The Mid Century Tale of 2 First Graders

Yes, the big yellow buses are rumbling down the road in our town, which brings back the nostalgia of our first days of school over 70 years ago. My husband went into public school first grade in 1955. I asked him what he remembered about that time. He remembers a few of his fellow students. I believe they stayed together as a class all the way through public grammar school.

He distinctly remembers being given dark green round pencils without an eraser which often rolled off his desk. He walked home for lunch, but every once in a while, if his mother was busy, she would drop off a brown bag lunch for him to eat at school. One of his fondest memories was getting a dollop of school paste from a big gallon jug that the teacher would put on a piece of construction paper or cardboard at each desk for art projects. Yes, it was the peppermint scented stuff and he just loved using his fingers to transfer the paste onto his work. It was so tasty that he and many others were eating it and will always remember that joyful naughty pleasure.

This photograph of him and his class was taken in May 1956. He is the debonair dude at the back in a two-tone jacket. He kept all of his class pictures from K through Grade 6. We intend to donate them to our hometown historical society for their archives. He loved each picture day because the photographer brought a very large camera on a big tripod. He was fascinated and inspired by the whole process, especially the photographer who put a huge cloth over his head and part of the camera to get the image. The funny thing is that he does photography with a similar view camera and leads classes in all levels of wet photography even in retirement.

As for me, I was so excited to go to school in 1958 because my two older sisters were already going. I was going to get on a bus and go to Catholic school, Saint John’s School in Worcester, MA, the same school my dad went to. My first day of school dress was a shadow plaid of gray and rose.  I remember it distinctly. I actually tried to look for that dress as a kid in our saved clothing, but it was gone.

I remember the smell of the wax on the desks and the special “cloakroom” that had hooks for our coats. My first grade teacher was Sister Julie Francis and I just thought she was wonderful. The grammar school and the high school were across the street from the church. Whenever we needed to, we would walk over as a class to the church,  as we did for our first communion. It was an honor to have first communion in first grade. You had to be seven and I was. Due to my height, I was the first girl in line.

In terms of school lunch I must’ve eaten inside the school, but I only remember one spaghetti and meatball lunch that must have been epic! We would divide ourselves into little circles for reading which were named after different birds and we all read together the Dick and Jane books in an oversize format held in an easel at the front of the room.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember anybody’s names from first grade, but I do remember one girl who had Spoolies in her hair and wore them to school and was kindly asked to take them out. She was very embarrassed.

The other thing I remember from first grade is that sister Julie Francis asked me to go to another classroom and give a very complicated message to the nun who was teaching. I think it was kind of a joke that she would send up a little kid who couldn’t handle such a long message verbally, and then the other nun must’ve been a friend who would’ve gotten a chuckle out of it.

I only was at this school for one year. My dad got a teaching job and so we moved and I started Grade 2 in the city where my husband lived. Our meeting and romance were years away. 

These are the things we both remember. What do you remember?