63 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com on the coast In 1905, Ruby Ethel Middleton was born in Charleston. After attending the Avery Institute downtown (now the Avery Research Center), she matriculated to South Carolina State College where she earned a bachelor’s degree. Not long after she began her teaching career in 1924, she married the Rev. William Essex Forsythe, who oversaw the Holy Cross Faith Memorial Church and School on Pawleys Island. Between working and caring for her aging parents, she visited her husband when time allowed. When Miss Ruby joined the reverend full time in 1938, they taught together in a one-room private schoolhouse and lived in the upstairs apartment. Since this was during the Jim Crow era, “Miss Ruby’s School,” as it came to be known, was the only educational opportunity available for Black elementary-aged children in the local community. Many of her students walked for miles to attend the school. While teaching mathematics, reading, spelling and geography for preschool through fifth grade, Miss Ruby also instilled discipline, respect and social graces in her students, encouraging them to say “I’ll try,” rather than BY SARAH ROSE Pushing the Pencil Miss Ruby’s School colors outside the lines Miss Ruby in action teaching her students. Miss Ruby and her students enjoying some fresh air. Holy Cross Faith Memorial Collection Georgetown County Library
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