When I Was Your Age...McKenzie & Macy!

 





















Harrington Elementary...
The two little beauties above are, McKenzie, on the left, and Macy.  Kenzie is in the fifth grade and Macy is in third.

In third, fourth and fifth grades, I attended Harrington Elementary in American Fork, Utah.  "Old Hairy Legs" we called it.  I liked going to school there...the teachers and principal were nice.  Mr. Durrant, my fourth grade teacher, was the nicest man in the world.  We (the girls) cried on the last day of school, we loved him so much.

Fifth Grade...

This is me in fifth grade.  My favorite subject was writing and I loved to write stories.  Reading and vocabulary were also things I was very good at.  I once called a little girl who was teasing me "obnoxious and abhorrent."  I was sometimes bored when the work was too easy.  My teacher, probably to give me something to do, would have me read aloud to the class whatever book we were on, like "Where the Red Fern Grows."

I was a champion jacks player...in my mind!

Two of the most popular games at Harrington were tether ball and foursquare.  I wasn't the best at any sport...but I held my own at recess!  Another reason why Mr. Johnson had to keep me busy was...

...Batman! 

I was totally crazy about him!

I spent a lot of my time doodling bat symbols on my papers.  It was such a cheesy show!  What was I thinking?  When I was wasn't drooling over Bruce Wayne, I was at my friend Carrie's house for 4-H and dancing to...

...The Beatles!

I wanted to be British so bad that I faked an English accent and pretended I was an exchange student.  This only annoyed my real...American...family!  Carrie had all their albums...and a real stereo console in her living room.  We hadn't had a working record player for some time.  One day, my friends and I performed a lip-sync to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" for our classmates.

Third Grade...

This is my fourth grade picture.  I couldn't find any of my third grade ones...even after a day spent digging through many dusty boxes of photos and keepsakes.  I hope they turn up some day.

We moved from Alpine to American Fork the year I started third grade.  After a long summer playing outside in the sun, my skin was as dark and pretty as yours, Macy.  On the first day of school..I had my hair in braids that day...a little girl asked me if I was an Indian. Since I do have some Native American blood...I told her I was.  I spent my first day at a new school being popular for the first time in my life...I enjoyed being so exotic and interesting.  Too bad it didn't last. =D 

Favorite Books...

All-time Favorites...Little House on the Prairie

I was always in the highest reading group and had been reading chapter books since second grade...where my favorite series was...

...The Boxcar Children

I loved the idea of children fending for themselves and living in a train car.  For the longest time I wanted a caboose for a playhouse.  In third grade I discovered...

...Classics Illustrated. 

These comic books made the great books of literature fun to read.  My favorites were "Oliver Twist" and "The Time Machine."  In third grade I got the brilliant idea to write a script for a third grade production of Oliver Twist...too bad Mrs. Mortensen wouldn't cooperate with my scheme.  I had it all written and cast too!

A Sad Day in November...

John F. Kennedy was President of the United States.  When I saw him on television, I thought he was the most handsome man.  I knew nothing about politics...but I liked him very much.

November 22, 1963 was a normal school day.  When we went for lunch, all was well.  After lunch, I entered the school room.  The cute boy, Jon, sat at his desk listening to his transistor radio surrounded by a bunch of kids.  The substitute teacher was writing on the board..."Lyndon Baines Johnson."  Something was very wrong.  The teacher then informed us that President Kennedy had been killed.  The news was everywhere.  It seemed like the whole world was turned upside down.

The sight of the pretty widow and her two little children was so sad it made me cry.

This was a little of my life when I was your age.  I had many more adventures...some real, some imaginary. When you are my age, Mckenzie and Macy, what stories will you tell?

I love you,

Grandma Shirley

Post Script:  Just a day or two after this was posted...the news came out that Davy Jones had died from a heart attack.  How sad to lose a childhood hero.