1st Grade
by George Steffen
8th Grade Basketball
by George Steffen
My only memory of 1st grade was Nellie Sharp demoting me from
the "Cardinal" reading group to the "Bluebird" group. Provided several
of my classmates with a case of the giggles and finger pointing. I've
never forgiven her. Still in therapy. LOL
8th Grade Basketball
by Terry Spaeth
Speaking of “attractive” ladies, an eighth grade memory was our
parochial basketball team’s visit to GCHS for a little friendly
competition with our secular classmates. Upon arrival, some jocular
competitors directed us to our locker room... the girls’ showers. To our
delight, the A squad cheerleaders were showering after a hard practice.
After a fair amount of shrieks, we found our way to the correct locker
room, but not before fulfilling a cherished adolescent dream. Ahhh...
those were the days!
Kindergarten
by Connie Kohlhepp
In 1955 we town kids were eligible to enter
kindergarten. Our teacher was Mrs.
Bach. My memories of her are flowered
dresses and “spankings” on our birthdays.
She would pull us over her lap and clap her hand together to simulate a
spanking. I don’t remember much about
the school time except that we had graham crackers and milk each day. We all recited this prayer:
Thank you
for the world so sweet
Thank you
for the food we eat
Thank you
for the birds that sing
Thank you
God for everything.
We had show-and-tell and rest time each day. We all brought in a rug for rest time. Most of us had little rugs and had
to curl up to stay off the floor. George
S was the only one who had a long sleeping bag thing so he could rest in
stretched out comfort. He also thought
that he was pretty smart for knowing that the African violets I brought in for
show-and-tell really didn’t come from Africa as I fraudulently claimed. Our field trip that year was a train ride.
Recess on the Hill
by Helen Limberg
It was a cold and rainy night - no, really, it was a bright, sunny, cold winter day in Glenwood City, Wisconsin. It was recess time so all the students were out on the playground with the teachers standing around talking. All the adults were hoping the time would pass quickly and all the students were hoping they could get more time playing on the equipment or sliding down the huge hill on one side of the school property.
Sliding down the hill on saucers (curved, metal structures) was the favorite of the older kids. We would start at the top of the hill because that is where the school was and then sit on the saucers grabbing the cloth straps so we didn’t fall off. Going down the hill was a lot faster than climbing back up, especially when the tracks down started icing over. Then one could truly take a speedy and frightening trip down the hill. At the bottom there was a small flat area and then another small hill that led right into the road.
Well, you guessed it. During those icy days it didn’t take long for kids to end up in the street. It took longer for the teachers to realize that it was dangerous - not that the kids had a clue. My last trip down the hill wasn’t an eye opener. As I went down the small hill, I hit my head and it knocked me out. I came to looking at some of my friends asking me if I was all right.
As an aside, some of the playground equipment is now at the old Rivard homestead. The merry-go-round which also used to throw us off when it reached top speed is there as is some of the other equipment like the swings. It used to be a bed and breakfast so people could use the equipment.
A fire started in the school on July 31, 1958, about 2 pm. It was a Wednesday and both the Glenwood City and Boyceville fire departments help put out the fire. It took about 2 hours. I don’t think they ever found out how it started.
