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<\/a>I was in second grade for the first full year of school in Lebanon, in 1954.\u00a0 This picture was likely taken within the first month of school.\u00a0 Especially in my younger elementary school years, the beginning of school always meant a new dress and new shoes from the Buster Brown shop for school.\u00a0 The picture shows me (front row, second from the left) wearing that year\u2019s new dress which of course was a plaid and Sunday School shoes.\u00a0 I seem to remember that plaids were also the rule for those early years.\u00a0 My sister and I had started school the year before at the second half after our move, and in 1954 my oldest brother (next down from me in line) started kindergarten.<\/p>\nIn Lebanon the schools started sometime in August, before Labor Day I remember, and went through to the end of May.\u00a0 We were always out of school by Memorial Day – that was a big parade and the Indianapolis 500 Race!\u00a0 I just went back and looked at their current school year calendar and the schedule looks similar.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember all the breaks and I don\u2019t remember having many snow days when I was a student there.\u00a0 I do remember that the early days could be hot – there was no air conditioning of course – and sometimes sleepy after lunch.\u00a0 We walked home for lunch and then back again, as well as to and from school morning and afternoon.\u00a0 The only students who rode a bus as elementary students were those who lived outside the town and there was only one bus as I remember.<\/p>\n
There are a couple of other events that I remember from the elementary years.\u00a0 The World Series was always played just after the beginning of September and occasionally a little of an afternoon game would get played over the school\u2019s public address system if there was a lot of local interest in the teams.\u00a0 This was not a regular happening and I suspect it also had to do with very warm weather and the teacher\u2019s wanting something to hold some attention at the end of the school day.\u00a0 Another big school event was the Christmas singing and pageant, and then children in town going to the local movie theater and seeing a show and being given a bag of candy.\u00a0 The Christmas movie was probably supported by the local movie theater, and we think happened on a Saturday afternoon.\u00a0 The Christmas show at school was on an evening, and a big deal as every grade performed something.\u00a0 That happened just before the school let out for the holiday break.\u00a0 Then we were off for about 2 weeks – and must have driven my mother crazy!\u00a0 The Christmas celebrations happened for at least the younger grades.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember them as a fifth or sixth grader, although they may well have continued to happen.<\/p>\n
The end of the school year didn\u2019t have so many celebrations or regular events, that I remember.\u00a0 I think some years there were field days, when various outdoor games were played.\u00a0 What I remember about the end of school was the excitement of cleaning out your desk for the year, and getting the last report card to carry home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although I started school in Illinois (Decatur), halfway through my first grade school year the family moved back to Lebanon, Indiana and that is where I have memories of school.\u00a0 My sister and I have reminisced about the Decatur school, …<\/p>\n