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What I Remember — From Sixth Grade (1962–1963)
I’ve heard it said that a child remembers nothing from his or her first three years. I’ve also heard it said that old people like myself — I turned 73 recently — remember more about their youth than they do about last week. Thus, as I prepare to attend my 55th high-school reunion of the class of 1969 later this summer, I thought it might be interesting to see what I actually remember from those early years, kindergarten through twelfth grade in the Catholic schools I attended in upstate New York. Since I don’t honestly remember much from those early years of school, I thought I would post my vague memories, and perhaps they might stir up the memories of others who attended school during that same era.
Sixth grade was another new experience because our teacher, for the first time, was not a nun. Mister S welcomed us to our second-floor classroom on the western, front side of the building. I believe 1962 was his first year of teaching. He seemed a bit nervous in the beginning, but he was a nice guy, and he was definitely not as strict as the nuns, which was a major relief.
The highlight of that year was playing on my first-ever basketball team. The school’s varsity coach had organized a squad of sixth graders to play in the city’s Recreation League. Ironically, our sponsor was an East End bar, and the owner hosted a small party for us at…
