6th Grade Memories

The highest grade in each neighborhood school was the 6th grade. By the time each student had conquered each grade, it was a major achievement to leave the 6th grade for the junior high. However, before you could leave the 6th grade, there were several events that one had to attend.

One was the annual 6th grade concert. It was extremely embarassing to have to audition for Mrs Adelt, the district music coordinator. Each student had to make the trip alone to the second floor lunch room to sing certain tunes for her. And, if you couldn't do it satisfactorily, you didn't make it to sing in the concert...a major embarassment.

I will never forget my audition. I am no singer. But I was determined not to fail. After all, I had to save my mother from the embarassment of not having a participant in the annual concert. I was always an alto...never did have that nice girly soprano voice. Mercifully, Mrs Adelt took pity on me and, despite my voice's cracking try-out, I was somehow chosen to sing with mostly boys and do the alto part with the group. Once per week, we walked to the junior high to practice with the other 6th graders from all across town for the concert.

When the day of the concert arrived, my mother made me wear the most god-awful baby blue dress...a full skirted, bolero-jacketed creation, something my fashion-conscious Boston grandmother had sent for the occasion. I was so unhappy...and I fought the inevitable hair curlers and the dress I had to endure to get ready for the performance. My mother won, of course. I was expected to look like a lady and to give the performance of a lifetime.

The junior high auditorium was packed with parents, kids, and other relatives. We stood on risers on the stage and sang our hearts out. The repertoire was a collection of patriotic tunes but the only tunes I can actually remember singing were "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". I did feel like I accomplished something when I was done, but it wasn't one of my proudest moments. I was just glad it was done!

East Side Kid

We lived on the east side of the railroad tracks...a mostly Polish/eastern European ethnic neighborhood. Bill Owczarski's luncheonette/ice cream/candy/toy/bike store was on the corner, directly next to Hoosac St School. My brothers and I spent so much time there. Bruce was Bill's buddy, the kid who had to test every new bike that Bill put together. He would sit for hours while Bill patiently put togther the latest Schwinn or fixed up an old bike to resell it. Bill would let Bruce take it for a spin to make sure everything worked and Bruce would be in heaven. Bruce learned how to ride a 2-wheel bike at age 4, all by himself. Bill gave him an old beat-up bike and in no time, Bruce was motoring himself all over the neighborhhood.

Bill and his wife, Louise, made their own ice cream...flavors that you couldn't find anywhere else. My brother and I would sit on the front steps of Owczarski's store and wait for the latest batch of soft ice cream to be ready. Bill and Louise would bring us a small cup of the batch they were working on. It was just like Dairy Queen soft ice cream and so good!

We would sit on the stools at Bill's counter to ask for his wonderful cream sodas...Bill would put in the syrup, add a half glass of milk, stir, and fill with seltzer. The drink would be topped with a squirt of whipped cream. What a treat! They also made such wonderful sundaes, always topped with a huge mound of cream. High school and elementary kids were allowed to go out for lunch and many of them would end up at Bill's for a sandwich, burger, or hot dog. Bill did a great business and he was a great friend.

Hoosac St School

The old schools in the 50's and 60's were like dinosaurs...with great broad stairways made of wood and smelling of oily wood polish. I'll bet the smell of that polish lingers in the schools today. They are all still standing, each now used for something else.

Each classroom was a huge room, standardized with the customary photos of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the American flag,and a huge wooden teacher's desk. But each teacher made his/her room unique, decorating it with A+ papers and drawings and bulletin boards with bright pictures. The floors were shiny with the wood polish and many were warped with the years of use.

My school had one empty room...the lunch room...where we were examined once/year by old Dr Macek and nurse, Mrs Lecuyer. We were checked over, making sure our posture was good, that our hearts were ticking, and that we had no head lice. Very embarassing. The room had other uses too...lunch for the kids that lived too far to go home, assembly-like sing-alongs, auditions for the 6th grade concert. And, when the new polio vaccine came out, we were all sent to the lunch room to get our cup of vaccine to drink.

My favorite part of the school, besides the playground, was the basement. Here were the boys and girls rest rooms...it was a long trip from the second floor down there and you never knew whom you would meet. The teachers monitored how long you were gone and if you stayed there too long, someone would be sent to fetch you. But the real reson I liked the basement was because, on rainy days, we got to have recess there. We would sing and play silly games the whole time...great fun...girls on one side, boys on the other. Awesome!

'60's Winter Memories

It has been a really long time since my last post. The winter season has renewed my interest in writing so I'll continue with memories of activities popular when I was in elementary school.

Winter clothes were a challenge, especially for little kids. Snow pants, boots, hats, scarves, heavy coats...it was hard to move around with all of those items on. The back of Hoosac St School was one giant playground and we used every inch for sliding down the icy slight slope. At recess, we formed lines and we would run and slide with our boots, trying to keep standing the whole time. The challenge was to stay on your feet and not fall onto your rear end. Of course, all of the padding in the snow pants helped.

