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Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Nostalgia post back to school memories

I remember a new shirtwaist dress every year for the first day of school in high school. Usually it had a matching sweater for later when it was cold. And a new pair of Bass Weejuns - oxblood burgundy. We wore them with everything. my Mom wouldn't let me wear nylons to school, so In the warm months I went bare leg and when it got cold - kneesocks. A few girls wore nylons but most were not allowed like me. I think most of our parents couldn't afford to buy a teenager nylons.

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Posts: 4,783
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Nostalgia post back to school memories


@judy0330 wrote:

I did very well in school but hated every minute of it.  The only thing I liked was getting new school supplies.  I have two very strong memories about back to school time.  The first was the TV Guide Fall Preview Edition.  When that arrived I knew the party was almost over.  The second was the Jerry Lewis Telethon.  Always over Labor Day weekend and we went back to school the following day.  That was like a shot to my heart!  LOL!!  Even now -- in my 60's -- when this time of year rolls around -- I am still thankful not to be going back to school!


You struck a cord about new school supplies.  Since our sense of smell is one of our strongesst senses, I can still remember the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and copy books we were dircted to have on our first day.  I would come home the first day and sit on the front step with my mother going over the events of the day and the high hopes I had for maintaining perfection throughout the school term.  

 

The classrooms were large, musty and looming wood paneled with hard desks and a coat room in the back where nuns soon learned made great places to punish children who might be considered "unruly."  Pointers and long rulers were often used as weapons towards toddlers who hadn't yet learned the right answers to the question posed.  Not once did I see a nun sit down with a small child and explain how to find the correct ansers.   You either were prepared or you were one of the "others."  And if your parents were well-to-do, you were immediately the preferred pupil.  

 

I fooled them all though.  I managed to graduate parochial school with honors and a few scars and banged-up knuckles.  Moved on to a public school after that and thought I'd died and went to heaven.

~The only difference between this place and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band.~
Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,349
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Nostalgia post back to school memories

I remember new clothes and new shoes.  I spent summers in NJ with my grandparents, and at the end of the summer, when I was really young,  my grandmother would take me on a shopping trip to Bamberger's in Morristown, NJ.  I'd usually get a couple of pairs of shoes and 3 or 4 new dresses, a sweater, maybe a jacket.

 

Then we'd have lunch at the lunch counter in Bamberger's.  Usually a hamburger and apple pie a la mode!  That was fun!  One of my most vivid memories.  1970s.

 

 

 

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,162
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Nostalgia post back to school memories

My sis was one grade ahead of me. She got 5 new dresses each year. I got her 5 new dresses THE NEXT YEAR! We laugh about it now. I think that's why I love shoes and office supplies so much -- those were my new items. Not complaining. Just memories.  

 

I loved summer so much. June was the best. Then 4th of July celebrations. We spent 2 fun weeks in July with my beloved grandmother in North Carolina. August 1st meant the last month of summer (first day of school after Labor Day). Going back to school was a bummer.

 

My career was in education. How did that happen?

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." Henry David Thoreau
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Posts: 935
Registered: ‎07-02-2014

Re: Nostalgia post back to school memories

The five of us went to Catholic School and had uniforms. We had a pleated skirt,white blouse, a crisscross snap plaid tie,matching beret,navy socks and saddle shoes. My mom had to get an ironing lady or she would have spent all her time ironing our white shirts and my dad's dress shirts. My parents were strict and would not allow us to watch TV on school nights. And required us to do 2 hours of homework or studying every night. We hated that. However we all are college educated. Our professions are an accountant,a nurse ,an executive administrative assistant to the Superintendent of a large school district, a horse racing presiding judge and a financial analyst. So I guess my parents knew what they were doing. Lol.  Em