The author’s mother, Gladys Gaines, earned this teaching certificate from Anna Normal School in 1917 at the age of 17 years.

In her scrapbook I also found an actual 1923 Florida teaching contract, where my mother taught for several years. The contractual salary was $110 per month. Listed were 23 rigid stipulations to be obeyed, two of which include: "Keep school grounds and premises clean and free from trash, waste paper, etc." and "Avoid breaking the skin or drawing blood in punishing a pupil. In corporal punishment avoid the use of clubs, books, or other inconsistent objects."

Anna Normal School turned out 212 graduates before closing at the end of the 1927 school year because of the belief that teachers should have more than one year of training. The building in which the Anna Normal School was housed, along with all grades of the Anna School, was built in 1883 at a total cost of $7,513.40. Previously, there had been a series of three small log school buildings, the first built in 1836. A March 14, 1925, state inspection of the 1883 red brick building determined that it was inadequate, so on August 19, 1925, the Anna Board of Education passed a resolution to build a new building. This white brick building was dedicated on February 11, 1927, and was in use only ten years.