Class Story 116 Richard School

Class Story 116 Richard School - Grosse Pointe 1945-48

Beverly Allor attended my 10^th birthday party

Some of the names I have written down on the back are Dick Douglas, Ray Perry, Dick Clark, Mike O’Neil, Paul Thompson, Bill Egar.

These little vignettes that follow about me at Richard School are best documented by my mother.  Any memories that I may think I have about these events are probably false and just induced from hearing the stories repeated dozens and dozens of times over the years.  So here is what she said about my "troubles" in school:

 

Peter had a bit of trouble in school.  His teacher came to see us one evening (they did that) and said that Peter was eating paper, which was indication that he was disturbed about something.  She asked if he had any brothers and sisters.  We told her about Patty, who never got scolded because she never did anything to warrant it.  The teacher asked us to give Peter nothing but praise and attention for two weeks and to try to cut out criticizing him for anything.  We did that.  And never knew when the two weeks were up as Peter practically changed overnight.

One thing that had got him into trouble was his taking the coupon book which let us buy the family shoes for the next year. He gave them to his little friends and no parent ever returned one to me.  Things were tough!!!  To punish Peter, I sent him to his room for the rest of the day.  And he came down to tell me that Patty had fallen out of his window.  She had gone up to keep him company, sat on the window sill, a loose screen, and out she went.  I ran out and there she was lying on the ground.  We had been given Red Cross instructions not to move the victim in case of injury.  So I ran in and called Dr. Marshall.  "Where is she?"  He said.  "Out on the lawn" "Well, for God's sake, go get her and I'll be right over."

I had to keep her quiet and awake for the rest of the day and evening in case of concussion but she was fine.  She started to school in 1945.  She was eager to go and I can still see her, learning on the door, first in line, waiting for them to let her in.

Actually I pushed her out of that window.  Not in one big push, but slowly inching her out.  And mother didn't write up the bowling ball on the staircase incident, probably because I never was able to start it down the stairs, but I was going to play catch with baby Pat, her on the bottom of a flight of stairs, and me with a bowling ball at the top of the stairs, pushing it down for her to catch.

I remember the incidents with Patty but I can't recall anything about the shoe coupons.  I also remember the incident that got me put on suspension for three days.  That was when my "gang" of boys chased the girls over to the edge of the playground at recess.  It was the dead of winter with snowa foot thick on the ground.  We pulled the pants down on this bunch of girls and got in a lot of trouble.