Fond Memories - The Last Week Of School

I doubt that any kid or grownup out there can't remember what a relief it was to be in this last week of school. For our last week of school, in the little one-room school I went to, we always had a picnic where we went out and cut some long sticks, sharpened the end of them and roasted hot dogs over a wood fire. The number of students was not that big as it ranged from a total of 4 to the highest number being 13. I know that we must have had something else, but that is the only thing I can remember, considering the fact that I graduated from the 8th grade in 1945. I sure was happy to see June come each year, however, like most kids, come September, was also happy to get back to school. Summers were not fun and games as I was brought up on a family farm with my mother, father & two sisters. We hayed all summer and many times did not have our haying done by the time I went back to school. Our summer did always end up on a happy note however as we usually took one day and packed a picnic lunch and went down to The Champlain Valley Fair. Dad loved to see the horse races, so that was the day we usually went. We watched from outside the fence and did not go on the Grand Stand.

The new school year was always a challenge as I never had the same teacher two years in a row. Because of the war, we also did not have teachers that had completed their training. They were usually girls who went to Johnson Normal School and had completed two years of training. One year, like most of you, I had a teacher I will never forget. Her name was Miss Brennen and she was from New York State. Apparently, New York State had a more rigid requirements than Vermont and she sure put me through the hoops that year - It was my fourth grade. Perhaps my happiest June ever.

High school was perhaps my biggest challenge. I went my first year to Alburg High School where I stayed with my grandmother and grandfather since Fairfield did not have a high school. A long, long year. My sophomore year I went to St. Mary's High School in St. Albans where my parents paid $10 a week for room & board for me. I quit in January after Mid Years. I stayed out of school for a year and went back the next January and stayed in school until I graduated in June of 1951..Each June was a blessing....but highschool was a long five years........

Soooooo, in the end, in case you wonder why I have "Fond Memories" of the last week of school, now you know the story.