March 28, 2024

School Days!! School Daze!!

Remembering favorite teachers & schools

Posted

"School days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days...." Well you know the rest of that little jingle. "Reading and writing and arithmetic...taught to the tune of a hickory stick!" So many of us have vivid memories of our early school days. Understanding that Townies are "locals", we are not very different from most when reminiscing about those elementary or secondary schools that we've attended. In a melancholy way we find ourselves thinking of those teachers who made a pronounced impact on our lives. For some it may be special memories of a school that no longer exists. While the bricks and mortar of a school may be gone, it is certain that those warm memories may be within us forever. I have many great memories from Brightridge School to Central Junior High School to East Providence High. Do you remember a time when kids walked to and from school a lot? I walked to Brightridge School and then walked home for lunch. After my Dad usually prepared us soup and a sandwich, we would walk back to school for the afternoon session. On our way back to school, a bunch of us would stop at "Sal's" shoe store on Pawtucket avenue. Not to fix our shoes but to buy some penny candy. "Sal" Spremuli greeted us with a smile and jars full of penny candies (yes, really just a penny) like Mary Janes, Squirrel Nuts, Bit-O-Honey and other classics. And they were the real big ones, not like today's microscopic sized treats. Arriving at Brightridge School the students would play in the yard (all cement, no grass) before going back to class to fry our brains. It was usually kick ball with the boys in the large back yard and the girls played in the front. Mr. Blackwell and then Miss Murray were the principals who would then appear and shoo everyone inside to the sound of a loud school bell. Great teachers who taught strong fundamentals and prepared young children well for that scary and difficult time called junior high school. Some of those Brightridge teachers were; Mrs. Peters, Mrs. McCarthy, Mrs. Mathias (remember her husband's little TV repair shop on Pawtucket ave.?), Mrs. Hollenbeck, Miss Cannon, Mrs. Santos, Mr. Grimes and more. After Brightridge was closed it was demolished and the site now houses the Perry-McStay funeral home. While standing in line at wakes my mind conjures up memories of that penny candy and playing ball in the 'ol school yard. There were few elementary gyms in those days and we had gym class outside and in our classrooms when it rained or snowed. Remember 'pass the eraser' at our desks during bad weather? It didn't take much to entertain us. Remember gym teachers Mr. Paparella and Miss Oldham? How about wearing those rubbers or galoshes over our shoes during the winter. The kind with the hard to work metal clamps instead of a zipper. Yes, I know, rubbers has a different connotation with today's youth. The state department of education talks today about sufficient instruction minutes in schools. I wonder how they would handle the 20 minutes or so it took elementary students to arrive at school and peel off the layers of winter clothes and boots and to then put them back on again at dismissal. I remember World Series games during the day and during the 1967 Red Sox classic having some of the game piped through the school intercom. Heads would roll if such a horrible thing were done today - assuming there might be a day game. As a young student I remember the Kennedy assassination and how our teachers called us in from playing to tell us what happened.

We've reached out through social media for some of your thoughts. Your response was great and we can't fit all of them in this space. Check us out however at reportertoday.com for more stories.

"I really truly loved being a student in Mrs. Mathias' class at Brightridge. She influenced me greatly throughout my life and career-something intrinsic happened to me that year-I gained some confidence in myself, learned to look at the world with inquisitiveness but also a sense of the need to do service. I started critically thinking-as much as any 5th grader can," said a Brightridge School alumnus, Ann Burkhardt. Burkhardt today is an Occupational Therapist and has taught at colleges and universities throughout the nation. "I also recall we were in her class when JFK died. We were at recess and she (Mathias) was one of the teachers to yell out to us to go home directly from recess, because the president had been shot and killed," Burkhardt recalled. It was such a different era in the 50's, 60's and most of the 70's and even the 80's. Schools had no computers, there were no cell phones, iPod or iPads', etc. Most of us had to get up from a chair to change a TV channel, usually to one of 3 or 4 local stations (no cable). The Boston Bruins of the early 70's caused many to buy a TV with UHF capabilities so we could catch the games on channel 38 from Boston. Our phones all had wires attaching them to a wall and some lucky families got an extension phone in another room. I remember when my family briefly had a "party" phone line. This was a phone in which two or more customers were connected directly to the same local loop. You often picked up your phone to make a call and could hear your neighbors talking. Ah, technology, little did we know of what was to come.

