I attended Sarah Greenwood Elementary School from 1937 to 1942. I was 4 years old.
Let me first talk a little about the school.
As I recall, the kindergarten classrooms were located in the basement. The children would gather together and walk in pairs to enjoy recess outdoors. The teacher or aids would walk around with a woven basket and hand out refreshments. It was always one cracker and one ice-box chocolate cookie. I can remember how very much we all enjoyed this and it was great to run around outdoors. To this date, the taste combination is enthralling to me.
There was also a cafeteria which served hot lunches. On particular days, I shall never forget the pungent smell of corned beef hash that permeated all through the halls. I do believe these lunches were served to children who were believed to be undernourished or underweight, as was I. A few years later, I was absolutely thrilled to be a hall-monitor and helped direct the traffic in these same halls.
Christmas was a very special time and all the children would assemble in the “main area” and there would be music and singing. Just before leaving for the holidays, we would go back to our classroom and there would be a special box of Christmas hard candies left for each of us at our desks. I was so proud to take this little box of candy home to show my parents.
I can remember having a school crush on one of my fellow classmates, Robert Rittenburg, who was tall, blonde and oh so handsome.
Walking home from school one day with my older sister, I can remember seeing my baby brother for the first time. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. I am still very close to my one and only brother, who later became a professor at Boston University and is now retired and living in Corpus Christi.
I have such fond memories of Dorchester!!
I so remember Harvard Street and the little shops. There was one shop that sold fresh chickens, and when you walked by you could see the ladies sitting on small benches in and out of the store, removing the feathers from the chickens. and getting them ready to be sold. There was a bakery, and I remember that each morning my mother would send one of us to buy 3 fresh baked rolls.
On the corner, there was an establishment called “Phil n Eddy’s”……this was filled with the aroma of beer. Actually it was some kind of a bar but we were allowed to share a corned-beef sandwich and fresh root beer each Saturday before we walked to our favorite movie theatre. This was none other than the “Magnet”. We would anxiously arrive at the theatre to get in line to not only buy a ticket for ten cents but we also received a promotion each week. Sometimes it was a set of dishes which would be disbursed in increments, etc. We would see two movies, the usual newsreels, and then a serial such as Flash Gordon. I can remember seeing Frankenstein and being so frightened!!
Many fun experiences were also shared at Franklin Field and also the Franklin Park Zoo.
All of this took place from the years 1937 through 1942.
It was a pleasure recapturing these wonderful moments.
Thank you,
Roberta Daner