Third Grade - Campton School

Mrs. Lyson's Class

1959-1960

In September of 1959, I turned eight.  If I'd been born 12 days later, I would have been in second, not third grade.  And graduated with the Silver Bay class of 1970 instead of  '69.


When were school photos taken?  Beginning or end of the year?  I wonder if this was shot in the spring. I'm biting my lip, kinda got a smirk on my face (2nd row, 2nd girl from left).  Makes me think I'm "glad to be back."  By that,  I mean back in Silver Bay, especially back to Mrs. Lyson's class at Campton School.

It was a strange year.  A year full of family tension.  A year that included a move back to the family farm, of months when I rode the bus to school and being the new girl in class.  I could, and maybe I will, build a novel about the events in my childhood during this time.  I have a notion if we had stayed on the farm.. if I had remained a student in North Branch, I would have become a different person with a far different life...  maybe run away from home in high school and joined the hippies in San Francisco.

 

Something about the Silver Bay Laundromat

I realized yesterday that I had this photo saved in my cell phone memory.

Yes, it's an old vending machine.  I saw it at Famous Dave's in St. Paul, not far from the airport.  Bill and I were stopping by last summer for food to take to my mom's.   I am almost sure it's the same candy machine that was in the S.B. laundromat.  In seventh grade, when I lived on Banks Blvd., I was two doors away from Sue Elam. The two of us would walk together most days, up to Kelley and back. After school we often strolled into Malmo's Drug to buy penny candy (2 pieces of licorice for 1 cent).  For a nickel that spring of 1964 we could buy bubble gum that had a Beatles card inside the wrapper (still have those cards).

But, occasionally, Susie and Narta would go to the laundromat instead of Malmo's.  The candy vending machine there sometimes had Forever Yours as one of the selections - a candy bar only available at Malmo's or grocery stores in the 6-bar variety pack (with Snickers and Milky Way?).  But more exciting were those afternoon visits to the laundromat when, in one of the little windows of that vending machine, we saw a piece of paper with a hand-written note that said:  "TAKE A CHANCE."  Some days, willing to live with risk, one of us would drop a whole dime into the machine and take that chance.  And, with luck, we'd get a stack of Rollos!

Update:  Sue has reminded me of our other favorite "take a chance" candy bar, ZERO.  Read her comment below.

Fall 1968 - Kelley High School's Cross Country Champs

In previous blog I wrote that I have in my possession a scrapbook of senior year, 1968-1969.  Here's a scan from a Duluth newspaper article I saved dated Sunday, Sept. 22, 1968.

From left toe right:  Ron Rude, Mike Hanson, Randy Rolando, Larry Sornberger, Jim Koehler, Bob Fedderly and Steve Whittaker.

First Day and Last Day of School - Silver Bay - 1956 and 1969

September 1956:

Place:  Our cabin in Silver Bay Trailer Court.
Event:  Ready for my first day of kindergarten, Campton.  Mom made my dress.  The white "thing" she called a pinafore.  It had pockets. The dog is Boots.  I've written about him in other blogs.

And this is Bill - first day of school. Edison Blvd. Silver Bay.   My future mother-in-law, Ruby, kept a very organized album with many of his childhood pics.  The date on the photo is Nov. '56, but she wrote in the album that the first day of kindergarten was September 4.  His teacher was Mrs. Backlund.

June 1969:
Must have taken a camera to school the last day at Kelley High.  Bill took this photo.  "Narta at her empty locker."  Sigh.  I cried many tears at graduation. I recall only a few days when I did not want to go to school. 

And I wonder who took this photo with both of us in the Kelley cafeteria.

Cafeteria food: Remember tomato soup?  Grilled cheese sandwiches? Bean burgers?  And mashed potatoes with huge dollops of butter and a rectangle of "meat something" that pretended to be Spam?

I decided to abandon my Campton experiences for a bit and write about Kelley - in honor of my friends who went to Mary Mac and/or Kelley for first grade through sixth.

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.

Silver Bay Kindergarten at Campton School

If I counted correctly there are 41 students in the photo of Mrs. Firminhac's class.  And I happen to know of another member of the Class of 1969 that moved to S.B. in February - so he would have made it 42 students.  (The photo has Christmas decorations.)  Then, you have to figure at least one student was out sick that day, right?  No doubt about that baby boom.



And does this report card not typify America and the American family in the 1950s?  Below is a photo of the front and back of the card.  I never thought of teachers even having a first name when I was in elementary school, but Mrs. F. has signed her name:  La Jean Firminhac.  ( Man, it's hard for me to get the spelling of that last name right.)

 

I'm surprised at how many days I was absent during the year - 18 the first half and 13 the second.  I definitely remember two particular times I was absent.  The first time I had tonsillitis.  I went to Dr. Bloom at the dispensary - which was in the same compound as the Reserve offices, on the lake side of 61.   Dr. Bloom scared me - probably because I spotted the syringe before he gave me a shot in the derriere. At home I took liquid penicillin that was banana flavored.  I liked him better for that.  The other distinct memory of not going to school was because of the measles.  There must have been other illnesses. I doubt I ever stayed home because I didn't want to go.  There were few things I didn't like about school - gym class was one and that was mostly in fifth and sixth grade.  I'll eventually get around to that agony.