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School days in the 1920s at Portage Path
School made it necessary for us to walk to school in the
morning, then home for lunch and back to school for the
afternoon session, and after school again the trek home. My
outstanding memory at Portage Path was the day it became almost
black outdoors, and there was a rampant rumor that the world was
coming to an end!! Fear seeped through our bones, and school was
dismissed so we could hurry home! Needless to say, nothing
catastrophic happened.
I spent from 1925-29 at Akron West High
School with Mr. John Flood as our principal. For French I had a
Miss Helen French, a fine lady and a wonderful teacher. Miss
Olive Smeeth was our teacher for Oral English. Every lesson
required us to give a speech before the class – a wonderful way
to become at ease before a group. I also recall our English
teacher, Dwight Packard. He always reminded me of the actor,
Harold Lloyd, because his black hair was parted in the middle
and shiny, with "Brylcreme" or some pomade.
After graduation, I was off to Heidelberg
College and fields to conquer. Now, after 60-some years, I am
back in Akron catching up on all I have missed.
– by Helen Eisinger Behl
I remember when we used to have a haunted
house for the primary grades in the lower level of Rankin
Elementary School, down by Mrs. Barber's room. It was dark and
spooky and great to be a sixth grader at Rankin.
How about standing in a circle in class
"doing" prime numbers? Each person had to say the next number
unless it was prime, and then you would say "prime." That was
the day Kennedy was shot, and the announcement came over the
P.A. Helen Avery fainted at the news.
I also remember walking down the long
aisles at Buchtel High School as a youngster to get polio
vaccines, then later riding a tricycle down the same aisles
doing a "Laugh-In" comedy sketch as a senior.
– by John Bennett
I remember when schools, not just Akron,
but none of the schools had computers. I also remember how we
did not have to see policemen patrolling around unless they were
there for some other reason. I remember how school started at
9:15 a.m. and ended at 4:15 p.m.
There is a lot more unity now between parents and teachers. We all
have the same goal in focus, to educate our children. When I was
in school, there was more prejudice. It seems as though that now
people are finally getting past it. Teachers now seem to really
care about our children. Home visits were not prominent when I
was in school. We have indeed come a long way.
(I attended Lane and Grace elementary schools, Thornton and West
junior highs, and Kenmore High School.)
– by Ms. Monic Carroll
I'm a graduate of Buchtel High School and
very proud of the wonderful experience I had there back in the
'40s. I graduated in 1946 and have a few memories to share.
Buchtel was actually half the size it is
today. The juniors and seniors went to classes in the morning
(we went from 7 to noon), and the freshmen and sophomores went
from noon until later in the afternoon. We thought it was a
wonderful situation; but, of course, it was an answer to a
housing problem. After I graduated, I think the second half of
the Buchtel plant was built starting in 1953. For instance, the
auditorium didn't exist. We had a gym that stood in for the
auditorium for every kind of assembly situation we needed.
Buchtel has a lot more luxury now than it did in my day.
I have memories of some remarkable
faculty – Mabel Riedinger, who served on the Board of Education
for a long time; and Eulo Weiss, who was my algebra teacher and
the toughest guy you ever wanted to imagine. He didn't care if
your paper was correct – if you didn't put your margin down at
the side of the paper, it was pitched into the wastebasket. He
really made you obey rules and pay attention to neatness and all
the detail work that Eulo thought was very important.
Buchtel was a well-disciplined school.
There was a lot of silence in the halls. The things we would get
into trouble for then probably would seem like child's play
today because the world is different than it was back then.
Before coming to Buchtel, I went to
Rankin for kindergarten through grade 8. There again, I have
some wonderful, wonderful memories of some excellent teachers
and a very, very happy experience. Both Buchtel and Rankin will
always rate high in some of my best life experiences.
I had an aunt who was a Latin teacher –
Mabel Marsh – in the Akron schools. She taught for 40 years,
ending up at East High School. You could never quite please her
as far as your grades. If you brought home an A, she would ask
why wasn't it an A+? She, too, was a tough taskmaster back from
a lot of years ago.
