Butch Remembers The “Famous” Andrew Jackson Report

In the fall of 1988, I had become burnt out from police work, and subsequently had the desire to teach again. I definitely did not want to teach at a large school. But luck was on my side, as an opening for a social studies teacher came up at Clinton Prairie High School. The classes there were small…only 50 or 60 in each grade. My sister, Sarah, taught English at the school, and a Darlington graduate, Rosalie Mennen Carter, was the librarian…plus Clinton Prairie was only ten miles from where I lived! I was hired to teach government, economics, and U.S. history, along with coaching 8th grade basketball.

As the first semester progressed, I told the students in my senior government class that they could write a report about one of the U.S. Presidents for extra credit. Several took me up on the offer. They were instructed to write a three-page report and then present a five minute oral report to the class. One boy named Kyle, who was the son of the assistant principal, decided to write a report about President Andrew Jackson. Kyle was very popular and intelligent, but also somewhat shy. He was hesitant about doing the oral presentation, but I told him he would get along just fine.

Well, the big day came for the students to present their reports to the class. Five students read their reports, and then it was time for Kyle to give his. As he stood behind the podium, I could tell he was very nervous. His voice was shaky, and he kept his head down and did not look at his classmates. There were a few hitches and stumbles, but he was able to relate Jackson’s upbringing and his career as a soldier and politician. However, after a couple of minutes, he was sweating profusely. Everyone sensed that Kyle just wanted to get to the end of the report so he could take his seat.

I followed along Kyle’s oral report to the class with a copy of his written report. As he described Jackson’s victorious election in 1828, he was SUPPOSED to say, “And sadly, Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, died right after his election.” Instead, Kyle…whether out of nervousness, or perhaps a Freudian slip, substituted an “R” instead of an “L” in the word “election.” He knew immediately that he had made a serious faux pas in front of his classmates and me. His face turned beet red. He looked at me. I looked at him. I then looked out over the class, all of whom were trying to keep a straight face…many biting their lips, and a few with their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing. They looked at me…wondering what I would say to Kyle’s hilarious mistake. With a straight face, I then stated, “Well, I’m sure President Jackson must have been disappointed…he got all excited for nothing…maybe his wife had a heart attack when she saw it.” The entire class, including Kyle, burst out into full-blown laughter. Some were laughing so hard they had tears coming down their cheeks. Then…to make things worse, a boy blurted out, “Maybe Rachel is the one who named him Old Hickory!”

Well, that did it…all of us laughed for the next five minutes. We just couldn’t stop. Two of Kyle’s buddies were laying on the floor by their desks, gasping for breath. Soon the school principal and Kyle’s dad heard the noise and came down the hallway from the office to see what the laughter was about. When I told them what had happened, they both started laughing uncontrollably. Kyle’s dad laughed so hard he started to get stomach cramps! It was a moment to never forget. Well, we didn’t get much done the remainder of that class period. Can you blame us?

After that funny incident, Kyle seemed to come out of his shyness, and was no longer nervous in front of the class. Those seniors graduated in the spring of 1989, and they asked me to give the commencement address…and of course, at the end of my speech I mentioned the great report that Kyle gave in my government class. I did not say the erroneous word, but they all knew what I was referring to. So…what happened to Kyle after graduation? Yes, you guessed it. He became a social studies teacher at a school in the northern part of the state. I had not seen him or talked to him since 1989, but I called him up at his school two years ago. When he answered, I did not identify myself. I just asked him how Old Hickory and Rachel were getting along….”Mr. Dale, that’s you, isn’t it? You know, Mr. Dale, that’s the only part of my report that I remember!”

“Well, Kyle, that was a “classic!”

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.