Effa E. Preston
American educator (1884-1975)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Effa Estelle Preston (March 13, 1884 – May 2, 1975) was an American teacher and writer, based in New Jersey. She was a prolific author of school plays and pageants, and of comic verse about teachers' lives.
- Educator
- writer
- speaker
Effa E. Preston | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 13, 1884 Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 1975 (aged 91) |
| Other names | E. E. Preston |
| Occupations |
|
Early life and education
Preston was born in Yonkers, New York,[1] the daughter of Garrett Preston and Anna E. Preston.[2] She graduated from Trenton Normal School in 1908,[3] and from New York University.[4]
Career
Preston taught school in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for 38 years, from 1915 until her retirement in 1953.[4] She wrote many plays, musicals, and songs for school use, and contributed poems to a humor column in an educational journal.[5][6][7] She spoke to professional groups.[8] She served on the editorial board of the New Jersey Education Review.[9] Her plays and operettas were performed in schools across the United States.[10][11][12] She helped her students raise funds for an animal shelter each year.[13]
Personal life
A long-time resident of New Brunswick, Preston died on May 2, 1975, at the age of 91, at a nursing home in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.[1]
Publications
Books
- The Popular Commencement Book (1931)[14]
- Modern Pantomime Entertainments (1938)[15]
- Modern Entertainments for Churches (1939, with Maud C. Jackson)[16]
- The Modern Stunt Book (1945, with Beatrice Plumb and Harry W. Githens)[17]
- The Closing Day Program Book, for eighth grade and junior high school (1953, with Beatrice Marie Casey)[18]
- Good things for closing day, for the upper and lower intermediate grades (1953, with Beatrice Marie Casey)[19]
- Fun with Stunts (1956)[20][21]
- The Master Puppet Book (1965, with Leroy Stahl)[22]
Plays, programs, and pageants
- "One Christmas Eve" (1913)[23]
- "Cinderella" (1914)[24]
- "Flag Day Exercise" (1915)[25]
- Uncle Sam's Right Arm: A Patriotic Exercise (1918)[26]
- The Dolls on Dress Parade (1922)[27]
- In a Toy Shop: A Christmas Play for Small Children (1922)[28]
- A Party in Mother Goose Land (1922, one-act play)[29]
- A Strike in Santa Land (1922, one-act play)[30]
- A Thanksgiving Dream (1922, one-act play)[31]
- The Children's Book of Christmas Recitations, Songs, Exercises, Plays, and Stories (1926)[32]
- Mother Goose Celebrates: A Pageant for Primary Schools (1926)[32]
- Our United States: A Patriotic Pageant (1926)[32]
- Santa's Air Line: A Christmas Operetta (1926, with George W. Wilmot)[32][33]
- The Thief of Time (1933, play)[34]
- The Gypsy Troubadour (1934, operetta, with Don Wilson)[35]
- The Cobbler of Fairyland (1937, operetta, with Carol Winston)[10]
- The Bamboo Princess (1937, operetta, with Henry S. Sawyer)[11]
- Peace Rules the Day (1939, play)[36]
- Getting Gracie Graduated (1947, one-act play)[12]
- First Floor Front (three-act play)[37][38]
- Danger at the Crossroads (two-act play)[37]
- The Pastry Chef and the Pirate (1968, with Harry L. Alford)[39]
Poetry, songs, and humor
- "Archery Drill" and "Indian Drill" (1928, songs, with George W. Wilmot)[40]
- "Revolt of a Filler-Outer" (1937, poem)[41]
- "Salvation" (1938, poem)[42]
- "Epitaphs No. 1", "Epitaphs No. 2", and "Epitaphs No. 3" (1939, poems)[43][44][45]
- "L'Envoi (With No Apologies to Kipling or Anyone Else)" "The Old Teachers" How to Inherit the Earth" "If the Albatross Fits, Wear It", and "Mother Goose School Law"(1940, poems)[46][47][48][49][50]
- "Teacher's Mother Goose: The Cupboard of Hubbard Was Bare" and "To Have and Have Not"(1941, poems)[51][52]
- "Our Miss Green" and "Poor Miss Beck" (1942, poems)[53][54]
- "Pupil-to-Teacher Valentine" (1943, poem)[55]
- "Teacher--to any School Board" (1945, poem)[56]
- "What Price Parents?" and "The Little Moron" (1946, poems)[57][58]
- "A Kitten's Salary" (1947, humor)[59]
- "A Bonus--Perhaps!" (1947, poem)[60]
- "We're Fashionable, Anyway" (1948, poem)[61]
- "Too Bad!" and "The Little Teacher" (1949, poems)[62][63]