Did You Attend Carleton Elementary?

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Oh yes - two more memories.

Once in a while the principal Mrs. Swander would come in to observe the class. Obviously now I understand that she was primarily there to observe and evaluate the performance of the teacher, but back then we were really always careful to be at extra attention! Mrs. Swander also used to be a stickler about posture and sitting up straight. Of course, today I'm a sloucher and make no apologies for it, but even when I do it brings back memories of what Mrs. Swander would have had to say about it!

Other special days I always really looked forward to were the Open House days when parents could come and join the class. My mother worked, but always made sure she got those days off so she could come, and I was always so happy to have her see me in action. My parents also always made a point of being there for the Junior Chorus concerts and other activities. It's really a pity that so many parents these days don't seem to understand how important that is and how much it means to kids.

[grumpyoldlady]

I sent the Carleton photos to some of the class, and a couple emailed me back and commented on how dark the gym floor was, and how neglected it looked, so I am pretty sure it had changed quite a bit.

I remember the calesthenics being led by a student...jumping jacks, deep knee bends, arm circles, sit ups, squat thrusts, toe touches and more. And the yearly "physical fitness testing" that I hated because I was the fat girl and couldn't do any pullups that used those special pullup bar stands for the girls or a lot of situps. I could, however, do well in the softball throw. We had to do situps, pullups, standing broad jump, softball throw, 50-yard dash, and something where we had to run back and forth from one end of the gym to the other and pick up a bean bag and bring it back.

"Tomorrow, November 11th, is the newest holiday in the United States...It is called Veteran's Day...to honor the men and women who have served in our miliary. Please now bow your heads while Betty Puckett plays taps" I still remember the announcement I had to make over the PA system before that Veteran's Day playing of taps and noontime dismissal of school. I was elected because I had a distinctive voice that the teachers considered "radio material".

I was confused on my Carleton graduation year...it was '62, not '63. My '62-'63 year was at Arthur, and '63-'67 at Denby.

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You may have been "the fat girl" but don't assume that had anything to do with it because I was "the skinny boy" but wasn't any better at those exercises either.

Now you sound like a historical figure! "I was there waaaay back at the very first Veteran's Day,.." - LOL. I had always assumed there had been a Veteran's day since about, oh, 1919 or so....

But you mention the noontime dismissal of the school. How could I ever have forgotten that we got a half day off on that day! I honestly had lost all memory of it. Probably because there was no such early dismissal - not even the playing of Taps - at the school I went to after leaving Carleton. But I think the Carleton dismissal was shortly after the 11:00 taps playing - not at noon. Wonder if the teachers had to stay back and work on report cards or something while the students had that afternoon off?

So you only went to Arthur for one year? Arthur was only 7th grade? I had always thought that Carleton went through 6th grade, Arthur from 7th through 9th, and then Denby from 10th through 12th. Of course having transferred after fifth grade I wouldn't know.

The "beanbag thing back and forth" - yes, I vaguely remember, and wonder if as I suspect it was connected with the "relay racing" that I DEFINITELY remember, where we would lie stomach-down on these little flat square go-carts that were barely big enough to support just the abdominal area, leaving the rest of the trunk and limbs hanging over the ends - and maneuver ourselves back and forth across the whole gym using just our arms. That was probably the only activity that I actually enjoyed enough to lose all track of how much work my poor arm muscles had to do to achieve it! And that is especially saying a lot because I was just about always the tallest boy in the whole class so I had that much more upper and lower body to have to center and balance on that tiny little square cart!

[grumpyoldlady]

I stand corrected on my statement about that being the first Veteran's Day. I know better. It was being referred to by my teachers as the "newest holiday", and I got confused. And when I said "noontime dismissal", I didn't mean at 12:00...i meant the regular dismissal before lunch, which I think was at 11:25. I do believe the teachers stayed there and did paperwork. One year I stayed and helped Mrs. Knapp in the Library with the book inventory. I was one of 2 "Future Teachers" assigned to the Library. We had our little felt arm badges with the "FT" on them.

We didn't have those little cart scooter things, but they sound like they would have been fun.

At the time I went to Carleton, it went throught the 8th grade, and Arthur was 9th grade. I know it changed shortly after that. Denby had been a 9th through 12th school until they decided to make Arthur a Jr. High.

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I'm memory-drained at the moment but am still watching this thread in case you or anyone else posts any additional memory jumpstarters! Hope Norwalk posts back with any information he can get from his brother in law!