Beginning in Jan 1938, Kindergarten at Lincoln Grade School (now Lincoln Elementary) I learned to tie my shoes, learned to make butter.
At that time enrollment was either in January or September depending on what month your birthday was, mine was in April.
Jan 1939 – 1st grade – Thatcher (now a condominium) Grading system was 1 – Excellent; 2 – Good; 3 – average; 4 – fair; 5 – poor (as near as I remember) Grade school years 1 thru 6. Memories: All grades were 1, except 4th. Teacher graded me 4 on everything, it really upset me. The war years (1942-1944), scrap drives, savings stamps. We cleaned and flattened steel cans, we peeled foil from my parents cigarette packages and rolled it into balls, we put golfballs in cans and burned off outer coating to get rubber inside to add to our balls of rubber bands; took our quarters weekly to buy a stamp, finally would get a book full, turn it in for a bond. Winter time. School using no heat or electricity. We came to school with coats, mittens etc twice a week to receive and turn in assignments which we worked on at home in between with help of radio broadcasts.
Music lessons were given at school and my parents bought an old black piano, scraped off paint and varnished it and I got piano lessons. I thought I was good, so much so that when a volunteer was asked for to play piano at a school program, I volunteered. (Teacher did contact my mother and the truth came out) I did have a main role in a class play, not because of my dramatic talents but because I was the only girl in the class who had a voice that would carry from stage to back of auditorium (no microphones or amplification in those days) I did want the part, I had no problem remembering lines or actions, just wooden gestures and unemotional delivery.
Jan 1945 – Grant Jr. High (The old one with the old building with the Rotunda, the basic brick addition and a couple of classrooms in metal buildings outside; woodworking and metal). Grading system here was high; medium; low. Memories: I took metal shop, made a pair of cat bookends from copper (still have them) 8th grade spelling bee, got as far as the spell off to decide who would go to competition level outside school, froze and couldn’t spell my word. Took Home Economics, made a white peasant blouse and a flowered skirt. 9th grade was an assistant editor on school newspaper (still have some papers, but don’t remember the name of it).
Jan. 1948 – South High School – 10th thru 12th grade (still there) Memories: Was on sports teams volleyball, basketball, softball; no great athlete at any of them. Did earn a gold “d” pin and a letter “D”. Was planning to go to college at Greeley and become a teacher. My parents informed me girls didn’t go to college and they would not pay for it. I therefore took courses in typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, business law to enable me to work and earn. I even had all required academic classes with electives on literature, Spanish. I was a teacher’s aide helping with deaf children. Senior year I ran for school secretary (didn’t get elected) had a lot of fun making my poster and campaigning.
High School – Basketball games, riding the streetcar to auditorium annex (now demolished) on Friday nights; walking to football games on Saturday afternoons at DU stadium (now demolished).
Belonged to future teachers of America. We got to teach a class for a day once (with regular teacher there the whole day), I chose my Spanish class. Teacher was David Owens.
I remember my shorthand and typing teacher – Mrs. Fullmer.
High school grading was on the A, B, C, D, system still in use. High school was still 9-12 grades. Until 9th grade all school materials, books etc were provided. From 9th grade students had to buy their own, also notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, etc.
Evelyn Mooney