Page 46 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2017- Online Magazine

Ershel Bird

Educator, Preacher,

Singer, Humorist,

Ambassador

Elissa (17) and Shelby (14) Birdsong sing the praises
of their Grandfather Bird.

The things we like most about our Papa, Ershel Bird, are that into acting. He also loved to sing at church and could harmonize as
he is always outgoing and smiling; he is always happy and making early as age 6. His experiences in school taught him what to do and
people laugh even when he doesn’t feel good. not do when he became a teacher and a principal.
Papa’s dad used to walk 3 miles every day to work. On Papa’s After he started 7th grade, his family moved to Dumas, Texas
8th birthday, his parents, Everette and Elizabeth, moved their where he became a Royal Ambassador at First Baptist Church. The
family to the cotton gin in Sweetwater. Papa and his siblings, youth at church sang all the time and Papa had a very good time. He
Charles, W.A. and Anne made up games with bottles and played football, ran track and won 1st place in the mile at district.
whatever they could find for toys. When World War ll started, Papa went to Wayland University in Plainview when he was only
he sold newspapers on the street, and by age 9 or 10 had a paper 17, but didn’t know what God wanted him to do yet. One summer,
route of about 145 customers. He was good at his paper route, but while working at Shamrock Construction Projects, he was tired of
found school boring. He made all A’s in basic subjects, but was digging holes all day and was going to quit at the end of the day. The
not on the honor roll because of his handwriting and behavior. boss came to the construction site and asked if anyone knew how to
When Papa finished his work early, he had to raise his hand and read blueprints. Papa said he did, even though he had never seen one
the teacher would pick up his assignment. Then he had to sit before. He figured out where to put the materials and told the others
quietly and wait on everybody else to finish. Since he was not what to do. He didn’t have to dig holes for the rest of the summer.
allowed to read a book or do anything else, he got in trouble a lot. In August 1953 Ershel Bird was drafted into the army. He did 8
One afternoon he had to stay after school and was told to write weeks of basic training in Arkansas and learned how to run artillery
”whatever it was” he did wrong 100 times on the chalk board. The survey problems. In January he was sent to Camp Polk, Louisiana,
teacher stepped out for a minute, so while she was gone Papa where he ran his first survey problem.
wrote, “I will not do ‘whatever it was I did’ 100 times”, and went Papa was discharged from the army June 15, 1955. He married his
home. This did not sit well with the teacher. But he does have wonderful wife, Bettye, on June 23, 1955 in Clarksville, Tennessee
happy memories of elementary school, even though he stayed in and moved to Jackson, Tennessee. He finished college at Union
trouble most of the time. He had a loud voice, so he got to be in University and Bettye, our Grammy, got a job teaching 3rd grade. In
many of the school plays. He put lots of energy and enthusiasm 1957 Papa started teaching 6th grade at West Elementary School.
He remembered his own grammar school experience and was
determined to understand the kids and enjoy teaching them.
In 1958, their first daughter, Beth, was born with cerebral palsy,
and she never learned to walk or talk. They moved to Lubbock in
1959. Papa started teaching at North Ave U, later named Mahon.
He taught 6 years there and 8 years at Posey. Grammy taught at
Guadalupe. They were both very good teachers. Papa enjoyed the
kids at the school and made school fun for them. He let his students
make the classroom bulletin boards and played volleyball with them
regularly. He sang and joked with them, making school a happy place
to be. He believed everyone learned better when they were having
fun.
Their daughter Beth passed away in 1968, when she was only
10 years old. In 1971 they adopted Luci, our mom. They moved
to Anton in 1973 where Papa was the Elementary Principal and