I'm proud of Akron Public Schools. I'm
serving this 150th anniversary year as a fill-in on the Board of
Education in place of Jim Laria, who felt it was important to
resign because of a new public position he had. Another person
will be running for this seat in the fall of 1997. I'm happy to
be on the board, and I'm proud of the tradition of this Akron
school system. I think we're the finest in the state, and we
have every reason to be proud of this wonderful system.
– by Elizabeth A. Dalton
I attended Lane Elementary School in the
mid '50s. Mrs. Elizabeth Washko, our principal, and the mascot,
Lanie the Lion, made announcements each morning. Mrs. Washko
always wished everyone "a red letter day." Lanie could "see" us
in our rooms and even at home. She knew when we did our chores,
or were especially helpful at school or at home, or got good
grades. How encouraging! We eagerly awaited mention of our
names. It was pure magic, and I loved it.
– by Maxine Green
I remember when my grandparents, my
mother, her brothers and sister, my sisters and brother, my
children and I all attended Akron Public Schools – four
generations of our family attending from 1893 to 1980. I
attended Portage Path grade school; and my fondest memory is of
my wonderful first-grade teacher, Mrs. Smith. In those days we
had nurses placed right in the schools. It was time for booster
shots. I remember my arm hurting so after getting my shot, and
Mrs. Smith let me put my head down on the desk and rest if I
could. It sure made the hurt go away and left a fond memory. I
had wonderful teachers all through my school years as did my
family.
– by Nancy J. Jackson
I started kindergarten at George T.
Perkins School at the corner of West Exchange Street and West
Bowery, probably in September 1920. Perkins School was a very
modern, beautiful brick- and sandstone-decorated building. When
I say "beautiful," that's exactly how I perceived it then and to
this day. It was four stories high and contained a cooking and
sewing room (for girls) on the top floor (with a balcony
overlooking West Exchange Street). It was also equipped with a
dentist's chair and dental facilities.
The building, although very large, was
only one half complete. In fact, one of the entrances on West
Exchange Street had columns of some kind of attractive stone and
was fitted with beautiful wrought-iron gates that fronted the
entryway to the regular doors (this entrance was really to be
the main entrance – as I said above, the building was only one
half complete).
The building was made to enclose an
outdoor and completely protected courtyard that served as an
outdoor kindergarten space. The indoor kindergarten room was
very large with a high ceiling and with a huge fireplace that
was never used as a fireplace. The room had an indoor sliding
board, piano and big wooden construction blocks for children to
build with.
The sliding board proved to be a bad
thing for me as I fell off the top platform. A boy underneath
the slide was calling to me to find him. I leaned out too far,
fell to the floor – probably about eight or nine feet–and broke
my right arm in two places. I think the slide was removed after
that. Mr. McGaughey was trying to catch up to my young aunt (who
also attended school there) and me walking home to our house at
222 West Buchtel Avenue – about one-half mile from school. I was
put into Children's Hospital (at High or Broadway – its location
at that time).
My kindergarten teacher was a Miss
Mueller. I attended Perkins through the third grade (Perkins was
torn down some years ago; the neighborhood didn't require a
school there anymore – I look at this as sad).
I contracted infantile paralysis (polio)
about the age of 5 or so. My left leg was impaired as a result.
I remember a music teacher at Perkins in the corner,
street-level room right on the corner of Bowery and West
Exchange. Her name was Brinkerhof. She was very strict and, by
my impression, quite mean. She broke rulers over your knuckles
at times.
We moved to Delia Avenue, way out in a
new section. There was no gas to cook with. We used an electric
hot plate for about five or six months. Bus service required a
walk of about one-half mile to Delia Avenue and Rose Boulevard
(end of Delia Avenue bus line).
I entered Rankin School, then only one
third built. The principal was Mary E. Myers – very nice but a
strict woman. She drove a two-door Pontiac, about a 1926 or 1927
model.
