What a nice surprise to find a Blog about Memphis Elementary! Thanks for all the great pictures and memories.
I attended Memphis from 1955-1961, then went on to Wm. Rainey Harper.
For some reason, today, I thought of my homeroom teacher, Ethel F. Baker. I Googled her name and that's how I found this blog.
I can remember how stern Ms. Baker was in Room 301. She was always impeccably dressed and I remember her silver chalk holder with the little stone flower setting on the side.
I remember we had Cloak Room Monitors.. whose job it was to raise the doors in the cloak rooms just before the bell rang. I remember Mrs. Mildred Wurch, the Science teacher. In the summer when school was out, they had a program where you could opt to grow a garden at your house. Mrs. Wurch would come around to your house in late August just before school started, and she would grade your garden and give your a certificate. We always waited anxiously for her arrival.
It's amazing how many memories are retained after all these years... I'll jot down a few.. to see if anyone else remembers them.
The boys played marbles in the school yard under the monkey bars. You would scoop out three holes in the gravel, and see if you could knock your opponents marble out of one of the holes. (If you did knock your opponents marble out.. you got to keep it) Some boys had large bags full of marbles they carried around.. cats eyes, boulders, etc.
I remember walking home for lunch everyday. I lived on W.48th, so I got to walk.. (in all types of weather). We would watch Capt. Penny (Ron Penfound) on Channel 5, WEWS, while we ate our lunch. We knew it was time to go back to school when Capt Penny was over. Remember his closing statement everyday? "Listen to your mom ... she's pretty nice and pretty smart.."
There was a small corner store at 45th and Memphis next to Kirchners German Meat Market. We would stop in on the way home and buy penny candy and pretzel sticks from a big jar.
There was also Novak's Home Bakery on the corner of 48th & Memphis where you could get fresh cream-filled lady fingers for a dime. (a lot of money in those days but worth it!)
I was a school crossing guard... got to wear the nifty shoulder harness with badge and carry my Greater Cleveland Safety Council Yellow flag.
I remember rotary dial phones.. my phone number was "Shadyside 9-7458."
What was the television commercial with the lady who sang the Jingle "Garfield 1-2323... Garfield 1- 23...23"? Jimmy Dudley.. the voice of the Cleveland Indians.
I can remember one ice cold snowy morning in January.. going into the basement of the school near where the Janitors worked. They had a big coal fired furnace in there and we would stand by the door of the room to get warm. There was a boys bathroom right near where the Janitors office was. Schools were much different in Cleveland in the 50's. I think they were better,.... meaning ...that they were more tuned into student progress and well being.
Many students at Memphis Elementary will remember the dentist and assistant that came in once a year, and evaluated students teeth. We would all have to march down to the Principals office on the first floor, and wait in line as the dentist examined each and everyone.
The Dentist would have a wooden tongue depressor, and he would call out all the cavities and problem areas.. with numbers like 24-35-16-
I later learned, that he was mapping my teeth and noting areas of cavities. I never knew what they did with that information, but I guess they gave it to the parents who would take their kids to the dentist.
At one time.. the doctors came in and gave shots for whooping cough, and tetanus. Good luck in this day and age even getting a doctor to come into a school. And who could forget SOS? (Sabin Oral Sundays)
Sabin Oral Sundays were series of weeks where the families could go to various places around Memphis Elementary School, and get a sugar cube, which contained a dose of medicine to prevent Polio. As I remember.. it took 3 doses of sugar cube, to properly vaccinate you.
Hard to believe that we defeated the deadly disease of Polio as late as 1960. But we did.
More to follow... Many great memories live on.. thanks for sharing and best regards to all in 44109... Old Brooklyn.
