“Grandpa, what was school like for you when you were 7?”

“Was it a lot different then now?”

Claire, age 7

I had made the choice to share 80 stories that I thought that the grandkids needed to know about life as seen through the fading eyes of an old man. This is not the same as telling stories that I think they want to know. Why not invite them to ask their questions?  Two questions come from granddaughters who are in first and third grades.

Dear Claire and Lily:

My previous letters have mostly been written in response to questions from some of your older cousins.  However, your questions are just as important as theirs and it is time to answer as best that I can. I bet that your cousins will be interested in your questions because they, too, were your age at one time. 

What was my school like? Different?

Yes, my school was much different than either of your schools. In fact, my school didn’t even have a kindergarten class and as a result I started right off into first grade. The school building was large enough to overwhelm any 6-year old, especially since it had all 8 grades. To me, 8^th graders were giants.

The classroom had both the first and second grades. While the teacher taught one half of the class, the other half worked on writing or reading assignments. After she was done teaching the 2^nd graders, she would shift over to the 1^st graders. 

At lunch, we would eat at our desks and then be excused to go outside on the playground. There were times in the afternoon that we could put our heads down and rest at our desks while the teacher taught the other half of the students. The classroom picture was taken before I was born, but it looked exactly the same.

One of the books that we had was called “Dick and Jane.” Below is more information on that book. I know that the books that you read are MUCH more advanced, but this seemed to work for most kids. Although I had started to read and print at home before first grade, there was much to learn. Fortunately, I had a very kind teacher who was patient with her students.

“Dick and Jane” books started me on the way to reading every day. For the last 70 years, I continue reading at least 2-3 books per month. At the rate you are going, your reading list will include the plays of Shakespeare before much longer.

There was no bus to school, so Mom gave me a ride most days, but many times I had to walk home after classes were over. My route was to cross over two highways and one railroad track, then walk past the stores and the post office on my way home. It took about 45 minutes to walk one mile home.

Explanation of the map: The first pin on the right represents my grade school. The second pin on the left is my house.

You will see that I am almost home and carrying my books and my lunch bucket. Mom would have given me a sandwich, a banana, and a thermos with milk.

“What do you remember about cars when you were little, 6 and 7 years old?  Did you think they were modern at the time?“

Lily, age 6

We thought that our cars were modern for the time, but you might laugh at them now. Inside the car, there were no seatbelts, car seats, or air conditioning. Cars didn’t have directional turn signals and mom just put out her arm to indicate which way we would be turning. In order to keep cool in the summer, we rolled down all the windows and drove fast. Compared to my dad’s car when he was young, the car that I was sitting on was very modern.

Grandma Goose is pictured in Joliet with her sister in the backseat of her parent’s car. Her mother is standing alongside the car.

I thought that I should include of few pictures of your Grandma Goose when she was your age. Even with a missing tooth, she was really cute.

Please let me know what you think about these stories and the pictures. It would be interesting to hear your reactions.

Love you kids and thank you for your interesting questions.

Grandpa Kennedy (aka: Poppy)