I have memories of schools in Macomb that I started attending in 1954. I have a December 17, 1950, birthdate, and my mother made the decision to start me in kindergarten at the age of four. I attended the old Logan school, which was on the north side of the block bordered by Jefferson, Madison, Piper, and Edward streets. The old Logan building faced north on Jefferson. The south side of the block on Piper Street had the junior high school building. That made two schools on one block.
The old Logan school was a building that had a basement where the kindergarten was located. I remember it being dark and musty. I always felt like we had a classroom in a dungeon atmosphere. There was a door with steps that you could climb to the outside on the side of the building where the kindergarten was located.
With the two school buildings being adjacent to each other there was a big divide which the younger students were not to cross. Standing on the side of the block we occupied, you could see the much older students playing basketball and running around the forbidden area. It was somewhat intimidating to have them come close to us. In retrospect, however we never had situations to warrant any fear.
In the years that followed, and we were promoted to the next grade, our classrooms were then located on the upper levels of the old building. The school had many windows, and we could see the entire grounds. Again, seeing the other students made me think of when it would be my turn to go to the junior high building.
Some other memories include having a truck deliver milk, with ice blocks being used to keep it cold, an all-school picnic with games on the grounds, and the high fire escape attached to the upper floors. Our teachers would often have radio broadcasts in our classrooms. I remember listening on the radio to an orchestra one day. I had noticed a small building north of town, with the radio station call letters displayed. I thought that was where they broadcasted from and wondered how the orchestra could fit into the small building. I was not aware that we were listening to a recording, believing it was a live performance.
In 1957, when I entered the third grade, the old Logan School building was closed. A new junior high building had been completed on Pearl Street, and the existing junior high was now our building and was renamed Logan School. As students, we helped move books and small items to the existing building on the south side of the block. The old Logan School was demolished and all that was left was the indentation of the foundation, which I believe is still visible.
The existing building became our new school and had improvements such as marble floors, a gymnasium, a stage, and a separate band room. I played the alto saxophone and was thrilled to be playing. The gym was large where we played basketball and had music programs. There were also all school assemblies with informative presentations. One remembrance was a Christmas sing-along where we sang “O Tannenbaum” in German.
A family happening to note occurred in 1960 when my youngest brother David, who was five at the time, decided to come visit me at school. He drove a pedal tractor from our Franklin Street home through Compton Park all the way to the school on Piper. This would have been an eight-block trip. He parked the tractor in the bike rack and came to the door. I don’t remember him getting me out of class, but my mother was very concerned when she was called and informed of what had happened.
Sixth grade in 1961 was a memorable year. My teacher was Dorothy Anstine, the mother of Bob Anstine, who was the mayor of Macomb in later years. Mrs. Anstine knew I was already wanting to become a pharmacist and she kept me in line to know what I should focus on in school. Her son Bob had graduated from pharmacy school and her other son, Ed, was attending pharmacy school. I was fortunate to have her as a teacher and knew that I would take the courses in junior high and high school that would totally prepare me for college.
The seven years of Logan school, 1954 to 1961, were very good times. As you walked home there was almost always a baseball game to join. Walking through Compton Park offered Kiljordan Creek, where you could sail stick rafts with makeshift sails and follow them down the stream. One goal my friends and I always had was finding the origin of the creek, and maybe the mouth. We didn’t realize the creek ran for miles into the Lamoine River, which eventually merged into the Mississippi River.
After finishing the sixth grade at Logan, entering the seventh grade meant moving to Edison Junior High. It was a traumatic time for me. I lost touch with my classmates from Logan. I was in a classroom with mostly new students from all the grade schools in Macomb and Adair. It was a difficult transition for me and it took about two weeks before I felt comfortable. I gradually made friends with other students.
One of the best changes to attending Edison was that my home on Franklin Street was just a half-block away. I could easily walk to school and sometimes go home for lunch. I decided to eat lunch in the school dining room, and this decision was advantageous because I tried and enjoyed foods that weren’t on my favorite list.
Edison was a great school. We had some very influential teachers, and I am always thankful for the courses I took. I participated in band, choir, football, and basketball. One class in particular that changed my inner self was a speech class I took from Mr. Samuel Guzzardo. I had been devastated in the eighth grade when I broke down giving a book report. I totally blanked out and went back to my desk and cried. My stage fright made me hesitant to speak in front of others, but after taking Mr. Guzzardo’s speech class in the ninth grade, I came out of my shell. I was on the debate team, wrote and acted in a play, and performed in musicals.
The school system in Macomb during high school was divided by two high schools. There was Macomb High and Western High. My mother attended Western High, and my uncle and his three daughters attended there also. In their younger years, grade school students did not have the separation they did when they became high school students. Macomb High and Western High students did not mix for the most part. For example, our church had a majority of families with children who attended the Western High School. I found myself not making friends well, and so I didn’t attend church as often.
Macomb High was a great experience. I started at the school in 1965 and graduated in 1968. In 1966 the choice for the biannual musical was “The Music Man.” I was not familiar with the musical, but took a trip to Burlington, Iowa, to see the movie production. It was wonderful, and I heard barbershop quartet singing for the first time. When tryouts started, I wanted to fill a role and be one of the barbershop quartet singers. I was selected as the understudy, but when the lead singer didn’t show up for the first two practices, I was offered the part and was totally thrilled. I was only fifteen and was singing with two seniors (Randy Wilson and Skip Daniels) and a junior (George Hartmann) in the quartet. It started me on my singing career, and I am still singing to this day.
I am so grateful to have been a student in Macomb. I was using all my studies to prepare for my chosen profession of pharmacy, and so I took courses to prepare me for that. I even took a year of Latin to familiarize myself with the language of pharmacy terms. With the courses of math, biology, and chemistry, I was especially well prepared for the further education I would get in college.