At its' peak East Providence had some 10,500 students scattered amongst several neighborhood elementary schools, two large junior high schools and the state's largest senior high school. City population was creeping over 52,000 people and the city known for its' small townie atmosphere was in the fast lane with Providence, Warwick, Cranston and others. As big cities began to experience population shift to the suburbs and South County so, did East Providence. Growth loss and factors like smaller family size has dropped EP school census to under 6,000 students. City census dropped to about 48,000. Many schools were closed. One year there were three closings at once. Did you attend or remember some of these closed schools: Bliss Street, Grove Avenue, Lincoln School, Meadowcrest, Brightridge, Wilson I and II, Thompson, James Street, Platt, Watters, Carlton Street, Turner Ave. School, Union Primary, Potter Street, Mauran Ave. and AP Hoyt, to mention some. You may never have heard of these from way back in EP's history; the Runnins River School, Armington's Corners school, PS # 4 and PS # 6 and the Broadway Primary school. The city also had active non-public schools. Maybe you attended Our Lady Of Loreto School on Waterman Avenue or Saint Brendan's school in Riverside. There was also Saint Francis Xavier in the center of the city. These were once large and vibrant Catholic schools that are now closed. We haven't mentioned every closed public or non-public school in the city, can you add to this list?

An obvious change in society has been the dress code. Back in the day (50's, 60's early 70's) one wouldn't think of going to church or to a movie and definitely not school without conservatively dressing. Collared shirts, dresses, shoes - not sneakers - were the norm. It wasn't until 1972 that girls at EPHS could wear pants or slacks. Until then only dresses or skirts were allowed and penny loafers were preferred over a pair of old sneakers. It is difficult to describe today's dress codes and styles. Suffices to say that anything goes!

Jim Dufresne writes from Florida to say, "Hey how about Howie Levine? Well it seems that many others also have fond memories and great respect for Howard "Howie" Levine.

Levine was a popular teacher at the former Central Junior High School. He was an administrator at Martin Middle School and Principal at Riverside Middle before retiring several years ago.

Sandy Medeiros. "My husband Paul's favorite was Mr. Levine he had him at Central Jr. High said he was a great guy. I didn't have Mr. Levine but I worked for him at RMS and he was a great principal for the students and also he was a great boss I really enjoyed working with him." Mr. Lowery at Riverside Jr. High, my 7th grade English teacher. He was such a great teacher, he made each student feel good about themselves. He made me want to do my best. I didn't like school that much and he used to take his time to talk to me and tell me how important it was to finish school.

Ralph Fascitelli of Seattle, Washington writes that "...my favorite was my 9th grade English teacher at Riverside Jr High, Charles Curran ...great teacher and role model." Then Fascitelli added, "though my all time favorite individual was our junior high baseball coach Chuck Vermette...he didn't play favorites and made it all fun ..once chewed me out for using a four letter word and I feel terrible I had disappointed him...".

Others chimed in for this story:

David Spremulli cited "Frank Saracino, my eighth grade science teacher at Central Jr. High."

Maureen Sweeney Nolan likes Jean Pacheco, her high school English, Greek Mythology teacher. "Her love of teaching was inspiring and led me to become a teacher. And Mr. Curran my Jr. High teacher. His fairness and compassion he showed all of us led me to become the caring teacher I am today," she added.

Paula Michaud Fillion. For me it was Miss Bouffard, Mr. Gillette, Mr. Goss, Mr. Veader, Mr. Bianchi, Mrs. Hanratty & Mrs. Goulet at Riverside Junior High...all amazing people and wonderful teachers. I had such respect for each of them...even at that age! And Mr. Cavalaro, Miss Bailey, Mr. Fontes, Dr. Plante. wonderful, all!!

Jim Dwyer recalls that: "I never went to EP but I taught there and met Kenny Walker at RIC when going for my masters. He was the best educator I ever met, He was my mentor and I will never forget him or what I learned from him. He was one person who became an administrator, went to the top and NEVER forgot where he came from as so many do today. There will never be another like him."

