Grade School Halloween!
Happy Halloween! I realize that I have not done much to celebrate the spookiest time of the year, and probably even have some vintage slides - somewhere. But I was too lazy to try to find them. However, I do happen to own a fun 8 X 10 class photo of a bunch of kids dressed in costume. Sadly, I have no date or location.
Well, there they are, in all their squirming glory. If I had to hazard a guess for a date, I'd say "sometime in the 1950s", but for all I know it could be older than that. I'm a little surprised that there isn't at least one paper skeleton, black cat or Jack-o-lantern in sight. Every kid's costume is unique, and there are definitely some store-bought elements, I think a lot of hard work from a lot of mothers went into each outfit.
Thanks to somebody carefully listing the names of all the students on the back, I can tell you "who's who"! In the front row, Joanne Manno (#13), Patty Hollings (#14), Cassandra Noreia (#15), and Margaret Swales (#16).
The girl in the cowboy outfit is Regina Maddalone (#20), the majorette is Linda Liessler (#21), the boy in the pirate hat is Michael Woods (#23), and the weisenheimer with the apple is Frank Amato (#24).
Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
EXTRA! EXTRA! GDB friend Sue B sent me more photos from one of Lou Perry's office parties - this time a Halloween party, naturally. They are the perfect thing to fill out today's post.
Hmmm, I guess this nice lady is supposed to be a bunch of grapes?! That's a new one on me! Still, the leafy hat looks surprisingly fashionable. It will be the next big thing in Milan.
There's a gal after my heart, dressed as a girl mouse, and wearing her official Mickey Mouse ear-hat! Not sure if she's supposed to be Minnie Mouse, but I am too distracted by the thought of having some hot dogs. With mustard and relish, and maybe some finely-chopped onions.
Whatever is going on with these three, I don't need to know. As long as everyone is happy, am I right? The girl with the Groucho glasses has no idea that she's being pranked. OR DOES SHE? The guy to the right actually dresses like that every day. "Today is Halloween? Neato!".
I'm guessing that this smiling lady is dressed as a scarecrow. She made the costume herself! If you're extra nice to her, she may just give you a few feet of Alcoa film, no questions asked.
THANKS to LOU & SUE!
34 comments:
The kids are cute - but whatever’s on the back right wall is awfully scary!
Major, I would guess the class photo is from the early 1950s (perhaps late '40s) judging by the almost total lack of crewcuts on the boys; which would become the norm by the mid '50s.
And (as Sue noted) what the heck is that crumpled mess on the back wall to the right? It appears to be large sheets of black(?) construction paper with jungle aminals (sic) painted/drawn on. No idea.
And on the wall behind the teacher (doesn't she look like the stereotypical teacher from this era?), is another series of baffling drawings. One appears to have a giant Jack-o-lantern with (maybe) a couple of black cats? (To the right of the teacher.) On the upper left, a bunch of ladies standing/dancing around a campfire? What's that big black blob behind them? Several other drawings seem to depict horse-drawn chariots, or maybe ox-carts.
All the kids have a plate of goodies in front of them, including apples, cookies, and donuts(?)
In the first 'office party' photo from Lou, those plates have what appears to be lettuce leaves and maybe cottage cheese... or not. The red things are spiced apple rings (out of a can).
Minnie Mouse seems to be lacking a tail. Do the Disneyland Mickey and Minnie have tails? Maybe not, too much of a temptation for kids (and teens) to yank on it.
In the next photo, the guy in the red shirt/blue pants appears to be Raggety Andy. Giraffe guy, well, he's a giraffe. (There's also a drawing of a giraffe on the wall behind him. Must be a connection.) The costume of the totally rad '70s girl/lady in front appears to consist of those Groucho glasses with the big nose.
In the last photo, I wonder what's in that "Handle With Care" box? Donuts? Maybe a cake.
That appears to be a very large and well-equipped kitchen for merely an office. Maybe they're teachers and 'lunch ladies' at the school cafeteria?
Thanks to Major and Lou and Sue for todays images. By the way, Sue, How's your dad doing these days? Getting better, I hope?
- Jujyfruits, Butterfinger (more Halloween candy.) "You trick-or-treaters get off my lawn!... And your little dog, too!"
Major-
Sue poses an excellent question: Just what is that frightening thing, with cutouts of a kitty, a tortoise-?, and who knows what else-? Construction paper never looked lovelier.
So, is that a giraffe and Raggedy Ann-?
Thanks Major and Sue. Happy Halloween to all.
Looks as if those kids have created their own reproductions of the cave drawings of Lescaut. Very authentic!
WE CAN’T WAIT FOR TOMORROW.....
ALCOA CAN’T WAIT!!
Hey, I found Regina Maddalone and Frank Amato on Facebook! They have been married to each other for over 60 years, and they have 23 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Okay, I'm kidding. It is the day for tricks and/or treats, after all.
I love all of today's pics. Thank you, Major, Lou, and Sue. Sue, is this the cafeteria of that same hospital, where we saw the workers having an anniversary party?
- Tokyo Masquerade!
