52 Ancestors - Week 37
Prompt -
School
Nancy Ann
Simmons - Me!
As Dwight
Eisenhower is elected president and Princess Elizabeth is crowned Queen of
Great Britain, I headed off to kindergarten in the fall of 1952. At the time I
was the oldest of three little girls and taking off for school was my first
step toward independence. Kindergarten was uneventful, except the spring
carnival where I got to see Soupy Sales live doing the Soupy Shuffle. Soupy was a big Detroit comedian who did a
kid's lunch time TV program with his sidekicks White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie
the Lion and my favorite, Willie the Worm! From 1st through 6th
grade, I often walked home and ate lunch watching Soupy Sales and then walking
back to school for my afternoon classes.
 |
| Soupy Sales |
As I started kindergarten in 1952, life in our household had many new events. My father bought a grocery store business in Detroit, my baby brother, Robert, was born and after my parents purchased a house on Sharon Street in southwest Detroit we moved back into Detroit so my father could be closer to his business. In the fall of 1953, I started first grade at Bennett Elementary. Detroit Public schools were very progressive at this time and I had a wonderful curriculum to build my educational experiences. My report card shows we not only had reading, writing, science, and literature but also art, music, and health education.
 |
| Bennett Elementary School Detroit, Michigan |
 |
| 1953-1954 First Grade Report Card Looks like I was talking too much in auditorium class! |
By fourth
grade, our curriculum was enhanced by not only adding arithmetic, spelling, and
social studies but also art, music, auditorium, library and physical education
or gym class! Some of my favorite classes were art class and especially science
class since we had a male teacher and had a conservatory attached to the school
where we grew plants and studied seeds. We had auditorium class where we put on
short plays and music class with Mr. White where I acquired my love of
classical music. It was in 4th grade
that I selected the string program and started learning to play the violin.
Every year our school produced great programs of singing, dancing, and
instrumental performances. It was in
fifth grade we studied Detroit and Michigan history in social studies with Mr.
Mitchum and my love of history began.
When we had library class, I would gravitate to the set of blue biographies
on the shelves where I read about American presidents, explorers, and famous
women.
 |
| Bennett Elementary School Strings 1959 |
But my
favorite class was gym class with Mr. Niver and Mrs. Hughes as our teachers. Every Friday, we engaged in square dancing
and in the spring the boys played softball and the girls played kickball, and
on several occasions, I was picked to play softball with the boys. I also loved all the fitness testing and held
the sit-up and pull-up record as well as being the fastest in my class other
than one boy who was a year or two older than all of us and his brother played
on the Detroit Lions team. I could never
beat him in the 50-yard dash!
 |
| Mr. Niver & Mrs. Hughes Elementary Physical Education Teachers 1958-1959 |
Living in my Detroit neighborhood in the 1950s had many benefits. I not only knew the kids that went to the public school with me but also had many friends that went to the private Catholic school and we also lived near an Armenian Hall where families celebrated weddings there on Saturdays and were members of the Armenian Orthodox Church. Somehow at a young age I loved diversity and and was interested in the many different kinds of churches there were in my neighborhood.
Another
advantage of my neighborhood was the availability of friends. I was able to make plans with my friends to
walk home with them after school and play with them until 4:30 when I would
walk back home. One favorite friend was
Joanie who lived with her grandmother since her mother died when we were in
third grade. Joanie was on only child
and I envied that she never had siblings messing with her belongings but also
realized she was very lonely as the only child living with her father and
grandmother. Joanie and I loved to play
school and instead of lining up siblings to teach we lined up her dolls and
stuffed animals.
6th Grade Friends
Sue Ellen, Gail and Joanie
 |
| Girlfriends back row - Cecilia & Edna Middle row- Gail, Vicki, Kathleen and my sister Judy Front row - sister Cathy, girlfriends Peggy & Angela Bennett Elementary 1959 |
Another
benefit of living on Sharon street was Patton Park that was only one block away
from our home. The park had a big
community center with an indoor pool and gymnasium. My two younger sisters and I spent many
afternoons after school taking free swimming and dance classes. Every Wednesday
my sisters and I would hurry home to go roller-skating in the gym. And on the first
Friday of the month my friends and I would meet at the center rom 4-6 pm for the
pre-teen dances for fifth and sixth graders.
 |
| Patton Park Pool We only swam there in the winter because of the Polio epidemic |
 |
| 6th Grade Promotion Day Denise, Peggy, Gail & Sue Marcus & Larry |
As you
age, one usually reflects on life wondering what experiences made an impact. My
early years at Bennett Elementary School were significant. The amazing curriculum, the kind and
enthusiastic teachers, and my dear friendships helped build my desire to return
to the classroom.