Keith Gonsalves writes us to say "I have two special teachers at the high school. One is Mr. Britton and his voke-agri class. Gave me direction in life, and a reason to go to college, and Mr Cotter who made me leave class and go to the guidance councilor to start my college app. process." Gonsalves continued that "Mr Britton in his blue station wagon with the wood trim and he even lets us kids drive it as we collected news papers and went to DD's for coffee many mornings!"

Jennifer Gillooly Cahoon recalled that, "I have 2 EP teachers I'd want to mention... Richard Martin and Cheryl Bianchi."

The closed Brightridge school came up a lot.

Tom Doherty mentioned, "All the teachers at Brightridge Elementary..(with 1 or 2 exceptions). It was a really nice start to education, was sad to see it close."

Louise Amaral Mansi remembers a lot; "Mr. Brown at Orchard Street School with his fickle finger of faith...he would point at you and actually could push you against a wall.....He was one of my favs, but Mr. Fagundes in 6th grade was my absolute favorite. We had room 106 recycling center. We would turn tires into urns or planters, that many Portuguese people still have in their yards. Just to think that back then when we made those and I would have an order for some and he would actually give me a ride home to deliver the urns for me. That would never happen today. It's sad to see what society has become. Playing outside and going home when street lights came on. Those were the good days. Now we can't let our kids out of our sight..."

Nancy Shovelton Converse mentioned Alice Waddington. "I never had the pleasure of having her as a teacher, but I did visit her in her home in 1973. She was a true lady and certainly deserving of having a school dedicated to her. I was in the first third grade class at A.M. Waddington School so it was a real treat to have the opportunity to meet her."

Lynn Mosher commented that "I loved miss angel, from Lincoln school, Mrs. Horton from Waddington, there was a Miss Sullivan, I forget if that was Lincoln or Waddington, lol, and of course my kindergarten teacher from Lincoln Mrs. Dufresne."

George LaCross . I loved Brightridge school! I attended first, second and third grades there in the early 1960s. I had three of the best teachers in my lifetime: Mrs. Littlefield, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. McKivigan. All three teachers were influential in both my personal and educational development. It was Mrs. McKivigan who called me aside during recess one early fall day and told me I should pursue a writing career. And I did, eventually majoring in journalism at URI. Recently, I've been told the old building was showing its age during my years there. I'm skeptical of that; I think the building was made to last. If there were any structural problems, it certainly didn't impact the quality of the education I received there. I always thought of it as a shrine in my neighborhood. And it was just a few minutes walk from my Intervale Avenue home. In addition to the fun I had learning new skills, I recall how exciting it was when we'd get escorted down into the building's large basement to watch short educational films played on an old Bell & Howell 16mm sound projector. The basement was large enough for several classrooms to watch a film. And the recess yard also was large, with ample room for us all to run around and get some exercise. It saddens me to see Brightridge, a school so full of life, replaced by a funeral home. However, both my fond memories and knowledge I acquired at Brightridge School, live on.

Ruth Furtado reminisced that "I loved Mrs. Champagne from Grove Ave. She taught 5th grade. Also, Mr. Carlos from RJHS was great, he really challenged us. I never had Miss Goff as a teacher, she passed away before I got there (math teacher EP High) but she was a neighbor and much loved by all the neighborhood kids. She'd let me play her piano and paid me and my friend Caroline a nickel to sweep her welcome mat. She was a very nice lady..." Joe Wahl writes that " ...some of my favorites were (from Wadding ton) Mrs. and Ms. Wayland (mother and daughter) they were very kind and patient with me at quite possibly my most rambunctious. At Riverside Junior High my favorites were Mrs. Geremia, Ms. Rakatansky, Mr Christie. Then at EP my fave might have been Ms. Carlotti and Ms. Harris the art teacher. She was tough but she liked me and Carnevale for some reason. We all got along swimmingly after we realized she meant business."

