School Days

A couple of weeks ago I shared some Kindergarten memories and since then I've been thinking about more elementary school memories, including the two years we spent at Harvel.   

Playground at Harvel Grade School

First Grade was a wake-up call. Gone were the days of lounging around before or after half-day Kindergarten. The Raymond kids were bused to Harvel for first and second grade, and the mornings were hectic. Mom had to get me to the Harvel bus, my sister, Sue, to junior high, and my sister, Nan, to high school. We would make several stops on the way to pick up Nan's friends. It seemed like they were always running late and we would wait outside each house while Close To You by the Carpenters and I’ll Be There by the Jackson 5 played over and over again on KXOK. Once in the car, they would resume getting ready, combing their hair and applying extra layers of blue eye shadow. Sometimes we were really late and the bus would be pulling away just as we drove up, but the driver would pull over and let me on. Occasionally, we missed it all together and mom would have to make the trip to Harvel to drop me off.  

Harvel Grade School

I don’t remember what I learned in First Grade, but I do remember the adults who made an impression on me that year:  

Our first grade teacher, Miss Vivian Hefley, did not have thumbs. I  found this unsettling because I wondered what had happened to her thumbs and assumed that whatever it was, must have hurt. Really bad. Miss Hefley explained to us that she was born without thumbs and then showed us how she could easily write on the chalkboard by holding the piece of chalk between her index finger and middle finger. It turned out that she used those two fingers for almost everything, and really didn’t seem to need thumbs at all. Before long, no one thought anything of it.    

Ruby Egelhoff and Clara Neunaber were our lunch ladies. Since there was no cafeteria at Harvel Grade School, we ate at our desks. At about 11:30 each morning, the top half of the door in the corner of the room would swing open, and Ruby and Clara would be there to give us our trays. They served us good food and they were always friendly and happy.  

Reuban Smith was our bus driver and custodian. Mr. Smith wore bib overalls and a hat, and he always whistled as he rolled the big garbage can on wheels around the school. Everyone loved him.

Photo and caption from the 1973 Harvel Centennial Book

Second Grade went much more smoothly. My oldest sister and her friends had graduated from high school and the mornings were easier. Mrs. Chausse was my teacher, and she spent a lot of class time reading books to us like Charlotte’s Web and the entire Ramona the Pest series by Beverly Cleary. That's when I realized for the first time that I loved books and reading, and I will forever be grateful to Mrs. Chausse for providing me with that foundation. She also gave us plenty of time to color and paint, and I'll never forget that almost 50 years before the low carb craze, she introduced us to spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta. 

Birthdays were a huge deal in second grade. The birthday girl or boy would provide treats for the class (usually cupcakes) and each student would make a birthday card out of construction paper to present during the party (I included some samples below). 

Mrs. Chausse in later years

One January morning, I woke up feeling sick, but since it was Steve Bails’ birthday and we were having a party, I didn’t say a word and went off to school as usual. We had just started making Steve’s birthday cards when I threw up, right there at my desk in front of everyone. Poor Mr. Smith had to come in with his big garbage can on wheels and sprinkle that stuff that resembled kitty litter on the mess and then clean it all up. I don't recall that he was whistling that morning. Then, the Principal, Mr. Howard Hartke himself, drove me back to Raymond in his fancy sports car. He gave me a little plastic bag to hold "just in case" and I’m sure he drove extra fast to get there before I threw up again. Luckily, we made it. 

Thanks to Susan Lebeck for providing the Harvel Grade School Photos from the 1973 Harvel Centennial Book.