Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

When I became of age for kindergarten, my mother took me to register and left. I began crying and the teacher tried to calm me down. I persisted that I wanted to go home.

My mother was surprised to see me. I told her why I was home. This was a half day system at the time. So she informed me that she would take me again in the morning. She did and I showed up at the house again. About the 4th or 5th time, my mother was told that it would be better to keep me at home. I was not ready for school.

The following September my mother took me to school. First grade. This time I stayed.

Miss Mulledy was a beautiful person. I went home after school  was out and bragged about the teacher. I fell for her and suggested to my mother that she invie my teacher for dinner. And she came to school and invited her to lunch.

I was one proud boy when I walked beside the teacher for the short walk up to the street.

At that time, we had a dining room and we had lunch, pasta, teacher enjoyed it. She loved the gas lamp. It was beautiful. [ed: in an earlier post, Dad talked about the dining room light have a stained-glass shade like a Tiffany lamp]. We had to break up the dining room as our family grew and used it as a bedroom for the children.

Prior to this we also had to double up. Aunt Amelia got sick and she had children. Junior, the oldest was sent to one relative, and the other two, Gloria and Rudolph were sent to our house. Uncle Vincent would not have them with other relations. My mother took them in. And had a problem with Rudolph as he kept wetting the bed. It caused her more work.

My first grade ended nicely and I was promoted to the second grade. I did not take a liking to my 2nd. grade teacher. Anyway, I came down with yellow jaundice and stayed out a good part of the year. Actually most of the school year.

I stayed at home recovering and went back in September when school opened. Since I missed a good part of the year, I had to repeat the second grade.

The rest of my school years were just so so. From Daniel Webster I went to Samuel Adams for the rest of the grammar years.

It was not too far from the house and I went home for lunch. And then back again for the rest of the day.