Profile of a Teacher
Elizabeth Gruver
By Rachel

The last teacher Free Union School saw was Miss Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gruver. She liked to teach. She was strict but fair and really liked children. It was much harder to teach then than now because she had to teach all eight grades. She lived in the Gruver farm house on Free Union Rd., that house still stands today. She would drive a horse and wagon. She liked to bake. The Gruvers were dairy farmers and were very likable people. Lizzie was like a mother to her younger sister. Lizzie's teaching career was very important to her. She taught reading, geography, history, arithmetic, etc.... For discipline she would pick you up by your shoulders and put you back down again. She wore sweaters and long skirts with her hair in a bun. She also taught at Fredon, Petersburg, and Marble Hill Schools. She stopped teaching in 1958. Our group is looking forward to trying Miss Gruver's brownie recipe.

Added by Phil:

Elizabeth Gruver lived to the age of 71 and is buried in Free Union Cemetery. A photograph of her headstone is shown below.