Kindergarden -1946

"Born Annoyed" - Ch  4  -  "Kindergarden -1946"


Eddy Elementary -Kindergarden, Sixth Street, St.Clair, Michigan, USA - 1946.

World War II  was  Over.

I was 5 years old.  I walked from my house on 8th & Jay around the corner and knocked on Chuckie
Eggars" door so we could walk to school together.  I had to wait for him because his Mother had to iron his shirt.   Almost always I had to wait.  I sat on his back steps. The school was only about a block away but we were always  late  and almost always had to
sit in the corner.  I didn't mind sitting in the corner because I got a lot of spankings at home for not
minding.  Sitting in the corner wasn't that bad.

Kindergarden was mostly about  learning  to fear.  Stories about the "Three Bears",  "Little Red Riding Hood"-The Big Bad Wolf,    Witches - Hansel and Gretel  and Trolls - The the "Three Billy Goats Gruff."  These stories were told in Germany and the British Isles to the children to make them afraid
of wondering into the woods.
I never in my life saw an actual Witch or Troll or a Wolf that looked at all like either Grandmother.

I learned to color with fat crayons on newsprint.   I laughed when I heard about the child that had to go see the school psychologist because all of his pictures were black.  They thought he must be depressed.
The good Dr. asked why all his pictures were black?  The child said that when they passed the box of crayons around - he was the last one to get the box - and only the black crayon was left.

We had nap time and laid on a thin old rug.  I think the "Quiet Time" was to give the Teachers a break.  Mrs. Gleim was the teacher and
and Miss Buckmeyer  ( Mrs. Alma Yost)  was the Assistant Teacher.  She was beautiful-with
real long brown hair, and long finger-nails painted red, and red lipstick.  She was nice.
She played the piano and we sang nursery rhyme songs. - "Farmer in the /Dell"  We would stand
in a circle - a boy would stand in the middle and have to pick a wife.  The Girls would giggle.
I wonder --if today if either a boy or a girl could be the farmer and could they pick either a boy or
a girl?   Other play songs were "London Bridges", and  "Ring Around The Rosies, And "Itsey-Bitsey
Spider"
In Kindergarden Carol Butlin and I were the tallest  girls.  Carol was pretty and wore pretty dresses and saddle shoes that were always polished and shined.  I wore dresses too but my shoes were brown high tops with
scuffy toes with brown shoe laces that had broken many times and had to be tied together.