Rankin School had very nice, dedicated
teachers among them. As I reached the upper grades, there was
Emma Dunn (arithmetic); later came Rose Crano, who was doing her
practice teaching then. She was my favorite; she was our
homeroom teacher.
As the school was enlarged, we had a
science room that was equipped with a science table with sinks,
electrical outlets, gas, air, etc. The teacher was Olive Keck,
another favorite of mine (very stern but fair-minded and very
good at science subjects).
I remember a science project I had with a
partner, Louis Bertolini. We proved that air had weight by
weighing a deflated football on a balance scale on the science
table and then pumping it full with air and weighing it again.
I was later assigned by Miss Keck to
visit our janitor, a Mr. Barker, to explain to me how the
coal-fired boiler in the building functioned and wound up
heating our school rooms with either steam or hot water heat. I
gave our class an oral report on the system. I was very proud of
that. I had a very fine bunch of teachers – gym was taught by a
Miss Ryan and later a Miss Kennedy (red-haired young woman with
a cultured Carolinean speech manner – she later became Buchtel
High's gym teacher for girls).
I remember Rankin had a small auditorium
with a stage with wing entries. I vividly remember being called
on impromptu to perform on stage with whatever I could do.
Rankin in those days was populated with kids from well-off
families – at least 60% of them. They would go on exotic-type
vacations and had exciting things to tell. Others could perform
with music, some at elocution lessons, etc. There was lots of
competition for me. As the beginning of the Great Depression had
started, my family didn't even have a car; and we didn't go on
exciting vacations. I wore a brace on my left leg in those days
due to a corrective bit of surgery on my polio-afflicted leg. It
squeezed at the ankle hinge as I walked. I was called on to
perform on stage. I "squeaked" my way up there (I was very
bashful). With my head bowed and facing the class below me, I
announced, "The Purple Cow":
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see
one;
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see
than be one.
I pivoted to leave the center stage, and
the teacher stopped me in my tracks and asked if that's all I
had for my performance (indicating I should be ashamed).
Needless to say, I've never forgotten that experience. I'm still
a shy, bashful guy. I do think the teacher should not have done
that to me.
In sixth, seventh and eighth grades we
had shop training (electricity) at Grace School to which we
walked for one-half day and then in seventh and eighth grades to
Crouse School for woodwork, again walking. We missed out at
sheet metal training as it was discontinued. Girls had cooking
and sewing at Schumacher.
At Grace School we had a tough, wiry man
named Orval Sellers. We had to diagram a simple doorbell, lights
and an elevator signal in our notebooks, then get his "OK" to go
up to the experimental panels along the wall and actually
connect the wires to make the various electrical fixtures work.
First, however, we had to line up and experience electrical
shock by quickly touching two live electrical terminals with our
index and middle fingers to prove we weren't "sissies." 110
volts felt like your fingers would wind up on the floor. We were
only 11 years old. Sellers also taught us how to twist the
copper-insulated wire to make a continuous connection and
another type of twist to make a connection that represented an
off-shoot from the main wire. Then we had to learn to solder the
joint and wrap it with friction tape for insulation. The
soldering was done with irons heated in a gas flame furnace (too
heavy for little hands) – no electric soldering irons. We loved
that tough little guy anyhow. He couldn't stand Rudy Valle (a
popular radio crooner), and we teased him about that.
At woodworking at Crouse School, we had a
Mr. Lutz – no power equipment, only hand tools (planes, hand
saws, hand drills, screws, hammer, nails).
I started at West High School one
semester, grade 9B (principal was Mr. Flood), then went to
Buchtel – then a new building and only one third the size it is
today. We had only 20 or 30 minutes for lunch. We carried lunch
or visited cars on Copley Road. People there had sandwiches to
sell and pastry from a City Bakery truck. Among the cars was a
1924 or 1925 green Chevy operated by a Mr. Swenson (yes, the
name still lives on – but now a different owner; after all, that
was over 60 years ago). Mr. Swenson converted "carry-your-own
ice" wooden buildings at South Hawkins and West Exchange streets
into the original Swenson's curb service business.
