By Kayla Richey and Lesly Ramos
The Trotter sisters, Esta and Lottie, were born in South Carolina. Esta, born in 1904, was the older sister by around two years. When they moved to Vail, it was a very small place. There wasn’t much development around Vail yet. Everyone knew each other and there weren’t many buildings. There was one school with two classrooms. Esta and Lottie Trotter found a home and a job at The Vail School. They lived in Vail during the school year and went home to South Carolina during the summer.
There were a lot of families working for the railroad, or living on farms or ranches, with cattle, horses, and donkeys. The Vail School had a teacherage close to the school. An early Vail postmaster, Otto Schley, was the person who built the house in 1908. By 1931 when Esta and Lottie Trotter moved to Vail, the little white house near the school was a place for teachers to live.
The Vail School District was started in 1903. In the 1930s, when Esta and Lottie were teaching, there were only around 30-35 students enrolled. The Vail School was where Old Vail Middle School is located. The attendance was not always the best because of responsibilities at home. Esta and Lottie did not assign homework. They knew that students had chores and helped their families on their ranches and farms after school.
Lottie taught grades one through four, and Esta taught grades five through eight. The students loved Esta and Lottie Trotter. The sisters were strict about discipline and wouldn’t let students do whatever they wanted in class; but students knew the sisters cared about them. The Trotter sisters were an essential part of Vail’s education and Vail in general. They got paid about $70 a month. At the time this was not too low of a wage for a teacher.
We enjoyed hearing about how the kids would entertain themselves by playing with Sam the Donkey at recess. The owner of Sam was Maxie Allen, who we were able to interview. Students paid .50 cents to get to ride, jump, and play on Sam, pretending to be the Lone Ranger. We learned that some kids got to school by walking or riding their donkey or horse. There weren’t any televisions in Vail back then, so kids would play more outside. At lunch time or after school, students would help Mary Jane Warner the postmistress with placing the special postal mail bag on one of the poles adjacent to the east and westbound tracks. The students did not get paid for their work in money. Mary Jane would let them pick out some candy in the Vail Store. The main way people communicated with each other in Vail back then was at the Old Vail Post Office, by visiting and passing on stories with Mary Jane.
The sisters helped plan programs and celebrations at the Vail School. The annual Christmas parties were really special. The Christmas party would be in the evening. Friends, parents, and families would gather around for the celebration. The school would be decorated with large trees, small trees, wreaths, and candles. Many in the Vail community came to the programs, even if they didn’t have children in the school.
The Trotter sisters helped students at the Vail School thrive and rise to the top. Many former students felt that they were prepared to continue their education in Tucson at Tucson High School. Esta and Lottie would be amazed at how much the Vail School has grown from the two-classroom school they taught in! When the Trotter Sisters started teaching at Vail they not only found a job but a community family.
