I don’t remember the elementary school having a particular smell. I remember the option of two ways to walk there on foot. Seems like it may have been faster to walk up our street and over on third east and down than the safer way which we usually went – over 240 to 260 and came in behind the school. The playgrounds were behind the school.
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| a really ROUGH map of my neighborhood |
Our desks had openings in the front. They were wide enough to hold two plastic trays. We called them tote trays. It is where we put all of our school supplies. We carried the trays each time we moved for math, reading, science, etc. according to whatever our learning level was. If someone was absent, the desk could still hold my tray as well as that of the absent student.
Before peanut allergies was a common thing I remember peas tasting like they’d been cooked in peanut butter. I kid you not! To this day I believe the peas at East Midvale Elementary School cafeteria were cooked in peanut butter or maybe a heavy peanut oil that tasted like peanut butter. Now, I love peanut butter but I HATE peas and cooking them in peanut butter did not improve the taste. I may hate peas more as a result.
We had a cafeteria separate from the gym. I don’t remember if there was a folding door that separated the cafeteria from the gym. Maybe. It would have made for more room for assemblies and programs. The school offered many programs for parents to come and watch their students perform. It felt like my parents had a lot more opportunities to watch programs than do the parents who have students in schools today.
We had an old custodian by the name of Mr. Beckstead. He wore green coveralls. At least that is how I remember it. Our lunch trays had compartments, I think two or three squares and a circle, and each compartment was for a different food item. When we were through eating lunch we had to take our lunch trays up to the garbage, but if the monitor was not satisfied with our eating habits, he/she would send us back to the lunch table to finish whatever we hadn’t touched. Many of my peers would stuff unwanted food into the milk carton because the monitors never checked the cartons.
When we were in the 5th and 6th grade we could help serve food. In sixth grade, if a student’s grades were good enough and had the desire or were picked, they could work as a safety patrol monitor. I remember students guiding other students across the street. 300 East is far too busy for a child to fulfill that duty. It is done by an adult. I don’t think as many schools offer safety patrol anymore.
