from Ohio and one was from New York. The other Southerner was the youngest of the group, and he was from Georgia.
Eventually, the teacher took us into the main area and assigned us each a light table and T-Square, triangles, Exact-o knives, magnifying glasses, rulers and other tools we would be working with. He showed us the drawers where our masking sheets and metal plates were located and familiarized us with the graphic-arts camera and the plate burners. He said we would work for four hours a day. The first week we would be there eight a.m. to twelve noon, and the second week we were to come in at two p.m. and work until six p.m.
I was happy that this schedule would leave us plenty of free time to explore the Nashville area. None of the others were booked at my hotel. After about two hours, the teacher dismissed us and told us to be back at eight on Tuesday morning ready to work. When I returned to the hotel, I found Mom in the lobby reading. I picked up some tourist brochures and told her we were free to go and see what this city had to offer. I was on an expense account for food, and as long as I kept up with my expenses, I would be reimbursed.
That afternoon, we drove around the city to get a feel for the layout, and then, we drove down our street a couple of blocks and explored the Parthenon. Nashville is nicknamed The Athens of the South. In 1897 for the bicentennial event, the Parthenon was constructed as a centerpiece for the celebration. It is an exact replica of the original in Greece. It’s located in the lovely landscaped Centennial Park. We walked through to see art work from local artists and the art of school children which were on display. Much work has been done on it since we were there. Now, it is an art museum displaying some large sculptures and wonderful art displays from all over the world.
I called you that first night and every night thereafter. It was apparent that I was missed, and you hoped the time would pass quickly. You were coping, but you hated me being away. I missed you and the children, but I was probably having more fun than you were.
The classes were intense, but I was learning a lot. I understood now why it was so hard for us to get the color registration right. We needed a pen register system, and we needed to be using the vinyl masking sheets and heavy clear plastic stabilizer sheets. I also realized this was not going to be something Robert wanted to hear. He would be sure to balk at the additional expenses that would be incurred in buying these materials. He needed to realize that if we got it right the first time, it would save time and money remaking the aluminum plates. It was good to know the fact that we weren’t getting perfect color registration was not my fault.
One other thing which I learned that I was sure Robert wouldn’t like was that I was being grossly underpaid for the work that I was doing. I understood the wages in the South are lower than in Eastern states, but surely not four times lower.
The guys in the class all treated me with respect and as an equal. There was no touching or sexually suggestive language that I had become accustomed to hearing from my co-workers and often clients and salesmen. I started to wonder if what I’d experienced in the past was a Southern problem.
With so much free time and no work to do outside of class, Mother and I got a chance to do a lot of exploring. We had never been to Nashville before, and it seemed to have a lot to offer. There were formal gardens, arboretums , historic cemeteries and a planetarium. The latter was especially interesting because neither of us had been in one before.
Nashville was known as the country music capital, so of course, we had to go down on Music Row and take in some of the recording studios and see where Elvis got his start. On Saturday night we went to the famous Ryman Auditorium which was the original home of The Grand Ole Opry.
One afternoon, we visited The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson. Inside the mansion, the rooms were set up and decorated as they were during the time of Jackson. The kitchen was separate from the house, as many kitchens were in plantation homes built in those days. It was to keep the house from being overheated during Summer months and also because it was less likely that fire might get out and destroy the home. The grounds were covered with massive old oaks which were likely around at the time Jackson lived there.
We also drove on some of the parkways into the hill country and visited a few outlying towns and a school where a friend of Mother's worked. Mom and I got along better than we had in years. We were both having too much fun to argue.
We timed it right the day we decided to visit the State Capital. We went into the legislative chamber, and it happened to be a day in which the famous singer at the time,Tennessee Ernie Ford, was making a guest appearance. After he performed, a guard told us that if we wanted to get a picture of him as he was leaving, we should go to a certain exit. I had my camera ready to snap a picture as he got into a car with his aides. He happened to see us, and he said, "No, wait. Let me come up there.” He was unbelievably gracious. He put his arm around me and had one of his aides take a picture of us.
Every day, we found something interesting to do. I know Mother enjoyed this trip better than the one in which she spent time in the back of the pickup truck on our misadventure to Colorado.
On the second week at the school, since we were having evening classes rather than morning, it was nearly dark when we finished each day. On the next to the last night, we got a shock when a brick came hurling through a window of the old building, and broken glass scattered over the floor. This is when I realized we weren’t in a prime location, and there was some problems with local hoodlums. Our instructor decided the final class would dismiss earlier in the evening. We were given our diplomas the next day, as well as some of the furnished tools and text printouts. We were allowed to take home the color proofs of the work we’d done while there.
Mother and I left Nashville going back to Jackson the following morning. I had gifts for you and all of the children. I had spent quite a bit of money getting each of the children something I thought they would enjoy.
It was gratifying to know that I had been so missed, because I got a very loving welcome from everyone. You seemed especially happy to have me back home. I was shocked to find that you had missed me so much, you’d actually written me a love poem. This was a first, because it wasn’t your nature to be so sentimental. It was something I would treasure forever.
 Recognized |
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents;
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