Cecil Soil Magazine Haircuts with Herb

Haircuts with Herb by Ed Belote Sr.

Herb Benjamin has been cutting hair in the town of North East, Maryland for more than forty-five years. His barbershop (just off the side of his tackle shop) has become a landmark, and all who visit appreciate Herb’s affable, witty personality.
Getting a cut at Herb’s is like stepping back in time; almost like being in Mayberry — the friendship and laughter beckon you to come back for more. Push open that squeaky screen door — come on in and listen...

September/October 2008: In Loving Memory of Betty S. Blankenship

As I sat in Herb's shop readying my tape recorder and note pad, a familiar gentleman, supported by a cane and fi ve-foot staff, eased into the room. My heart smiled at his image (I fondly remembered Johannes Sten as the big Finn) and the pleasant remembrances we shared in this shop over three years ago. (See page 43 of the Spring 2005 issue Cecil Soil Magazine.)

After a brief reunion of sorts, Herb helped Mr. Sten into the barber chair. Mr. Sten wasted no time recalling our last get-together: "I remember after we did that last 'Haircuts' story, my old teacher, Mrs. Betty Blankenship, sent you a letter correcting my grammar." (Publisher's note: This mistake was the result of the CSM publisher, not Mr. Sten. See the "CSM Mailbox" on page 9 for a re-print of this letter.)

"Yes, I remember this well, Mr. Sten," I replied.

"I'll never forget Mrs. Blankenship," said Mr. Sten. "She was a wonderful and thoughtful person . did you know she recently died?"

The following is Mr. Sten's recount of his beloved teacher and the one-room Hart's school house:

"Miss Simpers [Mrs. Blankenship's maiden name] was the only teacher I had during the time our country was in WWII. That was from the second grade beginning in September 1941 through the sixth grade ending in June 1946.

"I remember we had tags, like Army dog tags, but plastic with our names on them. I don't recall what the other information was - probably home phone number and address. We would have air raid drills where we would run into the woods in back of the school.

"On the very first day she gave us a half day off from school. She said it was because we were good. Maybe it was to make a good fi rst impression. Or maybe it was to get organized on her very fi rst day of teaching in a one-room school having seven grades. Whatever it was, we never again got another half day off in those six years of school.

"If any of us did something wrong, the punishment was to write maybe a hundred 'I will not ...any more' sentences. That was a tough punishment because it took away our recess time.

"Sports during recess time might have been kick-the-wicket, dodge ball, or softball. At fi rst the ball game was with a tennis ball but later we really did have a softball for our ball games. There were no gloves for softball after all it was 'soft'. Yeah, right!

"Instead of an Easter egg hunt, Miss Simpers hid peanuts for us to find. There was a special prize for anyone finding the purple peanut. I found the purple peanut, but I also found a Chinese coin with a square hole in the middle. I have never been able to find any plausible answer as to how a Chinese coin came to be in our school yard. I have asked Mike Dixon of the Cecil County Historical Society. He has no idea either. That coin is in our safety deposit box. I don't remember what the prize was for finding the purple peanut.

"Teachers before Miss Simpers had the older boys get the fi re going during the cold days. Miss Simpers, however, did all of that herself. The boys did go to the spring far into the woods to get water for drinking and washing hands. It was most enjoyable to get away from the school for that little while and walk in the woods.

"That spring of 1946 was the last of school in that one room building. Alma Lum and I were the last graduates of Hart's School. The following fall we all went to school in North East. I don't have a good recollection of that last day, but I do know that we had some kind of a last day school party. And we students got something in remembrance for Miss Simpers. She gave me a card with complimentary words for being a good student.

"I did visit Betty Blankenship once, about a year ago, at Ware Presbyterian Village Senior Housing in Oxford, Pa. We reminisced about those school days many years ago. I had a couple of photographs to give her and I still had that strong studentto- teacher respect that came with the territory in those school days. But then on leaving, the person that was an authority fi gure to me as a teacher, asked for a hug before I left; and we did. I'm glad that I did get to see her that one last time."

Betty S. Blankenship, 86, of Oxford, Pa., formerly of Elkton, Md, passed away June 13, 2008. You can view her obituary at www.crouchfuneralhome.com.

That one room school building still stands today. Simply get on Route 272 in North East, and drive about fi ve miles south. It's on the east side of the road for all to see. See the "Cecil County Scrapbook" on pages 56-57 for more photos related to this story. -CSM