Attending Groveville School was a great experience that was not realized until later in life. When my mother went there in the 1930's the school went to the seventh grade in four rooms, when I attended school there, in the 1950's it went to the Fifth grade in four rooms. Kindergarten and First grade were taught in one room by Miss Longstreet, Second and Third grades were in another room and taught by Miss Elias. Fourth and Fifth Grades were taught by Mrs. Sarah Brecht, who was also my Sunday School Teacher. She was a long time Groveville resident that lived on Main Street with her husband Charlie. It was a strange time, she used to walk to school like the rest of us.
There was also a Fourth Grade class in the other room that consisted of children that were bused to the school from Yardville School, Mrs. Donehower was the teacher's name for that class, the teacher for this class changed often, the other three were there forever.
One advantage of having two grades in the same room was, the teacher would give one grade a reading or work assignment to do while she taught the other. A good second grade student could do their work and also learn third grade studies, something I am sure I never did.
Everyone in Groveville started school there, the first day of school was a very social event, for our parents. Everyone's mother was there for the first day of school (most mothers didn't work in the 1950's), if it was your first day of Kindergarten or not. I think they were there to give support to the mothers that were sending their children to school for the first time. Even after the bell rang the mothers could be seen standing around in large and small groups chatting. Slowly they would disperse and wander down Church Street, most likely stopping at the Post Office to see if the mail had been sorted yet (no home delivery then) or to catch up on any gossip they had missed at the school.
The custodian then was Nimrod Dwier, know as Nim, to us he was Mr. Dwier or Uncle Nim, long time Groveville resident, with a lot of family in Groveville. We always thought of him as a "Grumpy" old man, really he was yelling at us for our own good, but then we were kids and he was an adult, so we thought he was "Grumpy".
Being a school custodian back then was not an easy job, he was the only man there. He had to open the school, put up the flag, make sure the heat was up (coal) and the school was ready to go when the lovely children that would spend their day making a mess of the school that he had to clean up at night, would arrive.
As I mentioned before the school was heated by coal, which meant he had to stoke the fire all day and I remember him carrying out the ashes in a large galvanized tub and spreading it on the school yard. I remember when he was not doing maintenance or cleaning he was helping the teachers with any help or heavy lifting they needed. It seemed like he was always there, he was more than a custodian When we left he cleaned the school, banked the fire and closed up.
He was also our crossing guard at the crosswalk in front of the school. He was there before school and before lunch and after lunch and after school. Guess this is why he was "Grumpy".
We had a lunch room in the basement, but I never remember a hot lunch or any lunch being served. We could buy milk and eat your lunch there, but most of us walked home for lunch.
We had no school principal, he was at Yardville School, Mr Hancock, he came over if needed. We also had no school nurse, she also was at Yardville School and would come over if needed. We lived across the street from the school and my mother was a nurse and there were occasions when she would be asked to come over to school, I guess for a Band-aid for a skinned knee.
Our playground was unusual, by today's standards. The school yard was divided separating lower grades from the fourth and fifth.On the lower grade side we had a sliding board, steel, so hot in the summer you could actually get burned if you stopped on it, but if you saved the wax paper from your lunch, sat on it as you went down, you could fly.We had a pipe bar with four See-Saws on it, four swings on a pipe frame and a sand box.
On the upper grade side we had nothing, except the baseball field, outside the fence.
As we all know all playground apparatus must have a specified amount of approved cushioning mulch under them to insure that should a child fall off he will not be injured. We had the ash and cinders dumped by Mr. Dwier dumped under our playground equipment.
It is easy to identify children that attended Groveville School, they all have dark spots on their knees, these are the cinders still embedded there from falling in the playground.
Halloween was also a big day. Everyone would dress in their Halloween costume and we would have a parade. We would walk from the school to the Mill (Mercer Textile & Anchor Thread Company) from there up Main Street to about Phoebe Robinson's house (cemetery entrance) and then back to school. Parents would line the street to see us go by and the people at the Mill would come out.
It was a fun time
There was also a Fourth Grade class in the other room that consisted of children that were bused to the school from Yardville School, Mrs. Donehower was the teacher's name for that class, the teacher for this class changed often, the other three were there forever.
One advantage of having two grades in the same room was, the teacher would give one grade a reading or work assignment to do while she taught the other. A good second grade student could do their work and also learn third grade studies, something I am sure I never did.
Everyone in Groveville started school there, the first day of school was a very social event, for our parents. Everyone's mother was there for the first day of school (most mothers didn't work in the 1950's), if it was your first day of Kindergarten or not. I think they were there to give support to the mothers that were sending their children to school for the first time. Even after the bell rang the mothers could be seen standing around in large and small groups chatting. Slowly they would disperse and wander down Church Street, most likely stopping at the Post Office to see if the mail had been sorted yet (no home delivery then) or to catch up on any gossip they had missed at the school.
The custodian then was Nimrod Dwier, know as Nim, to us he was Mr. Dwier or Uncle Nim, long time Groveville resident, with a lot of family in Groveville. We always thought of him as a "Grumpy" old man, really he was yelling at us for our own good, but then we were kids and he was an adult, so we thought he was "Grumpy".
