I had many pleasant days at JAMES ELEMENTARY. My brother and I were just 5 years of age, but we walked the 3 blocks to school. Back then, the kids walked and there was no danger of them being molested, because neighbors every step of the way kept an eye on the children going to and from school. One of my rememberances was that two little girls wanted to play house and they asked me to be the daddy, so I said, "Okay!" I took a little play dump truck as my vehicle. Unfortunately, the truck belonged with a set of building blocks and one of the teachers (we had two) made me give it to the guys with the blocks. Talk about a revolting development. There I was, with two wives and I didn't have a way to get to work.
I remember walking home from school, turning around and seeing a cute little red-haired girl, wearing a nice plaid dress, following me. I think her name was GEORGIA. CHARLIE BROWN isn't the only one who has ever had a little red-haired girl come into his life. My mother told me that the little girl's mother said that she had a crush on me and that's why she was following me around.
One time there was a fund-raiser or something going on at the school. They had what was known as a Cake Walk. The women would bake cakes and donate them to the school. A circle with numbers on it was painted on the floor. Music would play and the kids would walk around the circle. When the music stopped, whoever was on a certain number won a cake. Me and my brother won several cakes. It was an amazing streak which I don't think has ever been equaled at any Cake Walk. If you ever hear people say that GARRY really takes the cake, now you know why.
I must admit that when I was 5, I was awful cute. I remember all these good-looking women wanting to pick me up and hug me and kiss me. Boy! I wish I was 5 years old again!
On the EASTER of 1954, I woke up and couldn't walk. I was taken to ST. MARY'S where I was diagnosed with ENCEPHALITIS. These days, I think they would probably identify it as WEST NILE VIRUS. But, I recovered within a short time. That was just the first of many sicknesses and injuries I would suffer all of my life. I still have the letter sent to my mother where the teachers said they were sorry GARRY missed so many days, but he would be advanced to Grade I. My Kindergarten teachers were MISS MURIEL GIBSON and MISS MARJORIE CARTER.
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FIRST GRADE 1954-1955:
This was a big time in my life. We just went half a day to KINDERGARTEN and went home at noon. But now, it was to be an all-day affair, eating lunch at school and going home at 3:00.
I played one of 3 woolly caterpillars in a play given in the school auditorium. My mother made me kind of a stocking-like puppet which fit over my right arm. I was left-handed, but since the other two guys were righties, I had to do it that way too. We left the stage and our 3 female counterparts fluttered around in little butterfly outfits.
One time, we were playing outside at Recess. It was cold weather and we were all wearing caps. Me and two other guys were throwing our hats in the air. For some reason, that was a no-no. We were sent to the Principal's Office. Her name was OLIVE DITZELL. I didn't know how old she was, but I thought she came over on the ARK with NOAH. You know how it is when you're a kid. You think anybody over 30 is a METHUSELAH and anybody over 50 roamed the Earth in the time of the dinosaurs. Anyway, she gave us a lecture and told us to hold out our hands. She hit each one of us on the back of the hand with ruler. It was such a light tap that I laughed. She didn't like me laughing, so she hit me on the back of the hand again. I've had leaves fall on my hand that hurt worse than that. Nevertheless, I quit laughing. To this day, I believe I'm the only person who ever got struck on the back of the hand twice at JAMES ELEMENTARY. An honor I am very proud of to this day. There I was, just 6 years old and even the 6th Graders respected me. "Don't mess with him! He's tough. He took the ruler twice and lived to tell about it!"
My brother and I were supposed to walk up and down SCARRITT street only. But, one time I got brave and walked home going up ST. JOHN AVENUE, one of the area's main drags. I told my mother about it and she wasn't too happy. From then on, until I got older, I stayed away from the big streets. My First Grade teacher's name was MRS. CHRISMAN.
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SECOND GRADE 1955-1956:
About the biggest thing that happened to me in the 2nd Grade was that I threw up on my part of one of the student tables after drinking chocolate OVALTINE for lunch. It was embarrassing. Right there in front of the class. I think I nailed the students on either side of me. The custodian came in and cleaned up the mess. I remember he gave me a dirty look as he was leaving. Boy! The guy who said, "Hey kids! Be sure to drink your OVALTINE!" should be forced to drink it himself! I remember that around this time I had a DAVEY CROCKETT lunch box and thermos. I wish I had those items now. From what I understand, they're going for some serious change. My 2nd Grade teacher's name was MRS. JACOBS.
