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:

Skip also said he would become my mentor.

As the Center was as stated from its beginning that the head of year department would train men and women to run a place like the Center. And turn it over to the local leaders like us and they would leave to go and establish other Centers.

My folks did not push me to go and get a job or go back to school. Skip would once in a while make mention that things being hard with the Depression jobs were hard to find and more the news media was writing  that employers were looking for employees who had a high school diploma. And all the good jobs would be taken by high school graduates and college graduates.

In August about the middle of that month, he [ed: Skip] said I was a good candidate to become a social worker and he was selecting me to train. Some time later toward the end of August I told him that I was going to go back to school. He said, "You do that and stick with it and you will not regret it." I told my parents and they were happy.

September came and went and I went back to English [ed: Boston English Highs School] to re-register. I was not the only drop-out. I guess they expected some drop-outs to go back. I was directed to a room and to wait for a teacher and in due course one showed up. He said he had looked at my grades and they weren't bad and he had me wait a little longer.as he wanted to go see the administrator in charge if I could move in to the Junior class. The answer came back No.

So I repeated the Sophomore year. It was a snap. I did not lose all my credits. So I had extra study periods. And the rest was I did some of my homework at school and finished at home. It left me with time to go to the Center at night. As long as I was going to the Center there was no squabbles.

The repeat was an easy thing. And I spent all the time I could at the Center. My marks were good and I passed.

Skip was all set to get things going for the second year of play school.

During the weekends on Saturday I would go to his house and help with improving the grounds. And after dinner he would have some of the people that were volunteers at the Center to his house. And we played all kind of games etc. It was a lot of fun. He always included me. And his wife, Doris was also getting to like me.

A couple of weeks before he would open the play school, he tome me that I would not be an assistant teacher in 1936 - 37 Summer. I was in Junior year and I began to spruce up my school work. I noted when I first looked at my schedule that I had Thursday and Friday on both days to to study periods on after the other. And the school had a policy if you where on the Honor Roll and your last class was a study period you could cut it and go home. All you needed was the Honor Roll pin. Show it to the study room period the first time and after that you just left.

I you had two one after the other you could leave school right after lunch. All that was needed was to get the study room teacher to assent to your leave on the first study period. It was wonderful on Thursdays and Fridays. Other days only one [ed: study period] And  did get on the Honor Roll and stayed on it for the year.

I visited my old teachers at the Donald McKay [ed junior high school] and they were surprised. My 9th grade teacher said "I'm happy for you, you finally woke up. Keep it up."