Do you recall the anxiety and anticipation of who your teacher would be for the school year? They were real feelings. I felt that who was in your grade school class seemed to set the tone for the whole year. You would spend most of your day with this group of 25 or so and hopefully form friendships.

Obviously, back in the 70s, the only form of communication was the good ole’ wall telephone. The mailman in our neighborhood walked our street and delivered the notices in our mailboxes. Once our neighborhood friends at the bottom of the street saw the return address of “Canfield Local Schools”, all hell broke loose..lol

Those of us who lived at the top of the street would start getting phone calls saying the mailman was delivering the school letters today. It was a huge news day in Canfield, Ohio! I remember several years waiting on the front porch for our mailman to arrive.

The phrase of the day in the neighborhood was, “Who did you get?” I only had a couple of friends’ phone numbers outside our neighborhood, so my Mom allowed me to call them to see what teacher’s name was on the inside of that envelope. 

Having kids you didn’t know or like in your class was as bad as not getting the Christmas gift you asked for. It was such a bummer. But, as far as the neighborhood kids went, we would be forever riding the same bus, and that was comforting.

Do you recall the names of your grade school teachers? I quizzed myself before I went to my childhood archives to confirm. I did well and remembered them all, but admittedly mixed up the grades for a couple of teachers. 

If you’re from Canfield, perhaps you remember some of these names. Here is who shaped my early education in elementary school from 1974-77:

Kindergarten at CH Campbell: Mrs. Skelton (If you recall from a previous post, most of us called her Mrs. Skeleton!)

First Grade at Hilltop: Mrs. Shields. (I was part of the 1st First Grade when this school was built over the summer of 1974! It was a brand new modern school! The kids that went to Hilltop had the unique experience of attending all 4 schools in the district.)

Second Grade: Mrs. Rogers

Third Grade: Mrs. Hoffman 

Fourth Grade: Mr. Murphy (A rarity to have a male teacher back then! To this day, I occasionally see him around town! 

If you have kids or grandkids, I hope they got the teacher they were hoping for, and most importantly, have a safe and fun school year!

You can find me in the middle of the picture holding the sign by my feet. I remember being proud that I had that job!