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THIRD GRADE 1956-1957:
I remember my Third Grade teacher always had us say the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE and then the LORD'S PRAYER before we started class. Any teacher who did that these days would probably be placed under arrest. Even though the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION specifically states that GOD cannot be kicked out of schools, He's been kicked out anyway. And He's not coming back unless He's invited, either. JESUS said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock!" Don't you think it's about time we let him in again?
I remember half-way through the school year she got married. It didn't sit too well with me. You know how it is when your 8 years old. You're possessive about things. You don't want to share your teacher with anybody. I didn't care how good-looking he was, let him get his own Third Grade teacher, I saw her first.
She was one of my favorite teachers. She once took us up to BUDD PARK to play soft ball. She pitched and we each took turns batting. On my turn, when swinging, the bat went flying from my hands and hit a tree. She wasn't too happy about that. Well, somebody could have been hurt. My feelings weren't hurt because she yelled at me. However, I was very embarrassed.
She was very talented. One time she played the Xylophone for the school. She also had the ability to take a pair of scissors and black construction paper and cut out people's silhouettes. She did that for the whole class. I still have mine today.
Another memory I have of this time is we used to go to a room down the hall, I believe it was Room 15. It was the movie and one of the music rooms. It was a real treat for us kids. The teachers would show us movies and sometimes we played instruments and sang songs. There were two drums among the instruments. Oh, how I wanted to get to play one of those drums! But, I ended up getting some, I think they were called rythym sticks, instead. Anyway, you tap them together at a certain beat.
Our teacher's mother, who was also a teacher, taught us a few times when her daughter couldn't make it to school. I remember that we were taught how to write in script, instead of just printing letters. And we had to make it legible too. Look, I'm giving it to you straight. There was a time in this country when children were actually taught how to read and write.
The teacher used to bring a few of us at a time to a round table for reading lessons. I was in the advanced group. One time we were reading a story and came to the word "mosquito." The teacher thought none of us could pronounce it, but a young lady by the name of GLORIA ORGAN did. This did not sit to well with me. I always liked girls, but when you're young and male, you don't like being upstaged by a person of the female persuasion. I was one of the brightest kids in the class and if anybody deserved to know how to pronounce the word, it was me. MISS ORGAN, if you are reading his and we ever meet at a future school reunion, do me a favor and don't walk up to me and say, "MOSQUITO." I never got over the humiliation.
I once made CHALKBOARD MONITOR. It was our job to take a wet cloth and wipe down the blackboards and to go outside and beat the erasers with a ruler to get the chalk dust out. We were told not to beat the erasers against the school walls. You guessed it! Never tell an 8-year-old kid not to do something because you're just going to arouse their curiosity. I took erasers and beat them against the wall. The problem with that, is that chalk dust stays on the wall as evidence. The excuse of, "Well, I was cleaning the erasers and this big dog jumped on me and knocked the erasers against the wall" excuse went out 3 days after it was invented. Being a CHALKBOARD MONITOR or having some other similar position is good for kids at an early age. It teaches responsibility and makes them feel important.
Once, we worked with clay. We were supposed to wear aprons, but I thought it was too sissy. I got clay on my shirt and the teacher gave me a lecture. But, women wore aprons and not men. That's how I felt.
Another of my memories is a fellow classmate, BILL SOLIGO, had this rabbit. Anyway, me and BILL went from classroom to classroom showing off that rabbit. That was a big treat for a kid to get out of class. I remember that I tried to slow things down a bit. Hey! There was no hurry in getting back to class!
Another memory was that of putting on a play. I think it was about the Pilgrams and the Indians. Since I was one of the tallest boys in the class, I had a chance to play, I think it was the Indian Chief, POWHATAN. When I was trying on the headdress, I kept losing feathers. This cost me the part and I ended up playing a tree. Playing the part of a tree is not easy. You have to hold your branches (arms) just right. The audience can spot a phony tree a mile away.
During this period of time in my life, I was a member of the CUB SCOUTS. Well, I thought that belonging to the organization was a good idea because girls go for guys in uniform.
The best thing my teacher ever did was have a Class snapshot of her and us kids. I still have it. I wish all teachers would do the same. When your young, you don't care about keeping sentimental items. But, as you get older, you wish you had. With this old World going crazier by the minute, it sure is nice to look back at your youth and remember when things were not quite as nuts. My 3rd Grade teacher's name was MISS McMICHAELS and when she got married it was changed to MRS. KERSHAW.
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FOURTH GRADE 1957-1958:
We started out with a teacher who had a sister who also taught the class once in a while.
