If the Academy Walls Could Talk...(1909)

We might hear laughter and merriment, as there were undoubtedly flirtations and less serious moments between classes of Elocution, Arithmetic, Ancient History, Algebra and Latin. Eighteen- year- old Millie Bertha Hunt left her home in Pine (Gila County) to attend the Snowflake Academy.  Her memories are not so much of the scholastic opportunities, but of the social life the Academy offered.

In the year of 1909, I came to Snowflake to attend the Academy and enjoyed the school with Joseph Peterson as Principal.

In those days we had to go to Flagstaff from Pine in a freight wagon and get on the train at Flagstaff and come to Holbrook where we got in an old buckboard with the mail driver to get to Snowflake. This particular mail driver was a man by the name of Sollie Robinson. It amused one to hear him cluck at the horses all the way. Being used to the mountains and valleys, I felt we were really getting in desert country, but on arriving in view of Snowflake looking down on the peaceful green valley I changed my mind. One could feel the friendliness of the people.

The merry times the young folk and also the older people had going to the Flake Reservoir to skate! Mr. John Lundquist was a beautiful skater and he entertained the young and old with his beautiful skating. The boys would get rocking chairs and take the girls all over the pond, the girls sitting in the chairs, while the boys skating pushed the rocking chairs. It was great fun.

I also remember what a socializing experience it was to have so many ice cream parties. The young people would go to one another’s homes and make homemade ice cream and gather to have a pleasant evening. In those days we had no way of entertainment only by making it ourselves. We enjoyed candy pullings going to homes and making candy and each person would be given a piece of candy to pull until it was hard and brittle. Often times one would snatch a piece of candy from another to add to their piece which caused laughter and fun.

Millie found her special beau in Snowflake and in 1910 she married William Raymond Stratton. Raymond and Millie lived the remainder of their lives in Snowflake and left a numerous posterity in the area.

Excerpt from The Life and Times of Snowflake compiled by The Centennial Committee

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