When East Providence separated from Massachusetts in 1862, EP began to build its own identity. It was growing from a rural town to a city, but intent on keeping its "townie" persona. The Potter Street School was inherited from Seekonk and was enlarged from a one-room school to a four-room school. It eventually was taken down to make way for Route 195. The A.P. Hoyt School was also razed for the new highway. The first high school was built on Grove avenue in 1884 and a new school was built to handle the growing town in 1912. Today that building houses senior citizen apartments called Taunton Plaza. The new East Providence Senior High School was built after a citywide bond issue approved the new construction. When it opened in 1952, the school was so modern and beautiful that it was considered the "showplace of the Northeast" by the Providence Journal-Bulletin. The longest serving high school principal was the very dapper James E. Bates. Bates message to the 1960 graduating class said in part, "This magnificent plant known as EPHS has opened. This is well in advance of the anticipated growth of secondary school pupils. We have reason to be thankful that the citizens of our town saw fit to promote and finance our school sufficiently early..."

Ted Wheeler. My Grandmother went to #8 school it's still there. First house on the left after Coles bridge on Pawtucket ave. heading north.

Paula Michaud Fillion. Miss Bouffard, Mr. Gillette, Mr. Goss, Mr. Veader, Mr. Bianchi, Mrs. Hanratty & Mrs. Goulet at Riverside Junior High...all amazing people and wonderful teachers. i had such respect for each of them...even at that age! And Mr. Cavalaro, Miss Bailey, Mr. Fontes, Dr. Plante. Wonderful, all!! My chemistry teacher, who I can picture, but can't remember his name, was absolutely amazing. I true gentleman and intellectual. I was in awe of him and his subject!

Larry Willey. Central Jr. High Quiz "Mark the book wrong" Who am I. Hint Science teacher. I can't think of his name. All I know is his first name was MR. Another hint, his son played baseball and was one year behind me so he must have been 71 at EP high.

Paula Duarte. Howie Levine was one of the nicest people I ever worked with. He was my first department head when I started teaching and always a friend these thirty six years.

Dorothy Gerstenauer. My experience was not in the EP schools, but about the schools. Edward R. Martin was the best teacher on this subject, and I think you will agree.

Rick Mersereau. The old admin building at the front of Central Jr. was High School where my mother graduated from in 1937 or 38.

Sue Brewer Breault. My mother's too - she graduated in 1942.

Lorraine Medeiros. That looks like Grove Ave. School. I went there in the 40's. Miss Hennessey was the 5th grade teacher. also Miss Daniels, Miss Sullivan and Miss Bicho the music teacher. The good old days!

Donna Gablinske. I would love to see these pictures, since my childhood pictures were destroyed by accident. Would like to see Bliss school and Central Jr. High. Any from Judy's School of Dance as well.

Louise Amaral Mansi. Mr. Brown at Orchard Street School with his fickle finger of faith...he would point at you and actually could push you against a wall.....He was one of my favs, but Mr. Fagundes in 6th grade was my absolute favorite. We had room 106 recycling center. We would turn tires into urns or planters, that many Portuguese people still have in their yards. Just to think that back then when we made those and I would have an order for some and he would actually give me a ride home to deliver the urns for me. That would never happen today. Its sad to see what society has become. Playing outside and going home when street lights came on. Those were the good days. Now we can't let our kids out of our sight...

Charles Marcus. Our class sent Ms. Agnew into retirement in '69! Her replacement was Ms. Trementozzi, who also blessed the school system with decades of dedication to students.

