Lula D. Wade, a retired teacher and mother of three, does not have to be told why education is so important.

Wade, who is now more than 70 years old, said her parents insisted she get an education.

&uot;Teaching was very rewarding, but out of my family it was a must that everybody finished school,&uot; she said.

Wade, grew up in Jefferson County but graduated from the Brumfield School in Natchez.

She then went on earn a bachelors degree from Alcorn State University and a masters degree from Texas Southern University. She also took administration classes at University of Southern Mississippi.

In Jefferson County, she taught high school social studies and spent 11 years as an elementary school administrator before retiring in 1985.

&uot;I like children, and I like to see progress,&uot; Wade said about teaching &uot;You’ve got to play the part. (Children are) going to watch your actions. Children are aware if your sincere.&uot;

Wade said she and both her husbands, the since deceased Pink Duck Jr. and her current husband Manson Wade stressed education to their children, Dr. Manson Wade Jr., Patricia Duck and Barbara Holland. All three children attended Catholic school and now have good jobs, she said.

Wade, has lived for about the past 56 years on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Street and North Bluebird Drive. She believes the Natchez community was a good place for her children.

&uot;You know everybody,&uot; she said. &uot;I think its a nice place to raise your family — it’s growing.&uot;

Wade can still remember what her neighborhood was like when she first moved there.

&uot;It was nice and quiet – open land,&uot; she said.

Now there is more traffic but the community still is relatively quiet, low in crime and people in the neighborhood look out for each other.

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map and finds a story wherever it lands.