MONUMENT – May DeEtt Throop Hinton spent a lot of time at Monument School – she taught school there for 37 years. And around 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 – Homecoming – she will be honored when the Monument Elementary School is dedicated in her name.

“I feel that it is really a privilege to be honored this way,” said Hinton on Oct. 8 at her home across from Monument City Park.

She was raised in Vernonia and graduated from high school in 1932. After receiving her teaching certificate at Monmouth, she taught at Top School 1934-36. Her wages were $50 a month, but, unfortunately, her expenses exceeded her income – she had to pay $30 on a note and room/board was another $30. To make ends meet, her father supplemented $10 per month.

In 1936, she moved to Monument, then married Boyd Hinton in 1939. He worked in the timber industry for Hudspeth and Tom Roth Logging and also was employed by the Grant County Road Department.

May DeEtt taught for a year in Dayville and another in Prairie City but settled at Monument, where she taught for 37 years. She worked with first- through sixth-graders and instructed physical education. Less-familiar topics she taught included agriculture class, where she said she learned more than she taught, and science class, where she could have used more help, but the students received awards for their science projects at Science Fairs just as well.

Teaching techniques have changed, May DeEtt said. She remembers when she wasn’t allowed to supervise examinations – tests were administered by the school’s deputy clerk. She also said that she was told not to test the students but to use the results of tests as a tool to indicate what she “needed to re-teach.” She also says that today much more emphasis is given to programs other than academic instruction.

For 50 years, the Hintons lived at the center of Monument in a house where they raised their two daughters, Mary and Sharon. Mr. Hinton passed on in 1976, the same year May DeEtt retired.

At age 89, May DeEtt receives a helping hand from daughter and son-in-law Mary and Bill Neal of Kimberly. Recently, May DeEtt has lived at their Kimberly home during lambing season and gardening time. The ladies have been busy harvesting and preserving the produce. This month she’s home in time to decorate the house for Halloween and prepare for trick-or-treat visits from the townschildren.

Daughter Sharon McKinnon resides at Quartzite, Ariz. Grandchildren include Terry Cade of Kimberly; Dorothy Jewell of Granite; and Debbie Evans of Portland. Her two great-grandsons are Dustin Jewel, who serves in the U.S. Air Force in Texas; and Riley Cade of Kimberly, who attends Monument School. Two great-granddaughters are Mary Cade of Kimberly, a student at Monument School; and Amanda Jewel of Kansas.

When she wasn’t teaching, May DeEtt kept busy raising her family and even taught church school, 4-H and provided tutoring. Today, she enjoys reading and, even though she’s recovering from a stroke, she recently made five large doilies and two double afghans. Her handiwork was displayed at Grant County Fair 2003.

There is no doubt that many, many students benefited from May DeEtt Hinton’s instruction. Friend Cora Stubblefield of Monument is one of her oldest students, and May DeEtt taught four generations of the Stubblefield family. Last summer, she received a visit from another former student – a tall, gray-haired man – Doug Dubuque from Heppner. Occasional visits from friends and students brighten her days.