Nate Cahoon. Nate had a lot to say!: "Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to recognize a few great educators. I find it particularly apropos, given your recent focus on East Providence High School, that my most prominent mentors plied their trade within our hallowed Townie halls. It was their diligence that helped me discover the importance of intellect: that enduring barrier between civilization and the feral chaos just outside the gates. It was their commitment that imparted upon me the virtue of service. And it was through their brilliance that I gained my first glimpses of the sublime. Arnie McConnell was like a gift from the Classical age. Intense and vivid, he embodied the artist’s disdain for the concrete and taught me that the real truths, the ones that shape worlds, rarely sit in plain sight. Through his elucidation of the Bard I learned to appreciate the profundity of seemingly simple verse. I learned the value of drama, and forged a link with traditions born millennia since. Most significantly, I discovered self-worth; that within an awkward, bristling teenage me there lay not only a need for truth, but also the capacity to unearth it. He remains a trusted advisor and a close friend. Thank you Arnie. To this day, Dukas’ The Sorceror’s Apprentice recalls my awe of Kathleen Lord. A bustling wizard of chalk dust and formulae, there seemed no instance, no natural phenomenon she could not describe with equations. In her classroom I inherited Newton’s legacy: when faced with a problem whose solution lies outside the bounds of knowledge, one must be prepared to blaze a new trail. Kathy founded the AP Calculus curriculum at East Providence and must have found even her boundless enthusiasm tested by that course’s inauguration with my class, a band of mathematical heretics with me its chief apostate. Her efforts ensured my successful matriculation through a challenging collegiate course of study. Thank you Kathy. T.S Eliot; Charles Dickens; Friedrich Nietzsche; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Charlotte Bronte; Herman Melville; Emily Dickenson; Plato; William Faulkner – to this day these giants guide me through my darkest, most confusing times. A single person introduced me to all of them: Patricia Hines. I’ve met many an educator since I entered her classroom in 1991, and none has proven her equal. Her razor-sharp insight cut to the heart of every question. Her assignments were among the toughest and most rewarding I’ve ever experienced, and her empathy transcended human limits. It is to her, above all others, that I owe my proficiency in the written word, my most cherished skill. Thank you Patricia. At a time when education bears the brunt of narrow-minded budget cuts, and each new administrator implements more confounding and ineffective policies than those of her predecessor, it is only right that each of us reflects upon the hard work and ability of our educators. It is only right that we Townies remember the treasure that we have right here on Pawtucket Avenue, and support the men and women who continue to give it all to their community even in the face of belligerence, stinginess and physical violence from those they serve. It is important that we thank our teachers."

The memories of former teachers and old sturdy buildings of our past remain vivid. Almost everyone can point to at least one teacher, and usually more, who has touched them in a special way. Ann Burkhardt certainly remembered her teachers fondly and made a difference. "Brightridge classmate Donna Desrochers and I visited Mrs. Mathias when I was a student at Wheaton. We drove to her home and had a nice visit. I was able to tell her what she had meant to me in my life. She seemed pleased. Several years ago, when I was teaching at Quinnipiac, her death notice was in the paper. I sent condolences and a note to her daughter, who wrote back to me, as well." A teacher-student respect, full circle.

The author can be reached at bobrodericks@gmail.com.

Comments

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  • LittleRhody

    I remember so much about Grove A

    Tuesday, June 28, 2016 Report this

  • HilmaKaye

    You mention that girls couldn't wear pants until 1972. I graduated from EPHS in 1970 and we were allowed to wear "pant suits" for a few years before that, then in my senior year, '69/70, we had several protests that finally allowed us all to wear jeans. That's all I wore for the rest of that school year. I remember it well. Loved your article.

    Friday, September 11, 2020 Report this

  • DoreRiver62

    My cousin, Paul Woodbine, and most of his friends went to school in Riverside (Arthur E. Platt; RJHS) and he would often talk about the fun times they had there and about some of the great townie teachers who endured the sometimes uncontrollable onslaught of 1960s baby boomers.

    Stanley Traverse (1966) was first time 22 year old teacher at Arthur E. Platt (dynamite, gifted teacher) and got drafted mid-year for basic training. The class felt awful but rejoiced when he returned the following year to teach fifth grade!

    At one time, Platt School had a cafeteria and a gym (in basement) that was given over to become a sixth grade classroom when they ran out of class space upstairs.

    The kids were a bit wild back then and they would skid-hop down Burnside Avenue on the back of school buses in the snow or run to Red

    Friday, April 2, 2021 Report this

  • Otterr

    I remember East Providence schooling very well. I started off with the nuns at St. Francis Xavier, and when you were bad, they brought out the cricket paddle when you were bad; luckily, I evaded the nuns and tired them out before the bell rang. I remember Sister Harnois, Sister Fraga and Mother Superior there.

    Then it was off to Brightridge with Mr. Mathias and the other teachers there. I remember the first day I got glasses and I went to the furthest fence to hide. While there, I met my friend John Prisco who was a School One student, and went to school there very sparingly. We watched monster movies after school and played with monster toys.

    Then it was back to St. Francis, now known as Orchard St School, with Mr. Hurley as principal, with Mrs. Butterfield for home room, Mr. Wolf for Social Studies, and Mr. Croome for science, and he was like a crazy mad scientist with his experiments. Side Note: Mr. Croome was the operator of THE TURBO at Crescent Park and gave his students extra time on the ride.

    Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Report this


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