Elementary Grade 2

Second grade at Thomas H. Ford Grade School, as I look back,  was a surprise on the academic side. It looks like I gave up. I waivered in English, Writing, Art and Work Habits!. After one year. Really?

(Click to enlarge)

Though I hate to admit it, if my 1st grade report card cover was an indication of this year's art ability, I deserved those Cs. This year's cover is not an abstract work, and looks more like Mr. Potato Head than a self portrait. At least my singing career didn't take a hit!

Grade 2 Report Card Cover 1960

To be fair to myself, attendance played a large roll in grading this year. I had mumps, measles (both kinds), strep throat and the perennial cold during grade school years, so my 13.5 days absent in 1961 can be blamed on one of these transmittable childhood viruses. The go-to remedies for most anything at that time was bed rest, Bayer baby aspirin, ginger ale and saltines, Campbell's chicken soup, calamine lotion and WRAW-AM radio all day long.

Attendance Summary, 1960-61

I do not recall much about my teacher, Elnor K. Thompson.  Miss Thompson was my mother's age I believe. Penmanship was my favorite subject and I practiced hard to print just like her.  Miss Thompson added words to our spelling booklets in black magic marker for penmanship practice and spelling. And yes, I loved smell of black magic marker. Leaded gas came in a close second. Who knew?

My second grade classroom was probably located in the same area as first and third grades, but I have no recollection of it other than the room's interior perimeter was decorated with a large alphabet, construction paper red apples and green trees, and a big green "black" board, maybe two. I was intrigued by the three-pronged chalk holder used to add lines on the board for penmanship class. Not all teachers could draw those lines straight though.

The end of 1961 showed  I closed strong academically (think racehorse) earning the privilege of moving on to the next challenge, third grade.

Elementary Grade 1

First grade was a lot to take in. The day was long in kid time, but I took to it eventually when I realized all it offered.  That should explain the slow academic start my grades reflect. In fact, that's my style every year, so if I was a racehorse, I'd be called a "closer".

My teacher, Miss Beverly Katzenmoyer, was tall and had a great smile.  She had to be my mother's age in 1959, about 26 years old.  But, let's agree her name was a test to say as a six year old.  Looking at my report card, there was no spelling grade for this year, so I can assume I didn't have to spell it. 

My classroom was the middle one of three first grade classes on the side of the Thomas H. Ford Grade School building. A large macadamed play yard, complete with three large white painted circles, was easily accessible from a door in the back of the classroom. Recess time was easy in, easy out.  Tag, Duck-Duck-Goose and Simon Says made the play list over and over at this age.

Arithmetic and Writing were my best achievements, while Social Studies and Science suffered. As I look at all these categories, I can't imagine what each one involved, since the highlight of this grade for me was Bob, Alice and Jip the Dog stories including other three-letter words to complete their tales. 

Thomas H Ford Grade School, Reading PA S.D.

It was a big deal each year to make a construction paper cover for its journey home to get signed and returned. I'm a tad disappointed in this year's holder, but not even surprised that I picked a purple theme. My mother felt the need to identify my report cards more than was necessary in my opinion, but I discovered our printing style is very similar in that we mix caps and lower case letters freely. Let's hope creativity improves as we peek at second grade in my next post.

Grade 1 Report Card Cover

"Elementary, My Dear Watson."

Today I'm looking into the past but within my lifetime; elementary school report cards! These gems, at least to me, help me recall several stories of my youth and reminds me I loved school!  But first, some background.

Thomas H. Ford Grade School, 18th ward, Berks County, Reading Pennsylvania is where I attended 1st through 6th grade. It was a one-level building built four years earlier, sprawled over several acres of land and tucked back neatly at the corner of Margaret Street and Old Wyomissing Rd. The school was very modern for its time. I can still recall the cornerstone at the main entrance chiseled "1955".