If you took mechanical drawing or other
shop courses, you went to West. We didn't yet have that at
Buchtel. In fact, Russ Beichly at West used that fact to keep
some of his better athletes at West even though they lived in
the Buchtel district. Our coach at Buchtel (Mr. Bob Harper) had
to do with the others of us. Our teams were known as "the cake
eaters" because part of the kids came from well-off families (I
say part of us – about 50% rich). Mr. Harper was a very fine
man. Our gym teacher was Glenn Boots, moved over from West–a
very fine man, too. We had calisthenics, tumbling, etc. (also
wrestling and even tap dancing).
When I was starting my advanced algebra
class, the schools in Akron extended our mid-season December
vacation from two weeks to seven weeks to save Akron schools'
coal supply to last through the winter. It was the middle of the
depression, and I mean depression. Teachers were being paid with
artificial money called scrip. It was not accepted by all
businesses, but it had to do. Buchtel was a beautiful experience
nevertheless. Our principal was C. J. Bowman; and assistant
principal was Miss Rentschler, both very strict. I did graduate
in January of 1935.
P.S. There were too many kids at Buchtel
and not enough classrooms. Therefore, there were two separate
sessions of juniors and seniors from 7:30 a.m. to noon, and
freshmen and sophomores from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. or so.
I loved athletics, but polio kept me out
of team sports (but I played those sports with my friends in the
streets).
I've been fortunate to have grown up and
attended Akron schools. I think we've had that all these years
in spite of the Great Depression that my generation faced – fine
teachers and schools.
– by Sidney Moskovitz
I have many happy memories of my years as
a student in Akron Public Schools. At West Junior High School,
under the guidance of Elizabeth Ricketts, I began to learn the
mechanics of written communication. By the time I had graduated
from Buchtel High School in 1969, Sally Kohnz had convinced me
that my real gift was
in Extemporaneous Speaking for the debate club. All of my APS
teachers encouraged me to pursue my dream of making the written
word come alive. But it was my fifth-grade teacher at Crouse
Elementary School who really started it all. Jeanne Randles was
my favorite teacher. She was beautiful and kind, and she made
each student in her class feel special. Mrs. Randles often let
me write sample paragraphs on the board for my classmates. She
praised my work and gave me "extra paper" so that I could
practice my writing at home. Imagine my delight when in 1986
Principal Joanne Shippy introduced me to the teacher alongside
whom I would be working. My new colleague was my beloved Mrs.
Randles!
In 1995 I left a 23-year teaching career
in the Akron schools to pursue freelance writing. It has been my
good fortune to have already been published in numerous
magazines and anthologies. I owe a great deal of my success to
the high level of instruction that I received in all of my
English and literature courses in the '50s and '60s. I will
always be grateful to the fine teachers in Akron Public Schools
for giving me a solid background in writing and the motivation
to set lofty goals and boldly pursue them.
– by Mary Lou Nay
When I was about six years old during the
1920s, I was a student at Lane School. There was an evening
class in English offered to foreign immigrants to assist them in
becoming American citizens. My parents, who had come to this
country from Greece, were both anxious to become American
citizens; and so my mother enrolled in this evening class. I can
remember one evening when my brother and I accompanied my mother
to the school and saw one classroom full of foreign immigrants.
We decided to walk around the hallways while waiting for the
class to end. We looked out the window and saw a fire burning in
the field across from the school. We initially thought it was a
bonfire and that some people were having fun. As it turned out,
it was the KKK burning a cross and wearing their hoods to
demonstrate against the "foreigners" who were in the building
and trying to learn English. There was much prejudice during
that period both toward the black and the foreign population.
