"Hail to Rawson, Hail to thee
We'll lead you on to victory...
A month ago reunion was a vague and hazy concept for "someday" and tonight I tore up my apartment looking for my elementary school yearbook. While my fortieth college reunion is still nearly a year away, my elementary school reunion is three weeks away. Members of classes from the Sarah J. Rawson School in Hartford, from 1963 to 1967, will be getting together. When a facebook buddy first suggested it I looked at August and decided it was too busy for a trip to Hartford. The weekend of the reunion is between Blogher and a trip to San Diego and K's son's wedding and a trip to the St. Lawrence and Vermont.
But I got an email from my friend Lonni, my friend from fifth grade, who thought it would be fun for us to go together. She is moving into a new house, which I'd love to see and it would be great to spend time together. It's hard to say no to your best friend from fifth grade. When I saw the list of invitees it was impossible to say no. I was especially delighted to see my friend Gail, who lived around the corner from my family when I was growing up and was part of the jump rope and hopscotch group. Her family moved in the mid-sixties and I haven't seen her since then.
I am amazed at how excited I am. I have kept in touch with a few of my childhood friends, but to see so many people from our old neighborhood is actually thrilling. We grew up in a neighborhood of small houses and one car to a family, but a neighborhood that was very safe and fun for kids. We trick-or-treated, walked to the drugstore to buy penny candy and played infinite games of kickball in the street. There was hopscotch, roller skating and evenings of walking over to the Little League field to cheer on the neighborhood teams. There was our beloved local movie theater, The Lenox, where matinees cost a quarter and a treat was a box of snow caps or a bag of popcorn. The older kids looked after the younger ones and I knew that any adult in the neighborhood would let my parents know if I was misbehaving.
I took the safety totally for granted, but the ability to play without a lot of supervision gave me the independence that I enjoy now. If there was one gift I could give to children today it would be the sense of safety and the ability to explore the world around them independently.
This inquiring mind wants to know...Do you keep in touch with any friends from elementary school? What are some of your memories from growing up?
Sweet dreams and keep cool!
7 comments
Hi Buttercup,
I have one friend from grade seven and we only talk occasionally on FB, she is hard to make contact with. My best friend that I stayed in contact with from grade school passed away 13 years ago, sadly, so I lost that connection completely.
I'm so happy for you, though, to be able to go back and see people you haven't seen for forty years! There will be no recognition of some people I would think, I would love to do that. Have a really fabulous time!
Hugs, Cindy
I always wish the world could be like it was back then for my daughter's sake. I grew up in a NY suburb in a neighborhood where most of the kids were boys, so we played with little cars (dinkies), climbed trees, played hot foot in the street, made mud pies and pretended the street cleaner was an enemy tank. I remember chasing the milkman down in the summer to ask for a piece of ice and sitting on the curb waiting to hear the bell of the Good Humor truck. My best friend is actually from 3rd grade but she lives in Chicago and I wish we kept in touch more often.
I know you are looking forward to the grade school reunion. I have a girlfriend that I have known since 1st grade and no matter how long it is between visits, we just pick right up talking/laughing. Hope you have a wonderful time and take lots of pics to share with us!
I'm sorry to say that no, there is not much contact with my friends from grade school. Even though I never moved out of town many of them did and even the ones here now live a completely different lifestyle so I don't keep up with them. Glad though that you still have those contacts and hope you can enjoy getting together with them.
I have reconnected with a few childhood friends through facebook and still get together with my best childhood friend since we were born. We were next-door neighbors and spent a lot of time at each others house.
Your reunion sound like so much fun. Gotta see who remains the best in jump rope and hopscotch! :)
Yes, still talk to them.
I remember playing outside at all times of the year, riding bikes, playing house and Barbies.
We played school alot too. We made the boys listen to our "concerts"--
they love that. :)
Have fun and enjoy.
melinda
I am meeting with elementary friends next week! We reconnected on Facebook. There will be six of us who haven't seen each other in decades, but those grade school memories are so fresh and so sharp. Can't wait! (Have a great time with all your events.)
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