One grandmother lived at the top of Victory St. Sometimes we would take our flexible flyers or big flat pieces if cardboard to her house and slide down the alley in back all the way to Summer St. Of course, that was pretty dangerous and we only did that when the snow was fresh and not icy. My other grandmother lived halfway up Alger St. Across the street from her house was a giant hill that, on the backside, overlooked Rt 8 south to Cheshire. It was an awesome sledding hill and was one of our favorite places to go. We had flexible flyers, coasters, a jack jumper, and a toboggan. My brothers, cousin, and I would spend all day there. You really had to be careful not to land in the gully though. There was a small wet swampy area at the bottom of the hill that had a dry bridge area in the middle. You had to aim for that bridge or you would land in the wet and have to go home to dry off.

The best place to go in town was 8th hill at the Adams Country Club. It was a steep sledding area that had a couple of bumps at the bottom which acted like small ski jumps. Everyone in town went to 8th hill and on a nice sunny day, half the kids in town would be there. The hill became icy with so much use and the sleds would really be flying down the hill. Jack jumpers were popular with many kids. A jack jumper was a short ski with a post and a seat. The person sat on the seat and balanced all the way down the hill, using his legs to slow down or stop. It was scary until you became accustomed to balancing and staying on the seat. Toboggans were great fun too, the more kids on the toboggan, the faster it went.

Adams had some great outdoor skating rinks: Renfrew Field, Fisk Street, Howland Ave, PNA field. Free fun if you had skates to use. Some fields had concession stands for hot cocoa and a pot belly stove for warmth. We took advantage of all and loved every minute!

Anthony's Pond

In the 50's and 60's, Anthony's Pond was one of the greatest places for a kid to be during the summer in Adams. Frigid cold water that ran from the top of Mt Greylock trickled into the pond and filled it. It had a small dam on one end with an overflow for excess water. The water was so cold that it was hard to get a body into it except during the hottest days of summer. However, when the dog days of summer arrived, it was a wonderful place to cool off.

Anthony's was a very special place for many reasons. First, the owner, Ralph Anthony, had built a concession stand for snacks, drinks, and pinball. It also had a men's and women's changing area so you could change out of your suit. Second, it had a diving board with lots of spring and also a high diving tower. The tower was a scary place because of its height and also, once you climbed up to the top, it was hard to go back down without looking like a big chicken. So you really had to suck it up and jump! Third: Anthony's had swings, a merry-go-round, and riding animals on springs. But my very favorite thing about Anthony's was the dance hall with the juke box. If you put a nickel into the juke box, you could play your very favorite songs. It was so much fun to dance to the music of the 50's and 60's in the dance hall: Beach Boys, Martha and the Vandellas, Beatles. It was such a fun place for teens and tweens to hang out in the summer.

Gram's House

Some of my favorite memories are from spending time at my maternal grandmother's house on Alger Street. Gram would let us roam down in the back of her property in the woods and along the brook. My brothers and I would spend hours catching minnows, small trout, and salamanders. The woods had a wonderful smell and we would hike through the woods to Bellevue Falls. In the summer, the brook was a trickle but there were many nice holes where the trout and minnows swam. In the spring, the brook was high with all of the melting snow and it could be dangerous...too many rocks and swift water.

We had a blast in the brook during the summer. We would use inner tubes and slide down the small falls. We would often watch the daredevil big kids jump off the rocks and ledges at the Falls. It was a dangerous place to play and kids routinely got hurt if they didn't jump into the right spots.

Across the street from Gram's house was a huge grassy hill that we climbed in the summer to stand at the top and fly kites. When the wind was just right, you could fly your kite all afternoon. My brothers and I and cousin Wayne would spend hours up there. When we were tired of kites, we would lie in the grass and stare up at the clouds. The smell of the tall grass and the warm sun was wonderful and I often thought I was in heaven. No cares...no worries...just warm sun and fragrant grass...wonderful!

The 50's

My under-10 years. The years of catching polliwogs, salamanders, and ladybugs. Wearing snowsuits to play in the winter and skimpy swimsuits at Anthony's Pond in the summer. Skirts and dresses to school!

Watching Ed Sullivan, the Little Rascals, Leave it to Beaver, Superman, I Love Lucy and Howdy Doody on TV. Staying overnight at Gram's and bathing in her huge bath tub with the claw feet. Riding bikes and playing with Bev next door. Cousins to hang with and get into trouble with.

Going to the Adams Little League Field and participating in the funny hat parade or the costume parade. All of the kids in town would be at the playgrounds to play games and try to win the contests. 'Arts and Crafts' day was my favorite, especially lanyard-making day.