I remember some of the disciplinary
methods used by teachers of primary students such as paddling,
slapping across the face, standing in the corner, and even
taping a child's mouth when they talked too much. The teachers
had the right of "Loco Parentis," and their disciplinary
techniques were seldom questioned by parents.
I remember our various activities on the
playground before school, during recess and after school. The
playgrounds were not paved but were just dirt.
One of the most popular activities was
shooting marbles. We would draw a circle in the dirt, and each
participant would put a marble in the pot. Then each would have
a turn at trying to hit the marbles out of the circle. If you
were successful, the marble was yours. Some students, after
playing, would come into class with pockets full of marbles,
hands dirty and sometimes with knuckles bleeding. The teachers
weren't always too happy about these distractions. This was a
very popular activity, and there were marble-shooting contests
throughout the city which were well-publicized in the newspapers
(Akron Beacon Journal and Akron Times Press).
Another activity on the playground was
spinning tops. We used a string to wrap around the top and then
throw it down and watch it spin. This, too, was great fun.
When I attended Crouse School, they
offered a class for the older boys called "Woodworking." Mr.
Lutz was the teacher. In this class we learned all about basic
tools used by carpenters. We were also required to make
different projects out of wood such as tables, flower stands and
bird houses.
Making a bird house was one of the most
popular projects chosen by the students. In fact, the bird
houses were entered into citywide competition and were displayed
throughout the city. I can't recall what the prizes were, but I
do know that this was also a well-publicized annual affair.
I remember another class that was offered
in elementary school called "Electricity." Crouse School, where
I was attending at the time, did not offer it so we had to walk
over to Lane School. This class emphasized simple electric
circuitry (fixing door bells, changing light switches, etc.).
One of the most interesting projects in the class was to make a
"crystal set" which could pick up radio stations. The crystal
set base was a cigar box turned upside down. Mounted on the box
were two terminals for ear phones, a terminal for ground and a
terminal for the antenna. At one end was the crystal and "cat's
whisker." At the other end was a coil (the coil was made from an
empty toilet paper roll which we wrapped with thin wire). What a
thrill when we were able to pick up a radio station by
maneuvering the cat's whisker on a spot on the crystal.
I remember a Savings Program conducted by
the schools and a local bank (I believe it was Akron Savings &
Loan). The participating students were issued a regular bank
book. On a designated banking day, we would bring our money
(usually nickels, dimes or quarters) to deposit in our account.
The teacher would take the money and enter the amount in our
bank book. This was during the Depression years. When the banks
were closed, I don't know what happened to the program. I think
this program, however, made our generation aware of the virtue
of saving.
I worked as a school psychologist for
many years in Akron Public Schools. In 1983 I came down with a
complete heart block which required a pacemaker implant. This
was the reason for my official retirement. However, I felt well
enough to work. Since then I have been called by the Child Study
Department to fill in when necessary. One interesting experience
– about two years ago, when I was assigned to Crouse School
(where I attended as a youngster) to do some testing, the
counselor took me into an empty classroom to do my work. I
looked around the room and commented, "This was my classroom
almost 70 years ago." It brought back many memories.
Another interesting memory that came to
me was when I substituted at Kenmore High School. Larry Weigle
was the principal. I recalled that about 60 years ago I played
basketball at Buchtel High School with his father, Darwin
Weigle.
– by Orpheus Nurches
When I went to school many years ago,
perhaps it was more a joy than today. I walked to school. In
winter the brick wall along Exchange Street going to Grace
School helped to protect us from the cold. A nurse used to come
to school to check on pupils. This seemed to bother me, and I
would ask my mother every day before leaving if the nurse would
come that day.
I would see a lady driving an electric
car, and that was quite an attraction. I believe the car
belonged to Mrs. Billow. The neighbor next door had a car with a
rumble seat, and I thought that that was wonderful.
Everyone was not perfect in that day, but
I am sure we did not have the problems of today.
– by Mrs. William C.