We were offered an opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. I don't think we had a school band as such. A female instructor, whose name was MISS LAPERE (I'm not sure of the spelling), came around and those kids who had chosen music were allowed to get out of class for an hour of practice. We had our own music room, which was also used by various classes to sing songs. I elected to play the cornet. My mother rented one for me at JENKINS MUSIC COMPANY. One day, some mean unknown person, damaged my horn when it was sitting in the cloak room and we had to take it to JENKINS to get it fixed. It cost $15.00, which was a lot of money back then.
I remember that I sat next to a cute little blonde girl. I think her name was LINDA. She had a pony tail and every once in a while, she wore one of those famous 50's Poodle Skirts. Back then, the girls wore dresses, which in some cases were homemade and rivaled that of anything you could find in a department store. You heard me right. I said department stores. They sold items made in the good old U.S.A. They weren't like the discount stores today which sell cheap foreign made things and put AMERICANS out of work. On VALENTINE'S DAY, we would exchange cards with each other. All the kids exchanged cards with each other. It wasn't a boy-girl deal. We gave VALENTINE'S cards to each other as a sign of friendship. Anyway, my mother had bought me a package of cards that included two really beautiful cards that had glitter on them. I gave one to LINDA. I remember that she got all excited over it. Mothers used to drop by the classes every once in a while to check on the kids and see what was being taught. She showed the card to her mother and the way she acted, I thought we were going to have to get married. This scared me because I didn't even have a job yet. I was still living at home with my parents. There was no way I could support a wife on my weekly allowance. Besides, that was reserved for candy and toys, not girls. Of course, if we would have gotten married, our income would have doubled because there would have been two allowances. That would have meant more candy and toys.
I only have one bad memory of the 4th Grade. One time, in good old Room 15, somebody started throwing a big paper wad. It landed on my desk. I may have been just 9 years old, but nobody throws a wad of paper on my desk and gets away with it. I picked it up and threw it back. The teacher had been out of the room at the time. I didn't think nothing of the incident until Recess came. I think just about anybody will tell you that in Grade School, Recess was what kid's hoped for. It was almost as important as the Second Coming of CHRIST. I was getting ready to play a board game with my friends (we played inside if it was real cold or snow on the ground) and two little girls came in and pointed their fingers at me and said, "He's one of them!" To this day, I do not know what went on. All kids involved in the notorious "Paper Wad Throwing Incident" were sent back to Room 15 and had to sit still for all of Recess. Oh, was I upset! I had been labeled a criminal because I chose to defend my desk from a foreign object! Where is the Justice! I don't care if it has been over 45 years! If I ever run into those two girls who took away my Recess, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna wad up two pieces of paper and throw it on their desks! Nobody snitches me out of Recess and gets away with it! I know what you're going to say: "GARRY, you're in your 50's. Grow up man!" That's a matter of opinion.
The teacher we had was getting along in years and retired and another took her place.
My great achievement in the 4th Grade was that we had to learn our muliplication tables up to 12. The teacher had us walk from desk to desk next to another student. She would then give us a muliplication problem such as what is 4 x 8. Whoever answered first, got to move to the next desk. I was the only one who went completely around the classroom giving the answers before anyone else. I beat everybody!
I cannot remember the names of my first 4th Grade teacher and her sister, but MRS. WILLIAMS was the one who we finished the school year with. She had a husband who wore a black patch over one eye. Little did I realize that almost 30 years later, I would be wearing a black patch over one eye.
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FIFTH GRADE 1958-1959:
I was in a combination 5th & 6th Grade class. The teacher believed that kids should have a nutrition snack in the mid-morning. So, we'd all bring an apple or some other fruit and at about ten o'clock, we'd have our snack. One time one of the girls threw up because she ate a pickle instead of fruit.
The only big thing I have to say about my life when I was ten was that I had my appendix taken out. I also got out of school for a few days to go up to MAYO CLINIC in ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA to see if they could do anything about my right eye. I had been blind in it since I was about 8 years old. I couldn't see out of my right eye and I had an appendix operation. That's the nice thing about being a kid. You can bounce back from just about anything. Such is GOD and His Wisdom.
My musical instrument instructor in the 5th Grade was MR. HANKINS. I wanted to switch to saxaphone, but he thought it would be too hard for me to learn to play. So, instead of growing up to be a sleezy saxaphone player in some strip joint, I became a conservative cornetist. My mother bought me a used cornet from a neighbor up the street for $75.00. That was big money in the 50's, but it was a good horn. One of the reasons AMERICA became the greatest nation in the world is because of parents who gave up things they needed to see that their children had a better life. It was a CONN PAN AMERICAN. I sold it in the 80's so some other kid could have fun playing in a band. But, I kind of wish I'd kept it now.
