Fifth Grade Memories - Campton School

I wanted to find my fifth grade picture of Denise Manzer.  She was in Mrs. Jauhola's class with me and a close neighbor - she on the upper end of Charles, me on Banks across from her end of Charles.  I will write about Deenie once I find that photo.  Meanwhile, here's a pictures of Mrs. J:

I thought Mrs. Jauhola was a real stylish lady.  I believe the ensemble in the pic was robin's egg blue - a matching skirt and sweater.

Mrs. J. absolutely loved art.  We spent hours and hours for weeks and months constructing paper mache dinosaurs or, in my case, an extinct mammal, the woolly rhinoceros.  The project never seemed to end.  On the last day of school before the Christmas break Denise and I carried home quart jars of gooey paste used for the project.  We buried the jars of goo under the snow in our backyards. If left in the classroom it would have rotted during vacation.  Once vacation was over Denise and I carried the jars back to the classroom and the art project continued.

Fifth Grade: A World Outside Silver Bay Intrudes

The Japanese earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear reactor crisis all bring up memories of fifth grade, the year I learned the term radiation. Mrs. Jauhola's class.  Campton Elementary.  Silver Bay, Minnesota. School year 1961-62, during the Cold War.

Here we are:   Mrs. Jauhola and her Fifth Graders, living in the safety and comfort of Silver Bay and reading about bomb shelters in the Weekly Reader.  One day Mrs. Jauhola warned us about snow.  We should not lift our heads to let the soft white flakes fall onto our tongues.  The snow might contain radioactive particles.  We could die.   The world, suddenly, was a more dangerous place.

Two Young Neighbors on Charles Circle

This photo is taken in the backyard of 37 Charles Circle in Silver Bay.  That's where my family moved after leaving the Silver Bay Trailer Court (photos of trailer court are included in a previous blog post).

I'm almost positive that the taller, shirtless young man is our neighbor James Tweeto - now with a TV show on the Discovery Channel - FLYING WILD ALASKA. The Kelley Class of 1969 includes his eldest sibling, Bruce.  The young man with the striped shirt may be a younger brother.
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At the point where the lawn seems to end there's actually a long slope that goes down to the woods and the "crick."  After reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's On the Banks of Plum Creek, I thought, "Hey, maybe what my family and neighbors call a 'crick' is also known as 'creek.' "  This same ribbon of water ran behind Campton School. 

The expression on my face in the pic is not a smile. I had run and jumped - too exuberantly - into the pool and sprained my ankle.  The onset of pain and the click of the camera were simultaneous. No doubt I was showing off for the family member who held the camera.  

Silver Bay and the Dog Named Boots - Conclusion

So, brought up on episodes of LASSIE  - during which I had to hide behind a chair during the climax of the show, not knowing if Lassie and/or Timmy would survive or die - and episodes of RIN TIN TIN, a super dog that could leap and fly across canyons and rivers to "get her man," when the judge of the dog competition in Silver Bay asked if Boots knew any tricks I shook my head and mumbled "no."

Daddy, behind me, whispered, "He knows how to shake hands."  Oh, Daddy, I thought, all dogs can do that.  But the judge smiled at me and said, "Oh, let me see."   I told Boots to sit as I bent down and put out my hand.  Boots lifted a paw and I shook it. The judge nodded, made a note of this event in her judging book, smiled at me again and moved on to the next dog.

The judge's smile stayed in my mind.  Boots was handsome, well-behaved and wearing a bright red bow.  Why shouldn't he win a prize? 

Time for the announcement of winners.  When it came to the canine category I held my breath. When Boots did not win third place or second place, my heart beat so quickly... Then first place was announced. Boots did not win that, either. I was stunned.  All our hard work for nothing.  Well, what could I expect from a dog that couldn't even jump out of a shallow cardboard box?  But wait....   

Another prize was going to be awarded - the dog that knew the most tricks.  And there you have it.  Boots won and Daddy and I brought home a croquet set, courtesy of S & Q Hardware. So don't underestimate your dog's abilities. And remember, when in competition, it doesn't hurt if one of the judges was your Sunday School teacher.

Silver Bay and a Dog Named Boots, Part 3

So back to the competition.  Mrs. R., the judge, finally got to me as stood there on the pavement in front of the Rexall store. Daddy was slightly behind me. The Pomeranian named Boots was next to me on a leash.  The dog was on his best behavior and very patient as the judge petted him and looked him over.

At the big New York dog show I've seen on television a judge always watches the dogs trot around a circuit.  But in Silver Bay, there was none of this.  All the people stood in line with their pets and the judge came by, looked at the animals and asked some questions.  When Mrs. R. (Romer? Reemer?) came to me she asked me the dog's name and maybe how old he was.  I probably explained that actually he was my sister Karen's dog.

But there was one question I know she asked:  Does Boots know any tricks?  I shook my head.  Mom, Daddy, Karen and I all agreed the Boots was kinda dopey - he couldn't even jump out of his very low cardboard box.  Tricks?  No, he didn't know any tricks, I said.  Then, Daddy whispered from behind me.  "He can shake hands."

Shake hands?  Didn't all dogs know how to do that?  I'd seen Lassie and Rin Tin Tin on TV.  Now
those dogs knew how to do tricks.... (to be concluded soon).