Hill School: First Memories

Hill School was in Crystal Bay. It was already an old building when I went there. Strangely, I haven't seen a picture of how it looked at that time...all show it as having wooden clapboard siding. Even a few years ago before they began remodeling it into a new private school, it had wooden siding. When I went there, however, it had a very rough stucco exterior...so rough that if you brushed it when playing, it would give you a serious scrape...or tear your clothes. I'm talking about the "old" school...the "new" one was built in 1950, I believe, and was next door across the tennis courts and playground.

The first day of 1st grade was a little bit scary. I had attended Long Lake the year before, and, except for Steve, whom I'd played with all summer, I knew no one. I seem to remember that for at least that first year, we had both 1st and 2nd grade classes in the same room...the one on the west side of the building. It must be so for when I was introduced to the class by my teacher, the big cheerful face in front of me turned around and, with a huge smile said, "Hi Charles". It was Don Short and I knew immediately that he was going to be a good friend.

As you entered the front door of the school, on the right, in a tiny little room, was our library. Filled to the ceiling with books, the little place barely had room for the small desk in the corner where we could sign out our choices. As I said, television had not yet caught on with the general public, stations and hours of broadcast were limited, and the cost was high. Books, therefore, were highly valued by kids. We could check out books anytime but had to return them before we could get another.

On the left side of the entryway, was the cloak room framed by the boys and girls bathrooms. We'd put our coats, boots, mittens and caps in here along with our lunches that each of us brought, either in a paper or bread bag, or in a lunchbox. Lunchboxes had become really a big deal and I had a Red Ryder one.

Looking toward the north end...the end away from the front door...were two rooms, side by side, with a long row of high windows on the outside wall of each. The inside wall was covered with a long blackboard, ( on which I wrote many, many times things like "I will not talk in class"). The teacher sat at her desk in the front of the room, (the north end, or back of the building). A large dark green metal garbage can sat on the floor next to her desk...(especially useful for naughty boys to throw their gum after wearing it on their noses). An American flag mounted in a metal flag pole stand was in the corner.

Perhaps a little humorously, I hear people today rant about the phrase "under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance...apparently they don't know that the phrase wasn't added until 1954. I remember saying the pledge that year and thinking how strange it sounded with the new words.

We sure had a lot of recess time in those days it seemed. We'd play after the bus brought us to school but before the old bell rang; we had a morning recess for half an hour; a long lunch hour recess governed only by how quickly you could eat your sandwich; an afternoon recess; and the time before the buses came to pick us up.

The teacher in the younger grades would be with us, teaching and playing games with us. I remember playing something called " cut the pie" in the winter. The children would walk around in a circular pattern, making a large pie in the snow. Then, we'd make the slices the same way. I don't remember exactly how it was played, but I do know you were in trouble if you "cut the pie"...that is stepped out of the tracks.

The basement was the lunchroom. We'd take our lunches down there, get a little bottle of milk...for which our parents paid 2 cents, and eat quickly so as to get outside for recess.

I have many more stories of our days at Hill School and will continue them in the future.