I remember one time ROY ROGERS came to the KANSAS CITY MUSEUM about 2 miles from where I lived. Me and my brother (Or is it my brother and I? I wished I had stayed awake more in English class!) went up there and ROY sat in one of the windows and waved at all the people. He was more popular than the President or any politician. Of course, the fact that he looked upon us kids as the future of AMERICA, instead of just a bunch of future voters and taxpayers, didn't hurt his popularity with the younger generation. Somebody asked him for his autograph and he said it wouldn't be fair to sign for one person and not the rest. Back then, our "heroes" set a good example. Times have changed quite a bit then. I remember pushing into the crowd to get a closer look. Some lady turned around and said to quit shoving. I felt like saying, "Look lady! He's here for us kids, not you big people!" It's awful hard for a youngin' to see somebody if a big old adult is in his way.
My mother got me my first camera during this time in my life. It was a BROWNIE HOLIDAY. I loved taking pictures with that camera. I once took a picture of some of my classmates at JAMES. Ten years later I would take that camera to college and take pictures of campus life. My 5th Grade teacher's name was MRS. SHOAP. Us kids used to get a kick out of watching her husband drive her to school in an old WWII jeep.
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SIXTH GRADE 1959-1960:
My political experience includes being President of my Sixth Grade class. Being a Safety (a young version of a School Crossing Guard) gave me my start in Law Enforcement. I was really proud of the white belt and the GREEN CROSS safety badge that went with it. It was my job to stand at my corner and not let kids cross the street to school unless it was safe. It made me feel important, but having authority can be awful lonely. I had to be at school 15 minutes ahead of time and couldn't leave until all the kids had left the building. This meant I had to walk to and from school by myself and I couldn't walk with my brother and friends. I remember that I did not miss one day of school in the 6th Grade.
MR. HANKINS was once again our band instructor for that year. I think this was the first year we actually had a school orchestra. I remember one time when the Principal of JAMES, I believe her name was MRS. SCHAEFFER, personally drove me to WHITTIER ELEMENTARY (another NORTHEAST area grade school) where our band played for the kids over there. It was quite an honor for me. But, to this day, it has never given me a swelled head. I've remained the plain, simple folk I've always been.
We once went on a field trip to the NELSON ART GALLERY. It was a big thrill for us kids to get into that big yellow banana called a school bus and go on trips. We even went to the KANSAS CITY MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM to hear the K. C. SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. They ended by playing "THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER." There was a time when children got a first-hand experience at exploring their World. Nowadays, the only exploring they do is on a computer.
One time at Recess, while playing softball, I slipped heading for third base and broke my right big toe. My mother took me to the doctor and he taped the toe to the one next to it because a cast would have been impractical. That same evening, I played in the orchestra at a school concert. By the way, my toe healed completely.
I remember that during CHRISTMAS time we all chipped in our pennies and we made up a CHRISTMAS stocking for a VETERAN in the hospital. It included such things as a pack of cigarettes (which we wouldn't do now days) a pack of playing cards, chewing gum, candy, pen and paper etc. I think we made a CHRISTMAS card and the whole class signed it. When I was going to school, we were taught how to create and make things instead of buying store bought items. They don't do things like that for VETERANS any more.
One sad experience I had in the 6th Grade was that they no longer had the Halloween Carnivals. On Halloween night, the whole school was turned into a carnival with all the rooms having something to do like games to play. One of my favorites was the one where you handed them a ticket (you could purchase all the tickets you wanted) and go fishing for a prize. The teacher whose Room it was, would put your hook on a certain prize depending on if you were a boy or girl and then you'd just reel it in. Instead of the Carnival, we just had a special parade in the Gym where the kids could show off their Trick or Treat costumes.
Holidays like THANKSGIVING and especially CHRISTMAS, were always fun at Grade School. Every Room had a tree and on the day before the start of CHRISTMAS vacation, we'd exchange gifts and cards. I remember my teacher asking me if I wanted the Class tree, because custodians were going to dispose of them. My brother brought one and I brought two home. I guess it looked kind of strange to see two kids dragging 3 six-foot trees down the street. Look! When the tree is taller than you are, all you can do is drag it down the street! We kept one for our tree and sold two. My brother sold his for a dollar. I don't know why, maybe it was a case of one-upmanship at an early age, but I sold mine for a dollar and a nickel. To this day, I don't know why I decided to add a nickel. The neighbor a few houses down bought it. He got a kick out of the fact I charged an extra nickel. Later on we would buy and I would live in is house for a while. That's where I perfected my spoof of the Martial Arts known as LUNG FU which you can read about by clicking another Web Link. My 6th Grade teacher's name was MRS. BLAKESLEY and we were in Room 16.