Mrs. Westfall's 7-A class 1952

I got so inspired by Pat's contribution of old clippings, I decided to look for mine. Although we lived for 34 years in a house with no basement and no attic and I managed to keep track of my school memorabilia, we now have both and I can't find anything. I crawled into an appropriately named crawl space under the stairs with a flashlight and opened a plastic container. I think my old scrapbook might be in there, but this was nearer the top and I was breathing mold and my knees were aching, so I backed out.



Here's what I'd written on the outside:

Mt. Morris Grade School, May 1952, Grade 7-A, Verna Westfall Teacher. School started September 2; school out May 27 (2:15).

Then on the inside, our classmates signed their names and nicknames--I only remember a few of these--not even the one I gave myself. Debora was Fruity, Kay (not in the picture) was Shike, Betty was Pety, Francine was Frany (not in the picture) Dave was Little Bart (not in the picture), Richard was Dick, Marion was Mickie, Marv gave himself the nick name of "Me," Priscilla was Pris, Nancy S. was Cisco, Melvin K. was Moe, Barb H. was Billy, Larry was Stiher(?), and to Mrs. Westfall's signature it looks like I added "Wesy" and I doubt that we ever called her that to her face.

First row left: Barbara E., Priscilla D., Dorothy (she signed Dorothea) R., Melvin K.
Second row: Barbara H., Dwane B., Eugene (Mike) S., Marion D., Neal J.
Thrid [sic] row: Donna B., Debora P., Betty P., Darrel M., Betty L.
Fourth row: Carolyn M., Glen R., Gary H., Nancy S., Tom W.
Fifth row: Marvin M., Shirley R., Richard S., Norma C., Larry S.

Not in picture: Kay A., Francine K., David B.

Thoughts about the classroom: I see many small plants on the window sill. Did we each have a plant we were taking care of? Mine would have been dead by May, for sure. Anyone remember why notebooks were stacked in the back of the room? Was that to make our desks look neat for the photo? And didn't we all want to be in Mr. Rahn's room next door--I think it was his first year of teaching. Remember when you could put mittens on radiators to dry--and the whole room would smell like wet wool? Remember the plays Neal would write and Mrs. Westfall graciously let the class perform them?