Seidel
I remember when I was at Buchtel from
1945 to 1949, and I had Andrew Porosky for Civics. I trembled in
my shoes when he called on me to recite. The class was made up
of all girls; and, of course, I was the only Afro-American.
Clara Goss was the gym teacher. From
September until Thanksgiving, we were outdoors playing soccer in
gymsuits and sweatshirts.
Miss Stuckey was a history teacher. If
you did not write on both sides of a term paper, next year's
classes would have to use the blank side.
Kathryn Sexauer, librarian, was one of my
favorites at Buchtel.
From Margaret Oeschner and Vincent
Biondo, English teachers, I learned tolerance and how to write
term papers.
– by Shirlee Wright
Smith
I remember filing into the halls at
Schumacher for "Air Raid" drills. We would lean toward our
locker and place our hands behind our neck. We felt very safe
from nuclear attack.
Although I usually went home for lunch, I
remember buying an occasional hot school lunch during the late
'50s for 30 cents. The milk cartons would all be in wire racks,
and the lunch lady used a specially designed poker to punch a
small hole in the top of each carton – a convenient opening for
your straw.
My fondest memory was the day the entire school sat outside on the
front lawn at Schumacher to see the Lone Ranger make a personal
appearance. He arrived dressed in his TV outfit, stepping out of
a white Cadillac. Unfortunately, Tonto was unable to come.
– by Ron Somogye
I attended Grace School at Five Points
about 1924-25. We had an
assembly at school and sang "God Bless America." We also pledged
allegiance to the flag. I had to walk from the corner of
Wildwood and Work drives past a brick wall which ran along the
sidewalk on West Exchange Street.
One of my fond memories was of my teacher
taking the class to see the bears at the bear pit, which must
have been the future home of the Akron Zoo.
When I was eight years old, I transferred
to Rankin School on Storer Avenue. Mary Myers was the principal.
We had two teachers named Miss Davis. One taught arithmetic, and
one taught art.
At 14 I went to Buchtel High School,
which had only just been built in 1931; so it was two years old
and only one-third of the original plans. We had no home
economics for the girls and no woodworking class for boys, but
we made it. We graduated – Buchtel High School class of January
1938.
– by Doris E. Allen
Steen
Between 1951-54, I attended Rankin and
Perkins. When we moved to Akron from the Bronx in the fall of
1951 to 1067 Delia Avenue, my father told me I could stay home
until the movers arrived from New York City. They were late so
my father enrolled me at Rankin. My teacher was Mrs. Smith.
After about an hour in class, I was excused to go to the
bathroom, found my locker (no locks) and headed home. The school
sent my cousin after me but to no avail. Once the movers
arrived, I went back to school. It was a great day – instant
celebrity.
In the sixth grade, our teacher was Mr.
Isaacs who everyone enjoyed learning from. I attended Perkins in
the early session due to the ongoing construction – it was nice
to get out of school at 1 p.m. My favorite teacher at Perkins
was Jerry Rhodenbaugh, although I've forgotten what he taught. I
still have a Women's Garden Club certificate for my tomatoes
signed by him.
For any of you Buchtelites, my next-door
neighbor was Miss Nottingham, the English teacher.
After school many of us would head to
Haakes Soda Fountain for phosphates. Those were great years –
the best years of our lives. My father worked at Polsky's; my
mother shopped at the Acme on Delia Avenue; and my cousin, Barry
Applebaum, and I enjoyed ourselves – plenty of friends to spend
time with. We still talk about Mary Coyles or the Krispy Kreme
on South Maple. I have never been back to Akron, but I have
wonderful memories of those few years.
– by Steve Tellis
I was selected to be in the May Festival
of Music, which was held at the Akron Armory, downtown! I was
about 11 years old. We washed and ironed my best dress, took the
bus to my destination, and very proudly sang with the chorus to
represent Portage Path School.
I also remember when our class took a
"field trip." We walked to a classmate's home to experience her
family's new possession – a television! What a concept!
– by Sally Clements Tenney |
