A month or two ago, I was going through a photo album my mother had put together nearly 40 years ago for Trish, whom I was engaged to at the time. It was an album full of family pictures, vacations, and a few shots of yours truly.
One of the many pictures inside was one of my first-grade class. I started first grade in September 1963, Iveland School in Overland, Missouri, part of the Ritenour School District. My teacher was Mrs. Sartin. Interestingly, my brother would have her two years later. Our principal, Mrs. Kegelman, who I believed to be 100 years old, was also in the picture.
There are four rows of children, 25 in all, 12 girls, 13 boys. I am on the back row, second student from the right. Most of us are smiling or at least trying to. We all look fresh in our clean clothes, obviously we hadn't been to P.E. or recess yet. I am positive I am wearing jeans and a short-sleeve brown checked shirt. The photo is in black and white, but I remember the shirt. Trust me, it was brown and light brown. I also have a t-shirt on. My short hair is not combed, though I'm sure it was when I left the house, and I am not smiling. In other words, a typical picture of me at six-year-old.
As I studied the picture, everyone looked familiar, but not all the names. I probably remember the names of two-thirds of the kids.
First grade in the Ritenour District was new for us, because we had to go to school all-day, as our kindergarten was only half a day, so this seemed like forever. I do remember we had a recess in the morning and one in the afternoon. There was also P. E. thrown in, so we got out of the room and could be kids at least three times a day. As they said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "and there was much rejoicing."
One other nice thing about first grade, we got to eat lunch at school. You could take your lunch (this was me most days, PB&J with any jelly but grape, chips and a cookie, I would buy milk in the cafeteria) or go through the cafeteria line and get a tray with all sorts of goodies on it. Can you see the blue font?
The local weekly newspaper, the Community News would have the following weeks school lunch menus. I would study it and decide what days I would take my lunch, and what days I would buy my lunch, usually pizza or hamburger days (why did they always have peas or green beans as a side with the pizza? Nobody does that). Lunch in the cafeteria in the fall of 1963 I believe was ten cents. A carton of milk, white or chocolate, was two cents for a half-pint. We would eat out lunch way to fast because when we were finished, we could go outside and play!
Let's meet the kids of Mrs. Sartin's first-grade class of 1963-64, at least those I can remember.
First row (all girls), Loretta Smith, unknown, Karen U (only remember it started with a U), Denye Schultz (probably tallest girl in class), Linda Mitchell (fastest girl in Class, faster than most of the boys, and she ran bare-foot), Cindy Lawson, Susan ?, and Terri Smith (She was in all of my classes through like the 8th grade).
Second row: First two are a young man, then a girl that I don't remember. Karen Pemberton (cutest girl in class), another girl I don't remember, Debbie Laschober (I probably misspelled her last name), and Richard Derbak (a fellow baseball lover, and a good friend for a long time. He and I and his brother Greg were always swapping baseball cards.)
Third row: Drew Krah (the only redhead in class, and among the boys, the only left-hander), unknown, Charlie Klein (I never got in a fight in school, but Charlie and I, who were friends, did get in a wrestling march walking the block and a half home one day. By the next day we had both forgotten it), Mark Bereyso (his hair was white, and he also lived next door to Linda Mitchell), Ronnie English (Ronnie just died earlier this summer. Had a twin brother named Rob in a different first-grade class. Another guy I played baseball with a lot. Ronnie was probably the most-gifted natural athlete in the entire first grade. As a guy, you recognize such things. One other note, Ronnie, Rich Derbak and I all lived on Eastbrook Drive), Mark Bledsoe. (His house bordered the school, and I remember him going home for lunch almost every day. He also lived next door to Terri Smith), I don't remember the last guy in row three, but he does have a bow tie on.
Row four: Mrs. Sartin, Tim Hamilton, (Had an older brother named Tom, who later dated Linda Mitchell), Butch Jacobs, Dalton Sullivan (has an award-winning blog), Rob Roy Sims and Mrs. Kegelman (did I mention she was like 100 years old!)
So there you have it. My first-grade class at Iveland Elementary, 1836 Dyer, Overland Mo., 63114. It's nice to look back at 63 years ago. Can't believe I remember all those names, but I am not surprised I remember all those memories. Good times kids, good times. Did I ever tell you about getting sent to the principal's office in kindergarten? It's a funny story. Maybe in a blog down the road.
Have a great week, and y'all be nice to each other.
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