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My name is Sandra Geyer. I attended Grover Cleveland Junior High
School from 1949-1952.
When I arrived I was a transfer student from Norwich School in Norwich,
Ohio. It was a two-classroom country school with four rows of desks in each room. Grades
1-4 were in one room
and grades 5-8 in the other (each row was a grade). There was no indoor
water or plumbing.
Stoves heated it. The transition to magnificent Grover Cleveland was
rough. A person was
assigned to lead me around as I was constantly losing my way from class
to class. My clothes
were so out-of-date that kids were pointing at me. I informed my
grandmother after the first day
or so that I would not be going back. She took me to town and bought
plaid pleated skirts, shoes,
and blouses. The classes and books fascinated me. I was shocked to
discover that all of the
plants and animals with which I was so familiar had previously been
scientifically classified and
named!
I walked to school from Lake Drive through the Woodlawn Cemetery. I
won’t go into the details
of our antics and dalliances there. Needless to say it was later closed
to students.
In order to “fit in” I began telling tall tales. They began in homeroom
when the students relating
the stories of their family vacations during introductions embarrassed
me. My family was poor
and without a car. When it was my turn to say “How I Spent My Summer
Vacation” I thought
up a good one. I explained that I had spent the summer employed. The
teacher, Ms. Stewart,
asked what it was that I did on my job. I replied that I worked picking
flowers for a perfume
factory (a la “Evening In Paris” or something like that). Everyone
turned to stare at me in awe. I
loved the attention and so continued embellishing the story for my rapt
audience. That was my secret way of becoming accepted at the new school. I became famous for
it. I was “in”. The
roots of the tale come from the teenage craze of collecting coupons from
magazines for free
samples of cosmetics. I had several prized tiny blue bottles of “Evening
In Paris”.
Donald Summers was Superintendent, Mr. L.D. Bone was Principal, Nancy
Tracy, Mr.
McCurdy, Mrs. Leppler, and Miss Barr taught then. I was an Associate
Editor of the school
paper, the Beacon, which was staffed as follows:
| Editor In Chief............. |
Nancy Carter |
| Associate Editors........
|
Sandra Geyer
Jack Ramsey
Dorothy Levison |
| Business Manager......... |
Burdette Smythe |
| Reporters, Columnists...
|
Cornelia Bridges
Dixie Knowlden
Sharon Lee Gooden
Harold Smith
Dottie Dutro
Margaret Bone
Bill Daniels
Burdette Smythe
Nancy Frame
Shirley Wise |
| Sports Writers……………
|
Jim Logan
Sandra Geyer
Dottie Dutro
Burdette Smythe |
| Art & Lettering…………
|
David Laudenbacher
Jim Hartlage
Marlene Wheeler |
My memories of Grover Cleveland are very fond indeed. I remember that I
looked forward to
school each day. The teachers there were very interested in my
continuing education. I would like to share my favorite things as a teen
growing up at that time – 1949-1952.
| Favorite Articles of Clothing etc.…
|
Blue jeans
Spaulding blk & wh saddle oxfords, red rubber soles
Penny loafers
Straight, tight skirts
Angora sweaters with a peter pan dickey
Class ring on a chain (going steady)
|
| Favorite colors…........................ |
Pink & black |
| Favorite Hits………………………
|
I Could Write a Book - Margaret Whiting
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald
It’s Only A Paper Moon – Nat King Cole |
| Favorite movies……………………
|
High Noon
Singin’ In the Rain
The Greatest Show on Earth
Quo Vadis
Ivanhoe
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The African Queen
|
| Favorite Car………………………. |
1952 Ford Crestline Victoria
|
| Favorite TV show………………… |
I Love Lucy (CBS)
Dragnet (NBC) |
| Favorite Upperclassman………….. |
Nancy McCurdy |
| Favorite best friend………………..
|
Jack Ramsay |
| Favorite Movie Stars………………
|
Natalie Wood
James Dean |
| Favorite foods…………………….. |
Chocolate coke
Lot-a-malt from Lot-A-Malt Shop on Putnam
Grilled Pimento Cheese on white at Leffler’s counter
Tin Roof Sundae at Katsampes |
| Favorite books……
|
Fiction "The Silver Chalice"...Thomas B. Costain. Doubleday
"The Caine Mutiny"... Herman Wouk, Doubleday
"East of Eden"... John Steinbeck. Viking Press
“My Cousin Rachel"...Daphne du Maurier. Doubleday
"Giant"...Edna Ferber. Doubleday
"The Old Man and the Sea"...Ernest Hemingway. Scribner
Nonfiction
"The Sea Around Us"...Rachel L. Carson. Oxford University Press
"The Power of Positive Thinking"...Norman Vincent Peale. Prentice Hall |
1952 highlights include King George VI died; Patricia McCormick made a
spectacular debut as the first female professional bullfighter; Eva
Peron died. Polio vaccine was invented. The Nobel Peace Prize was
awarded to Albert Schweitzer.
Sandra Geyer Miller, 2285 Country Club Drive, Altadena, CA 91001
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