(p8)    "graduated". our students we had a waiting list, which we drew from to keep the class size to twenty-five vets. Then, as classes started to dwindle id size and the waiting list was closed out, we consolidated the classes and transferred a few student to adjoining programs. I had the final class in Matthews that got down to 1/2 time and then 1/4 time until the program was phased out in December 1954. One of the most interesting things we accomplished was the plumbing classes. The rural homes were almost void of in-door plumbing. To be fair and equitable we agreed to pour a septic tank, lay the sewer line to grade, run the water from the pump house to the bathroom, hook up the fixtures as our laboratory projects. If the Vet owned the land, he furnished the materials and we did the labor. If a landlord purchased the fixtures, we installed them. Although there were some complaints about the benefit to the recipient, the program voted to do it as a project and all were eligible to participate. We did improve living standards for our vets and did teach all the aspects of plumbing as a trade or usable knowledge for later times. We made field trips to the St. Louis livestock market and made a tour of the Swift Packing House. We attended all the Missouri University Experiment Station Crop and Field Days. Some of the vets were farm laborers who moved up to operators and rented their own land. Oh, yes, history is repeating itself--we're now hearing "Three strikes and you're out!" or if you commit three crimes, you go to prison for life. We had a rule in the program, "Three unexcused absences and you're out of the Veterans Training Program in Agriculture!"                                                                          Page 8 History of Matthews High School: 1906-19.76 Benton B. and Glenda W. Conrad, January 1976 Additional information added February 1994 by Bonnie Conrad Nelson,  2nd information added November 2005 by Steve Waters
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