We were the sixth graders—the oldest kids in the Maeser School. When plans were announced for the end of the school year field day, we knew that our part had to be the biggest and the best. Each class was to choose a state and make a float for the parade. Naturally, we chose Texas. And our float wouldn’t be built on one little red wagon. We would fasten four wagons together and build a backdrop. The float would be pulled by boys dressed as Pecos Bill, Davy Crockett and other Texas heroes. The Yellow Rose of Texas and her three attendants would ride on the float. The rest of the class would walk behind the float singing “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
We built the float at Jimmy Vernon’s house. He lived across the street from the school. That way no one would see our float until it was time for the parade. The teacher purchased yellow crepe paper and I demonstrated how to make crepe paper roses. I wasn’t pleased with the amateur appearance of the other girl’s roses, but decided no one would be close enough to see their imperfections. We ran out of crepe paper and the backdrop still had bare spots. We wired the scraps of yellow crepe paper together and attached them to the backdrop.
Then it was time to choose The Yellow Rose of Texas. I thought it should be me because my name was Rose, but I didn’t voice my opinion out loud. I looked at Laura and thought I knew what she was thinking. She was the most popular girl in our class and if we voted on it, she would surely be chosen. Judy said she ought to be the Yellow Rose because she already had a yellow satin dress. Mr. Hullinger, our teacher, had a completely different idea. He cut a piece of paper for each girl in the class. He marked one with two x marks and three with one x. The papers were put in a box and mixed up. He went around the room and each girl took a paper. I was on the far side of the room and was sure that the Yellow Rose would be chosen long before our teacher came to me. One by one the names of the attendants were revealed: Carolyn (my step-sister), Delilah (my friend) and Laura. I held my breath. Finally there was only one piece of paper left. I pulled it out. I was going to be The Yellow Rose of Texas.
We girls got together to decide what to wear. We went to Ashtons Department Store and chose a pattern and fabric. My dress would be a yellow floor-length satin dress. The attendants’ dresses would also be floor-length satin. Each dress would be a different color with a sheer patterned overlay. We showed my practical mother. She had different ideas. The pattern was all right. The dresses would be short and be made of cotton fabric. “That way they could be worn to Church later,” she told us. And she borrowed Judy’s yellow formal for me to wear. That meant that I—The Yellow Rose of Texas—would not get a new dress but would be dressed in borrowed finery.
Field day arrived. But things did not go exactly as planned. The float with four girls on it was too heavy for our cowboys to pull. The attendants would have to walk behind the float. One of the boys hopped on the float to fix something on the backdrop. His foot broke a hole in one of the boards. There was no time to fix it. Now I needed to sit forward and slightly off center to hide the hole. The skirt of the yellow formal was not very full so it was an exercise in ingenuity to get it to cover the hole and my legs. We were on our way to local fame.
“There’s a yellow rose of Texas that I am going to see,” sang my classmates. “Nobody else could miss her half as much as me.”
I was The Yellow Rose of Texas. I was happy.
such a sweet story!!!