1958

Oddfellows Hall, East Hampton New York

In the fall of 1958 I began kindergarten. I went in this rather scary looking building at the top of the page. A medium sized structure covered with cedar shingles it was an imposing building to me. My teacher was Mrs, Jones. Typical of kindergarten there were two classes a day. I went in the afternoon. My remembrances of this is a little foggy now but some things still stand out. I remember the old hardwood floor. We would all sit in a circle while Mrs. Jones read stories to us. I don't recall having desks and chairs but we may have. There was a section in the back of the room where we did art. Mostly finger painting, drawing or gluing things together. A heavy white paste type glue,probably Elmers, was in white bottles with a red top. There was also a red plastic stick attached to the top for dipping out that paste. I,along with most of the class, would eat that paste. I'm not sure why we did but I know that we did. Another oddity I seem to remember was a wooden jungle gym inside the building. I'm quite certain there was no padding of any kind on the floor. Safety was not as big a concern as it is today.

There was a small playground out behind the building. It was a small stone covered area and also contained a jungle gym. I believe this jungle gym was the metal type. Galvanized pipe bent into a large circle and bolted together. I can remember this Jungle Gym clearly. This jungle gym was instrumental in one of my life's most embarrassing moments ! You see we were in the reading circle and I had to use the bathroom. I had raised my hand but Mrs. Jones wasn't paying attention. After squirming around for what seemed forever she finally asked what I wanted. Problem was, by this time, it was too late ! An accident had occurred. Evidently she was paying attention now because she noticed the situation almost instantly. Taking me to the back of the classroom, where the art supplies were, she told me to put on one of the smocks we used while finger painting. I can still see that green smock with the white buttons and the paint stains on it. It went well below my knees. It was like wearing a dress and I was mortified ! Mrs. Jones told me to remove my pants and underwear and then hung them on that jungle gym outside to dry. She just as well might have run them up the flagpole ! I was certain the whole town was looking and knew whose items they were. The rest of the class I spent standing up. Oh,the shame of it all !

 Finally it was time to go home. Mom always picked me up and that day was no exception. She immediately recognized my pants,as any mother surely would, and brought the fact that she has seen them flying on the jungle gym to my attention. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, I expected she was going to call the newspaper and inform them as well.

Yup, this was in the fall of 1958 and I remember that incident like it was yesterday. There was never a repeat ! I got teased some for a little while. I heard about it for years from my siblings. Kids can be cruel but the lesson was learned.