Wednesday, October 20, 2010

First Grade Fears and Tears

After World War II ended, Dad was no longer needed to build LST boats. Well-trained in his craft as a welder, he started working in the Maintenance Department at the new A. O. Smith factory about 40 miles away. I didn’t realize until many years later how forward-thinking the design engineers were.

In 1946, “The company constructed a 400,000 square foot residential water heater plant in Kankakee, Illinois. Life Magazine proclaimed it ‘the most modern water heater factory in the world.’”

About five years later, Smith’s had an open house for all the families, just so everyone could see the ultra-modern facility. OSHA would have had a conniption fit if they saw the plant tours that included me and other young children. We stood beside the huge noisy blast furnace that melted frit onto steel to make the patented glass-lined water heaters. Did that impress me at just four or five years of age? Of course not! I happened to be much more excited about the little bottles of orange drink than I was about the technology.

After my father made the round trip drive to and from work for several years, my parents decided to move our family closer to his work. So soon after the war, it was impossible to find the four-bedroom house they wanted for their growing brood. The solution was to order and assemble a structure from a precut lumber kit, rather like putting children’s building blocks together from a diagram. That was the summer of my sixth year.

The house was a 1½ story Cape Cod style with twin gables, two bedrooms upstairs, two bedrooms downstairs, and a full basement. Somewhere along the line, we had seen tightrope walkers on television. Being quite a tomboy at the time, I thought I could walk across the floor joists in one of the upper bedrooms.

Walking along the floor joists from one side of the room to the other turned out to be not only fun, it was easy, too! I just had to spread my arms wide to balance myself a little bit, especially at the turn against the far wall. When I hollered for my older sister to come watch me, she wanted to do it as well.

She started walking along the floor joists, getting more wobbly with each step. Yelling at her to keep her arms stretched out wide, I was horrified to watch her fall between the joists. Luckily, she caught herself with her arms straddling two joists. Unluckily, the workmen had just that day put the finishing coat of plaster onto the ceiling in the bedroom below.

When Mom, Dad, and everyone came running to see what our screaming was all about, there was my sister dangling from the ceiling below. More correctly, there were her legs dangling from the ceiling below. In a matter of minutes, two burly men raced upstairs and pulled my sister to safety. I don’t remember the details of the aftermath, but I never did that trick again.

When September came that year, school bells started ringing. I had never gone to preschool or kindergarten, so I didn’t really know much about what to expect. All I knew was that I had brand new black-and-white saddle shoes and a red plaid metal lunchbox with my name on it.

On the designated day, I dressed in my red plaid dress with a white pinafore attached. Hmmm, I see a pattern here! I never realized what a preference I’ve always had for red plaid! In fact, when I went to Scotland earlier this year to conduct writing workshops for schools, I was drawn immediately to the Royal Stewart plaid, which is (you guessed it) a red plaid!

Sadly, the shoes, dress and lunchbox were the best parts of that day. Mom held my hand as we walked into the huge classroom, filled with complete strangers. Since we had moved into the new house just shortly before the start of school, I didn’t know a single soul. Not only that, my teacher towered above me, with a crucifix hanging down right at my eye level. I’m not sure I had ever seen a nun before, certainly never one up so close.

Mom got me settled at a desk with my name on it, gently pried my hand from around her fingers and walked away! I started to cry, but she walked further away. I cried harder and she walked out the door. That wasn’t what mothers were supposed to do! I felt abandoned and just knew I would never find my way home again.

After such an inauspicious beginning, I quickly learned to love school. I loved getting new clothes, new shoes, new books, new subjects, and new teachers, even nuns. Most of all, I loved learning new things.

To this day, each Fall I welcome the opportunity to plan my own curriculum for the next year. Whether it’s learning Transcendental Meditation, writing a book, becoming a Personal Historian, or discovering www.mommyspiggytales.com, there is always something new to learn. Maybe continually learning something new is my way of feeling young, like when I was six years old.

18 comments:

Ginny Marie said...

Of course, little bottles of orange drink are more exciting than water heaters! ;) I'm so glad Janna featured you on Mommy's Piggy Tales today. I'm also glad your mother abandoning you at school didn't make you dislike school forever! (I'm a former second grade teacher!)

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Ginny Marie,
I'm so tickled that Janna reviewed my book today. It was fun to write, which is what I try to show people. I especially love to get kids as young as 8 involved, just so they learn that their grandparents were once kids, too!

Jessica said...

That was exciting to read to the end. Thanks for sharing your memories!

Karen said...

Oh those scary memories of childhood accidents that have an OK ending. We've all had a few of those I'm sure. So glad that you did make it through that long first day of school!

Anonymous said...

What a great story! I can just imagine your sister's legs hanging from the rafters! I enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Your first grade year was much more interesting than mine. :) All I did was lose a tooth and get a baby brother. I love how you've carried your red plaid preference with you over the years. :)

Visiting from group 5

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Jessica, Karen & Scrappy,
Thanks for your lovely comments. It was good to recall events from that specific age. Looking forward to hearing all of your stories, too.

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Lolli,
Losing a tooth and gaining a brother? Hmmm, that somehow doesn't seem like a fair trade. lol

Gretchen said...

Sounds like a lot of excitement in your house! Did you get in trouble when your sister fell through the ceiling?

I love red plaid, too! :)

Becky said...

I love the floor joist story, and I can just imagine what the adults thought about having to repair the ceiling!

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Becky, interestingly, I don't recall any of the "fallout" from that story (excuse the pun), but I'm sure there must have been some.

For years, there was always a mark on my parents' bedroom ceiling, so it had to have been a constant reminder to them of my foolishness.

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Gretchen,
I'm sure my parents were upset, first with worry for my sister & then with disappointment in me for tempting her to try it. But I don't remember getting punished at all.

Emma said...

I love school time too! Its cute that you wore a little plaid dress and saddle shoes! I enjoyed your post!
-Emily

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Emma, great to find other like-minded people. Looking at the photos this week for the Mommy's Piggy Tales, it struck me how common plaid dress were, but I never realized it at the time.

Unknown said...

I love the tale of your tight rope walking adventure. I bet your sister got into lots of trouble over that, and you probably weren't even scolded. The joys of siblings!

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Maple,
Actually, she is a little older than me, so you are probably right about that. It sure is a good thing that siblings can be resilient!

denise said...

wow! what a crazy tight walk story! i was excited to see your book featured at janna's site, too...i meant to comment/connect but, as you may have seen, barely got my own post done this week...i'm enjoying this process of telling stories and look forward to your tips and following yours...i especially agreed with the last thing you said about always learning something new and staying young...

sincerely, denise from group 3

Beth (Elizabeth) LaMie said...

Denise, I'm glad you liked Janna's feature on my book. It was fun to write. Even better, it helps me teach others how to write their own stories.