"Happy Days and Historical
Happenings"
CANTON SCHOOL DAYS, 1954-1966
Connie Cook Smith
Originally written and published in
the Canton Daily Ledger in March 21, 2001, now updated at
the conclusion, July 15, 2007
When my family moved from Glasford to Canton in
November of 1954, just after I started first grade, I
felt I’d arrived in wonderland!
Canton’s busy midtown square seemed much more
city-like than Glasford’s little storefronts. And the
multi-storied houses and towering elms along wide brick
streets looked to me like the perfect setting for
fantasies and adventures!
I was sent to Hulit School in the lovely west end of
town. This red brick building, containing grades 1 - 4,
was constructed in 1888 and rose above the neighborhood
on the southeast corner of W. Chestnut and Ave. C.
There was Mrs. King, who understood that first
graders often needed more mothering than teaching. I
recall the beatific look on her face as she made it
clear we children were part of a historic scientific
breakthrough. We were among the first who received the
Salk vaccine against polio. It was delivered to our
school in the form of sugar cubes, and I remember them
being distributed to us with nearly the same reverence
as communion wafers.
There was second grade’s Miss Silva, a tiny lady
originally from Portugal. (She was "just our size!") It
was especially fun to hear her slightly accented rant
against the gyrations of that awful new performer, Elvis
Presley.
Mrs. Baker in third grade dutifully conducted our
"duck and cover" exercises to save us from nuclear
holocaust, then went back to enthralling us with stories
of "Susannah the Pioneer Cow." Fourth grade’s fun and
innovative Mrs. Pegram seated us in a wide semi-circle
instead of in rows. (The better to see you, my dear!)
In fifth and sixth grades, I went to Wright School,
at the current site of the fire station on Spruce
Street. Wright looked much like Hulit – another lofty,
symmetrical brick building – built way back in 1869 and
flanked by huge old trees. My two teachers there were
Mrs. Weaver, who moved us to tears with readings of "The
Secret Garden," and Mrs. Bump, who ever so kindly
persuaded us girls that we were not really ready for
bright red ‘50's lipstick.
Then on South Main, between Walnut and Maple, came
literally the "Happy Days" of Canton Junior High – 1960!
Not only did we suddenly have Jack and Jackie Kennedy,
the most attractive couple in political history now
headed to the White House, but the school itself was a
feast for the senses. This 1860's four-story, rambling,
multi-gabled, brick BEHEMOTH of a building made me feel
like a wizard-in-training before there was ever a set
for a Harry Potter movie.
Gleaming wooden floors, high ceilings, graceful
archways, and soaring staircases conveyed an atmosphere
of dignity, mystery, and exuberance combined. I loved to
traverse those halls, from the cavern-like cafeteria in
the cellar, to the lofty bandroom at the very tip-top of
the school. And I adored Mrs. Hall’s homeroom, so full
of plants and pretties.
In awe I recall approaching a Junior High Open House
one crisp autumn evening, with every light ablaze in the
massive building. Against the darkness, it looked like a
magnificent ship at sea.
And how keenly I remember Mrs. Walker comforting us
in gym class one October day in 1962, at the height of
the Cuban missile crisis. At age 14, I was so very
worried I would die in my gym suit!
Well, the world survived, but President Kennedy did
not. Just over a year later I was a sophomore watching a
play at the "new" high school, still there today on
North Main Street. The play was "The Mouse That Roared."
Unbelievably, somebody onstage was playing the role of
U.S. President, complete with a Boston/Kennedy accent.
Suddenly, the audience was restless with murmurs that
the real JFK had been shot, and I stomped off to the
office to put this awful rumor to rest. But there stood
the dear secretary, Miss Danner, copious tears streaming
down her face. I’d never seen an adult cry at school
before, and it was verification that the horrendous had
happened.
But from a
teenager's point of view, it wasn't long before the
mop-headed Beatles burst onto the scene and provided
some relief from the grief. And so went the '60's...
Looking back, the oft-heard saying comes to mind:
"Inside of every older person is a young person who is
very surprised." I know I sure am!
Did we think we'd always have bodies able to run
around massive schools all day and stay up at slumber
parties all night? Did we think those monumental,
dignified structures would always be there for us, to
embrace us once again if we chose to return and
remember? I know I did...at least when it came to the
schools. I believed they were immutable bulwarks of
American life -- eternally untouchable
and indestructible! But now, in reality, all gone.
While I was testing my wings in Baltimore and Los
Angeles, the buildings were razed. I must admit that
good decisions were made to construct excellent housing
and city-service buildings on these sites. And I
understand that modern schools with energy-affordable
construction and handicap accessibility were needed in
the new population-shift areas of town.
And it turns out there IS a happy ending to my Canton
schools nostalgia! It just so happens that, because
excellent housing was constructed on the old sites, my
husband and I now enjoy everyday what was my
favorite view from my favorite school in the 1960's.
The lovely Victorian homes are still across the
street on South Main, which I used to gaze out over
during our ecstatic music in the bandroom at the top of
the school, and which Mark and I now happily look out
over today!
The great old building may be gone, but the happy
space from happy days, remains!
