"Reverie"
N.O.K.
Page Five
Bay Ridge
Brooklyn
New York, N.Y.
Lintel
above main entrance to Public School 94. That's authentic stone, not styrofoam,
or cement over pressed board. PS 94 is not a High School, but a grammar school -
kindergarten to 6B. Photo by Gene Sirota -
7/99.
Sad to
see such a grand entrance fitted with "prison" doors. In my time -
during WW2, this main entrance was graced with ornate windowed doors from top to
bottom. Attaching cheap metal signs to the architecture would have been unheard
of. As a student, unless delinquent in some manner, and escorted by a parent,
you never passed through these doors. I can not remember ever using this
entrance...thank goodness.
The
play ground behind PS-94. In my day, it extended across to the next street. This
must be an addition attached many years ago, but after my tenure. We mustered
here every morning before entering the building, in line, and in order, using
the "back" doors. Photo by Gene Sirota
7/99.
PS - 94 Looks the same today, as back during "the war". A substantial
structure, as was most buildings back then. Part of the New York Board of
Education Public School System, I remember it
fondly.
School
was from eight 'til three. One teacher for each term - six years from
kindergarten to graduation - 6B. Though I remember seeing the Principal a few
times in those years, I remember his name to be Epstein...a personage as awesome
to us kids as the President of the U.S.
I
remember the school lunch to be a wholesome soup, and a sandwich... usually
jelly. Half-way through the morning we had a container of milk. It wasn't free
as I remember the term "milk money", and "lunch money"...I
think it was a dime. I remember all the class rooms had a picture of George
Washington, and an American flag. Each morning at the start of class the teacher
read a passage from the King James bible. One thing I'll never forget is when we
switched from red ties to blue ties right after WW2...when the "cold
war" began. That was only once a week on "assembly" days...white
shirt with blue tie. Other than that, there was no uniform dress. The whole
school smelled of Crayola Crayons, paste, and yellow drawing paper...rough stuph
called "Oaktag". Innocence pervailed throughout...the word sex meant
nothing...we were just children being children.
Photography by
Gene Sirota.