It was a wonderful school. Most of the kids lived nearby & walked to school. As I recall, the parents were around & very supportive of us. We took part in non-academic activities there such as family square-dancing, school carnivals, and track & field meets on our playground. The teachers were very good, for the most part, and really encouraged us to learn. I have a lot of good memories of Coolidge, beginning with my first memory of morning kindergarten with Mrs. Beatty. There was an enclosed “play store,” with items on shelves and we could practice “selling items” to our friends. Mrs. Shannon was my 2nd grade teacher. She lived just kitty-corner from the school and would sometimes invite us to her house for treats after school, or just to talk. My favorite teacher was Mrs. Wooley, whom I had for both 3rd & 5th grades. She Is the one who got me interested in reading good books. She also was lots of fun, although if our class started misbehaving, she would say we were “giving Mrs. Wooley the Willy-Nillys.” I always meant to come back to thank her for getting me on the path to librarianship, but of course time went by and I never did. I think the teachers & administration at Coolidge made us feel respected as young learners, and because of that we wanted to please them. I was one of the first “Patrol girls,” at Coolidge and had the corner at Beecher Rd. & Westcomb. Also Sue Heginbottom and I were responsible for raising & lowering the flag everyday for both our 5th & 6th grade years. We would go into the 6th grade classroom and climb through a window out onto a little balcony, and we could pull in the flag from there. Boy, did we ever feel important. |