Kindergarten was optional in the 1950s, so I didn't attend. My mom, brother and I moved to Patton Avenue in the Oakbrook Housing Project that year, perhaps it was too late to register. The housing project was quite new, too, so we lucked out all around as a low-income family.  I only realized that as an adult; I had no prejudice toward others or concerns about society status or using government assistance programs, I just loved being a kid and going to school.

Now I'm going to mention that truth anyone under the age of 40 can't relate to. I walked to school everyday. In all kinds of weather. Up hill (but not both ways). Without adult supervision. Lunch was not in a school cafeteria, it was at home. That's 4 times a day, everyday, I walked the school circuit. To me it was nothing to complain about; remember I loved school. I also walked that circuit, in shame, the day I wet my pants in class because I was unclear about the lavatory rules. Devastation for a 6 year old.

The grade school circuit 1959 - 1965

My report cards gave me a glimpse into my academic skills and work habits, my days absent for childhood diseases and how many time I couldn't get out of bed on time, for any number of reasons.  The grading system was A, B, C, D for grade achievement and 1, 2, 3 for individual progress.

In my next several posts, I will include a picture of the report card and add some colorful memories as I recall my teacher and school activities.  

Until then...

The Year of Coronavirus
I have mixed emotions today. The world is a different place. Change was in the air a few years ago and now Covid-19 has pushed it over the edge of the cliff.  It's not about politics anymore, it's about common sense versus fear. I am not fearful.

As a new retiree who was settling into a schedule of leisure activities with my husband and making new friends on the "senior circuit" (plus finding more time to follow my family history from branch to branch) I was living the life as they say.  The stay-at-home order and social-distancing requirement changed all that, for everyone.

I thought I'd do the obvious and post about my life during stutdown, but frankly, I'm sick of hearing about it every minute of every day. What I have to say is a thousand times what everyone is saying and feeling. Let that be the story for those who choose to look back to 2020 in the history books.  I will just be a number in that crowd of citizens that feel betrayed by their leaders, who do not know their job destription. I will vote to remove as many as I am able.   That's what I'm taking away from this disaster.

Instead of posting on the blog each week, I did a deep dive into organizing my data. Of course the road had a few bumps, rabbit holes, if you will. They are fun to persue, but distracting from the plan of the day. It gives me a few more tidbits to share in the coming weeks, so I'll leave it up to the rabbits to find the next post.  Until then.

Researching the "Little Redheaded Girl"

The plan to researching the newest photo found by my cousin Ken is this: We have to date the photo by the dress of the woman, estimate her age and search for information about the photographer's studio shown in the lower left corner.  That's a long shot, but worth it to find an archived record of the sitting. No stone left unturned.  

To date the photo, I used Google Images , uploaded it by clicking on the camera icon, then searched for similar images and checked the details of those I found. I also googled a broader search for the period of time I believe the person in the photo sat for the portrait and click on the "images" link below the search box. Other factors I considered was the photo's finish, black/white or color, and the style of the dress using clues like the collar style. Of course the dress may not be new. That means the woman may be wearing her "Sunday Best" purchased several years before the sitting.  I'm satisfied this photo was taken in the 1940s. What I'm not certain of is if it was before or after WWII. 

So far, my search for a studio named "Foto Liko" in Lithuania was unsuccessful.  At least that is the name I interpreted for the studio.  Fast forward...our cousin in Lithuania notes the studio name as "Foto Zilio".  This studio name produced nothing in English either. I reached out to Lithuanian Genealogy, a Facebook group I'm a member of in hopes someone has a better way to search a business from the past and/or can read Lithuanian on the handful of sites produced from googling the names.

FOTO LIKO or FOTO ZILIO ?

This studio logo is on another identified photo we received last year from our cousin connection in Lithuania. Remember, this unnamed woman's original photo is in my cousin Ken's possession, so we have two photos from the same studio; one in Michigan with Ken and one in Lithuania.  That fact alone has Ken and I hopeful we can make a family connection of our unnamed woman in this photo to be that "little redheaded girl" from family lore (who did not travel to the USA) to the other photos from Foto Zilio.