During senior year high school English class, when we were studying the John Keats poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, we had a substitute teacher. Alas, I can’t recall her name, but she was an enthusiastic lover of poetry and her enthusiasm became infectious. When she got to the lines— Heard melodies are sweet, but … Continue reading Thou Still Unravish’d Bride
Elco
An Unlocked Window
I know with absolute certainty what the opening topic of discussion was in Mrs. Spitler’s Latin II class on February 16, 1965. I’ve mentioned previously how Mrs. Spitler would sometimes let us rant or discuss something that was on our minds for the first few minutes of class, and I know what was on our … Continue reading An Unlocked Window
Arlene and James Tour the Universe
While going through those boxes that I've mentioned more than once, I came across some report cards from my school days, including my senior year. It has some surprises. I knew that I had slacked off towards the end of the year, when the grades no longer mattered for getting into college, but a “D” … Continue reading Arlene and James Tour the Universe
Philip
As I’ve mentioned previously, when I was growing up in Richland, Randy was one of my oldest friends. As it happened, he had a lot of cousins in that town. A lot of cousins. One of whom was Philip. Philip was three years older than we were, and he was what you might call an … Continue reading Philip
Teen Forum Dec 9, 1966
Here’s another Teen Forum from my high school years, and this one is very close to my heart as I’m in it! Just kidding. The other kids are Maryann Shelhamer, David Heberling, Suzanne Berger, Delroy “Skeet” Seldomridge, Beverly Kiser, and Thomas Seubert. I can’t say my answer looks particularly thoughtful 57 years later. Then again, … Continue reading Teen Forum Dec 9, 1966
Elco
The previous item reminded me of my first couple of weeks at the brand spankin’ new Elco school. Compared to the the Richland school where I had been going since third grade, it was huge. At Richland there were five classrooms for the six elementary grades, so grades three through five were split and shared … Continue reading Elco
Teen Forum Jan 25, 1963
Here’s a Teen Forum from our first year at the newly built Elco school. In fact that’s the subject of the question: Now that the students have had four and a half months in the new facilities what do they appreciate about them? Only one of the kids is from Richland, Eric Smith, whom I … Continue reading Teen Forum Jan 25, 1963
Johnson & Johnson
In seventh grade I was still going to school in Richland, as the consolidated Eastern Lebanon County (Elco) school was a year from being completed. My memory is a bit hazy, but I think I had a study period in Mr. Paine’s room once a week, and I usually sat next to a delightful girl … Continue reading Johnson & Johnson
The Second College Bowl
A couple years ago I wrote about the College Bowl that Elco put on during my junior year and my humiliating performance in it. As it happens, I didn’t learn my lesson, and during my senior year, I once again participated in that year’s College Bowl. I guess Elco had decided to make it an annual … Continue reading The Second College Bowl
Jennifer Kenny
After some further searching, I discovered in the newspaper archives that Sally Price and Jennifer Kenny were often involved in Library Club activities, so it seemed that Jennifer Kenny must be the name of the third girl that I wasn’t certain of in my previous post. But I couldn’t find her in the yearbook, or … Continue reading Jennifer Kenny