By Florence Goodman

Wolcott Historical Society News By Florence Goodman (5.12.25)

I recently received a package in the mail from a former resident, John Leyden. John and his family had lived at 443 Todd Road in the early 1940s. He attended the old Lewis School on Shelton Avenue which is also referred to as the South School and he wanted to share his memories with us.

John started first grade at Lewis School on Shelton Avenue in 1945 and his memories of this school are quite vivid, even today at the age of 85. He remembers the school as a 1-1/2 story brick building that was old even then. The wide cement stairs lead up to double front doors which opened onto a long, wide hall that ran the length of the building to the back door. Seventh and eighth graders shared the room on the right side of the hall while fifth and sixth graders shared the room on the left. Each of these rooms had a full folding wall facing the hall and when opened created one large room. Beyond the first two rooms stairs brought you to the lower level where grades one through four had their own smaller individual rooms. The girls' and boys' restrooms were on the opposite sides of the hall and the furnace and lunchroom were in the basement.

There was no kindergarten in Wolcott at that time so first grade was a big transition for students and mothers experiencing separation anxiety. John remembers the excitement of receiving his first pencil box about the size of a cigar box. It contained two new pencils, an eraser, a six-inch ruler, a half circle protractor that no one knew what to do with, a small plastic pencil sharpener and several other goodies. He remembers that most pencil boxes had a draw that slid out to keep folded paper in. These boxes were important to the children because they signified that you were finally going to school, and you even got to write your name inside the box.

John stated that before the school year began, he got some new clothes; a pair of black U.S. Keds, the $2.00 variety, two pairs of blue jeans, a few new shirts, underwear and socks that were good for the first two months of school. Once November arrived, he would also get corduroy pants, a few long sleeve shirts and maybe a new coat if last year's was too small.

When the big day arrived, they got up early, ate breakfast and were ready almost an hour early. John and his mom walked the mile and a half down Todd Road to Lewis Avenue meeting other mothers and students along the way. When they arrived at the school, they waited for the bell to announce that it was "school time." Then they marched up the steps and down the hall as the moms steered them into their first-grade class. John stated that the desks were wooden affairs with open fronts to store your books and were arranged in rows, they took the first open seat. John sat next to the windows, and he could see his friend Jacky Jay's house next door. Once they were seated, the teacher, Mrs. Curtain introduced herself and welcomed everyone. She then gave the rules. "No talking in class, no chewing gum, raise your hand to speak. There would be recess in two hours and they could use the bathroom before they went outside to play. If you could not wait, raise your hand and when called on, ask to use the restroom."

Mrs. Curtain then had each student stand one at a time and introduce themselves to the class. There were fourteen students in John's class and many knew each other from Sunday School at St. Peter and Paul's church. It was at this time that the teacher thanked the mothers for bringing their children to school and invited them to leave. She reminded them that school ended at three p.m.

John wrote that his first-grade teacher was a kind woman who worked hard to put everyone at ease and stressed to them that learning would be fun, and they would see changes in themselves that would make them feel good. She stated, "I promise you that by the end of this school year you will be able to read and read well, you will make new friends, and you will learn skills that you will use all your lives. Education is a journey, and I am glad you are here, starting your trip with me."

By the end of the school year, his teacher was right. They could read those first books of "See Spot run..." and then onto the weekly Scholastic Weekly Readers. They were able to do simple math, history and music. In the spring they planned a Mother's Tea and on May 2, 1946, at 2:00 p.m. they ushered their moms to the lunchroom to sit at the tables that were covered with a tablecloth and had a vase of flowers in the center. They served tea and cookies that Mrs. Curtain had made, and they sang songs to their moms. When the school year came to an end, they were sorry to leave Mrs. Curtain, but excited to be home for the summer.

By second grade, John noted that students were able to cross the street to visit the candy store run by the Gibbons sisters, in the back of their basement. Their specialty was penny candy. John's second grade teacher was Mrs. Kibble. Second grade was also when students were able to go to the dentist through a school health program. Math became more important in second grade and marbles became a popular game on the playground. In third grade, John's teacher was Mrs. Summers, and this was the year they started using ink from the ink wells on the desks rather than pencils. It was good that the ink was washable because much of it ended up on their clothing. Fourth grade introduced multiplication, and they had to memorize the times tables. This was also the year new desks were added after spring break. These desks allowed students to lift the whole top of the desk. Fifth grade introduced science as a new subject, and everyone felt like they were inventors.

By sixth grade John was excited to have a male teacher, Mr. Dithers. John wrote, "He was a great teacher. He took personal interest in all of us. If you were having trouble in any area, he would ask you to stay after school for a few minutes to help him, but he then helped you. He brought structure to our playground after lunch. Where we had been on our own, Mr. Dithers organized sports; volleyball, kickball, races, jump rope competitions for boys and girls. That winter, he even organized a snowball fight, before we could get in trouble for throwing snowballs." Mr. Dithers also played the piano and every Wednesday afternoon, he would play music from Mozart, Liszt, Beethoven and more. On Friday afternoons he would read one of the classics, a chapter at a time. He even read "Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and reminded students that her father, Amos Bronson Alcott grew up in Wolcott. John felt that Mr. Dithers made enthusiastic readers of all his students.

At the end of John's sixth grade year, they were informed that they were building a new school on Todd and Woodtick Roads and it would be completed over the summer and next year they would be attending Frisbie Grammar School. They were sad to be leaving "their school" where so many memories were made.

John has written a wonderful narrative of his school adventures through sixth grade even listing his teachers and the subjects that were added at each grade level. It is obvious as you read these encounters that our town's education system was excellent even then. There are so many interesting details of his elementary years at Lewis School, but I cannot share them all. I am hoping to scan the complete seven-page story and have it on our website wolcotthistory.org soon.

As I read John's story, I couldn't help but remember the wonderful years I too spent in our school system. Life was different then in our town, but thankfully we have people like, John that are willing to share these memories that have stayed with him for his life.

John's grandparents' home (Kelley) at 443 Todd Road. John's family lived with them.

Lewis School was located on Shelton Avenue. It was closed in June of 1980 and sold. Today, there are four raised ranch homes on the property.

These are the ink pens that students used in the early elementary schools.

The ink bottles that were used with the ink pens. The ink bottles students used were set into the holes on their desks.

Early wooden desk that John used.

New desk that was added to the schools in the late 1940s.

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