Trending
I went to St. Mary’s twice and Notre Dame once and my older brother went to St. Mary’s once and Notre Dame twice.
What?
Let me explain.
My parents were born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Although they loved and always remained close to their families, after they married in 1952 they wanted nothing more than to raise their own family AWAY from the city.
They settled in Mifflin County in 1966, just 165 miles from their native city. But they took the long route.
As a result, I have wonderful memories of my elementary school years – from the fall of 1959, when I started kindergarten, to the spring of 1968, when I graduated from eighth grade at Sacred Heart in Lewistown.
The best thing about my elementary years was the fact that I attended seven different schools from kindergarten through eighth grade: Incarnate Word Academy in Parma Heights, Ohio; St. Agnes in West Chester, Pennsylvania; Our Lady Queen of Peace in Wichita Falls, Texas; Notre Dame School in Kerrville, Texas; St. Mary’s School in Oskaloosa, Iowa; and Sacred Heart in Lewistown.
I know – that’s six schools, not seven. I just cannot remember the name of the school where I attended kindergarten, if I ever knew it. I do remember my parents long ago explaining that I went to the public school for kindergarten because the class at Incarnate Word filled up by the time they tried to register me. Just the other day I searched my old schools on the Internet and chuckled when I read that today’s parents actually camp out in the parking lot at Incarnate Word the night before kindergarten registration in order to get a spot for their children. Maybe my parents should have tried that 57 years ago!
Since my family moved so many times, it means a lot to me that I can recall where I lived, and when, as I grew up, by remembering what grade I was in and which school I attended: kindergarten and first grade in Ohio; second grade in Pennsylvania (in West Chester, where I was born); third and fourth in Texas; fifth and sixth in Iowa; the final month of sixth, and seventh and eighth grades in Lewistown; followed by high school at Kishacoquillas in Reedsville (named Penn Highlands in 11th and 12th grades); and, finally, St. Mary’s College in Indiana.
So, that’s how I went to St. Mary’s twice and Notre Dame once and my older brother went to St. Mary’s once and Notre Dame twice. I went to St. Mary’s twice -fifth and sixth grade at St. Mary’s School in Iowa, and later to St. Mary’s College in Indiana, and I attended Notre Dame School in Texas for third and fourth grade. My older brother, Jim, also went to St. Mary’s School in Iowa, and Notre Dame School in Texas, as well as the University of Notre Dame for college.
I believe I benefitted greatly from attending schools all over the map. Traveling to different areas of the country, absorbing the mostly subtle differences in language and customs and regularly meeting a variety new people – mostly nice, but some, not so much -were as important a part of my education as actual classroom learning.
Like me, everyone has a story about their school days.
The Juniata Valley has a rich history of education, dating back to 1804 and a single room in a log structure on Lot 120, West Third Street, Lewistown, to the grand Mifflin County High School on the hill overlooking Pleasant Acres, to whatever’s coming next in Juniata County as the board considers consolidating its elementary schools.
We’d like to hear your fondest memories for The Sentinel’s next hardback book.
We’re asking for you to share your memories, and photos, too, if you have them, of your own school days – whether you went to school 50 or 60 or more years ago, or you are still in school today.
The stories and photos will be collected in a hardbound volume called “School Days in the Juniata Valley,” to be published in November, just in time for the holiday season.
You can pick your topic, or use one of the following prompts to jog your memory:
Where did you go to school, and what was the best thing about it?
What was your favorite subject/activity at school, and why?
Who was your favorite teacher, and what was it about him/her that inspired you?
You can feel free to write as much or as little as it takes to tell your story.
While the book will include a timeline and the history of education in the Juniata Valley, the real point of this project is to bring that history to life through the memories that you, The Sentinel’s readers, have and choose to share to the best of your recollection.
And that’s what we need now – your memories, as well as photographs and other memorabilia from your school years that can be included in the book.
What are we looking for? Along with your stories and pictures, we can include such ephemera as programs, report cards, diplomas, items that can be photographed such as patches and buttons, plus actual newspaper clippings from the past.
You can scan the items yourself and send us the images, or you can allow us to do so, and your items will be returned intact. All we ask is that you be able to identify the contents of each photo sufficiently that we can explain to readers what’s in the picture.
Do you have an item(s) for “School Days?” If so, here are the ways you can get it to us:
By mail: Send to me, Jane Cannon Mort, Special Projects Editor, The Sentinel, P.O. Box 588, Lewistown, PA 17044.
Online: Email your memories and photos (JPG images as attachments), to jmort@lewistownsentinel.com.
Photos: If you’re scanning an old photo, set your scanner to 100 percent size and 300 dpi resolution. Items photographed with your digital camera should be at the highest image quality and sent exactly as they come off the camera.
Or, drop off your item at The Sentinel office, at the corner of Sixth Street and Summit Drive in Pleasant Acres, Lewistown.
Remember, this will be a family-friendly book!
The deadline for submitting items is June 30.
If you have any questions, call me at 248-6741 ext. 115 or e-mail jmort@lewistownsentinel.com.
Jane Cannon Mort is The Sentinel’s lifestyles and special projects editor.