Being a school custodian back then was not an easy job, he was the only man there. He had to open the school, put up the flag, make sure the heat was up (coal) and the school was ready to go when the lovely children that would spend their day making a mess of the school that he had to clean up at night, would arrive.
As I mentioned before the school was heated by coal, which meant he had to stoke the fire all day and I remember him carrying out the ashes in a large galvanized tub and spreading it on the school yard. I remember when he was not doing maintenance or cleaning he was helping the teachers with any help or heavy lifting they needed. It seemed like he was always there, he was more than a custodian When we left he cleaned the school, banked the fire and closed up.
He was also our crossing guard at the crosswalk in front of the school. He was there before school and before lunch and after lunch and after school. Guess this is why he was "Grumpy".
We had a lunch room in the basement, but I never remember a hot lunch or any lunch being served. We could buy milk and eat your lunch there, but most of us walked home for lunch.
We had no school principal, he was at Yardville School, Mr Hancock, he came over if needed. We also had no school nurse, she also was at Yardville School and would come over if needed. We lived across the street from the school and my mother was a nurse and there were occasions when she would be asked to come over to school, I guess for a Band-aid for a skinned knee.
Our playground was unusual, by today's standards. The school yard was divided separating lower grades from the fourth and fifth.On the lower grade side we had a sliding board, steel, so hot in the summer you could actually get burned if you stopped on it, but if you saved the wax paper from your lunch, sat on it as you went down, you could fly.We had a pipe bar with four See-Saws on it, four swings on a pipe frame and a sand box.
On the upper grade side we had nothing, except the baseball field, outside the fence.
As we all know all playground apparatus must have a specified amount of approved cushioning mulch under them to insure that should a child fall off he will not be injured. We had the ash and cinders dumped by Mr. Dwier dumped under our playground equipment.
It is easy to identify children that attended Groveville School, they all have dark spots on their knees, these are the cinders still embedded there from falling in the playground.
Halloween was also a big day. Everyone would dress in their Halloween costume and we would have a parade. We would walk from the school to the Mill (Mercer Textile & Anchor Thread Company) from there up Main Street to about Phoebe Robinson's house (cemetery entrance) and then back to school. Parents would line the street to see us go by and the people at the Mill would come out.
It was a fun time
6 comments:
Okay...correcting already - haha.
You probably don't remember lunches being served at Groveville School because you could just walk across the street to your house for lunch. I went home most days but, on Wednesdays, the PTA moms cooked and served a hot lunch in the lunch room in the basement. It may have only been once or twice a month, but my recollection is that it was every week. I think we did pay - maybe 25- or 50-cents for our lunch - that's not real clear in my memory. Lunch would be things like beef stew, macaroni and cheese, tomato soup and grilled cheese, hot dogs and baked beans, and other simple, hot meals that were easy to make for a bunch of kids.
Macaroni and cheese was a favorite of mine. They served it with stewed tomatoes - I remember Ruth Sehorn's version and could always tell when she had made them - hers were very sweet. The mac and cheese was always great. Some of the PTA mom's I remember who cooked and served were Erdie Moyer, Dot Jones (Church St.), maybe Irma Taylor, and definitely Ruth Sehorn. Maybe others will remember more names. The ladies all worked hard to serve the kids a good meal...At lunchtime, those kids who were eating at school were lined up in the hallway upstairs, taken downstairs by one of the teachers and we'd sit at the tables. If the food wasn't already plated and at the table, the ladies would serve us individually. It was a special treat for me to stay at school for lunch because, as soon as we were done eating, we could go outside (thru the back door in the lunchroom) and up the steps to the playground. We'd have all that time outside before having to go in for afternoon lessons. I was a picky eater and took a lot of time to eat at home. So going home didn't leave too much free time on the playground. I always liked those Wednesday school lunches! And I'm sure most of our stay-at-home mothers liked the break, too. They could do some shopping or run errands without having to rush back home at lunchtime to feed their kids.
Hi Gary, You may or maynot remember me but I was one of the Groveville Gardens kids (the newbies). I was in the same class with Claire Dwier. One of my memories was not of the school but of one of the teachers Miss Elias 2nd grade. How many times was your hair pulled or had to stand in the dreaded corner. School times sure have changed. This a great site and I will return many times. The last time I was in Groveville was 1995 for a very short time. I have lived in Arizona since 1963. Wayne Inman is suppose to live out here and Claire is trying to hook us up. It would be great. Later.
Do you know how to get a copy of the birdseye view of groveville? I grew up in groveville, my dad was a volunteer fireman and I would love to have a copy to hang in my house as a great memory of my childhood.
Do you know how to get a copy of the birdseye view of groveville? I grew up in groveville, my dad was a volunteer fireman and I would love to have a copy to hang in my house as a great memory of my childhood.
My name is Jeremy Schuster I live on Main Street right at the end of church street. I would love to send you pictures of the school and neighborhood if you'd like! Email me at jws4980@gmail.com
I miss Groveville school I was in the last year of the school before it shut the door my Father and Grandfather we nt there also I miss Miss Marx the most .... hope to hear from her Ron Sexton jr.
Post a Comment