It's Saturday Night -
1) The new school year has started in the Northern hemisphere, and for most children that means a new grade, a new teacher, and perhaps new friends.
2) Tell us about some of your elementary school memories when you were a child. What are your memories of starting school in a new year? Who were your teachers? How did you get to school? Who were your best friends? What subjects did you like best? What extra-curricular activities did you participate in? Make up your own questions if you'd like!
3) Share your memories in your own blog post, or in a Facebook post.
Here's mine:
I attended all seven years of elementary school (1948-1955) kindergarten plus six grades) at Brooklyn Elementary at 30th Street and A Street in San Diego. This was about 8 blocks south of my home. My brother and I either walked or rode our bikes. It was downhill going, and uphill coming home. We usually used 30th Street because it was wider and had better sidewalks, plus a church playground, two mom and pop stores, and a drug store. They built a new school several blocks away about ten years ago, but the old campus is now a Charter school campus called Albert Einstein Academy.
I was always excited about the new school year. We never knew who our teacher was going to be. I had Mrs. Cleator for kindergarten (she seemed about 80 years old, but was probably only 60 or so); Mrs. Brown for first grade; I don't recall my second and third grade teachers; Miss Williams was my fourth grade teacher, and I really liked her; Mr. de la Torre was my 5th grade teacher, and he was good. Mr. Wragg was my 6th grade teacher, and I liked him too (he was killed in 1979 by a student shooting at his school in San Diego).
My best friends during 4th to 6th grade were Gordon MacLennan and Steve Johnson. I lost track of Gordon after Junior High School. I went all the way through high school with Steve, who was the smartest, most athletic and most fun guy in the classes - we competed. I lost track of Steve when I went to college. Baseball cards were the big deal, and we had a group that traded them like crazy. We knew the names of all of the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indian players (Padres were the Indians PCL farm club) -- our favorites were Herb Score, Rocky Colavito, and Luke Easter. We used to take the #2 bus down to the Padres games at Lane Field (Broadway and Harbor Drive).
Girl friends? Not many, I was too busy with school and sports. There was one, named Carrie, when I was in 6th grade. I don't remember her last name. I still remember where she lived over on Bancroft Street, but I don't recall seeing her after 6th grade.
My favorite subject was mathematics. I quickly learned to add, subtract, my times tables, and division, and then fractions, and I think we started a little algebra. I hated doing oral book reports. My favorite period was recess, of course! We had a large playground on one block, and a small ball field across Fern Street on the opposite corner. We usually played baseball or kickball or dodgeball there. In the spring, there was a travel softball league and I played for several years and got to visit other schools and see their facilities. I usually played right field or end-of-the-bench, but I rooted good!
The major extracurricular activity for me was the Safety Patrol. I joined in 4th grade, and did my duty at the corner of Fern and A Street every day after school while in 4th and 5th grade. We wore white uniforms, with a yellow hat and a red sweater. I became a Sergeant in 5th grade and got to blow the whistle, and then became Supply Sergeant in 6th grade, the second in command; Steve was the Lieutenant in charge, and then a Captain later in 6th grade. This was tied into the San Diego Police Department, so we had an officer who commanded us. I was lucky because in 6th grade it was Officer Richard Tazelaar, who was a family friend of ours. The best part of this was being part of a team and learning discipline (we marched, shouted orders, etc.) but one Saturday a month the Police Department hosted all of the Safety Patrol members at the Fox Theater in downtown San Diego - cartoons, movies, hot dogs, punch, popcorn, peanuts, etc. It was a great reward!