Looks like Jerry Mathers (The Beaver) there in the back 40 with the baseball cap. Or perhaps, he is a time traveler and has a "Beaver" costume on (?) Beaver was born in 48 so this may make sense? The back construction paper wall looks like a Frank Gehry production. Was he in the class with Beaver? It also reminded me of Guernica, so maybe teacher was a fan of Picasso? Maybe they were all studying the Spanish Civil War? I do like the high ceilings. It almost looks like a photo of a TV set...where the ceilings are high and they use a picture rail to intimate a ceiling height to get your focus off that there are commercial lights above the frame of the photo. Giraffe Boy, Raggedy Andy, and "other" disturb me. Minnie Mouse is wearing the wrong shoes, but an overall valiant attempt. Perhaps she is portraying Mickey in drag? Cottage cheese and spiced apple rings. What were we thinking? Thank God Julia Child brought some food sophistication to the US. Back to the Beaver...looks like he does the Comic-Con circuit. Didn't know he was in the comics, but he looks very alive and kicking.
I can’t tell if Joanne Manno is wearing a mask or not, and it’s really creeping me out!
I always loved Halloween as s kid, because we got to have three costumes. One for school, one for our party, and one for trick-or-treating. Sometimes we wore the same costume for two events, but rarely for all three. (I’ve probably mentioned it before, but Mom always threw us one big Halloween party instead of two birthday parties, because it fell right in between our birthdays. That kind of made up for the fact that we were only allowed to trick-or-treat at the houses of people we knew.)
I love the class picture, what a great thing, and to have all the names too! Just wonderful. Thanks Major!
My school had similar classrooms, different lights, but the same desks. I agree, sometime late 40’s, maaaybe early 50’s. As we have observed before, the styles that later define a decade are often not prevalent till midway along. Especially in the hinterlands.
Looks like a hay wagon in one drawing. Hard to figure out the rest.
I’ll gladly have a spiced apple ring with cottage cheese. French people envy Americans because we can eat whatever we want and not care about what other people think. Imagine being French and not being able to eat an apple ring for fear of letting down the side, some Dutchmen might see you.
Sue, thanks for sharing Lou’s workplace pics, Mrs. G’s office did theirs Friday, all funny hats, she wore my fez.
JG
Look! It's Geoffrey from Toys R Us.
Happy Halloween to everyone!
Happy Halloween everybody! I agree with Mike that the kids made cave art. Looks like cave people around a fire, spearing a sabertooth, inventing the wheel, and that's probably a mammoth far right on the construction paper cave. Could kid 22 be wearing a Mickey mask? I think our first party lady is a fruit salad; I spy a strawberry on her shirt too. Thanks Major and Sue!
~Kthulu!
The thing at the back of the classroom is a vortex opening to release the Lovecraftian horror summoned by the careless Halloween frolicing. Donuts, indeed.
I like Lou's work pictures, if only because they had more sense than the kids. No Cthulhu here!
Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeen!
S-ure T-ired of U-nfunny...scary name attempts...
29573
The first and third drawings on the back wall are probably a saber tooth cat and a wooly mammoth. Don’t know what the middle one is. Which makes me think this might be California since they always made a big deal about those prehistoric animals because of the La Brea Tar Pits.
Do to the lack of TV characters, I’m gonna say this is from the late 1940s. The room itself looks older, especially with those built-in wood cabinets and light fixtures.
That teacher is right out of Central Casting!
Perhaps someday someone will Google their name, find this post, and we will find out the truth!
Lou and Sue, that artwork at the back of the class is like some weird cave painting!
JB, you make a good point about the crewcuts. While I didn’t consciously pick up on those clues, the photo just feels DARN OLD. That lady was born to be a grade-school teacher, no joke. All of the art on the bulletin board consists of original works by Matisse. That was quite a school! Yum, if we ever got donuts in school it would have been the best day ever. I thought the first photo showed tomatoes, but I guess “spiced apple rings” is outside my wheelhouse. I’m imagining the giraffe guy saying to his wife, “I’m gonna be a giraffe!”. She was probably used to such things by then. I hope all that food was good, somehow the cafeteria kitchen setting doesn’t inspire, but it might have been wholesome and delicious.
Nanook, yes, I really couldn’t figure out what that mess of crinkled paper was supposed to represent. Very strange. Also, that wasn’t suppose to be Raggedy Andy, it was supposed to be FDR. FAIL.
Mike Cozart, ha ha, see my first comment! When I was in France I took a tour of caves, and we went to Lascaux, but they don’t allow tourists in, so they built an exact reproduction of it (with nice level floors) right next to it. I’m serious.
TokyoMagic!, Aw you had me fooled for a second, I was all excited. Glad you liked todays pix!
Bu, I’m not sure which one you think looks like Beaver Cleaver, but that was definitely just the “generic suburban boy” look for that period. You’re right, that paper thing DOES look like one of Frank Gehry’s works! Hilarious. I would be impressed if that teacher was a fan of Picasso, since most regular folks thought that their kid could do better. The high ceilings are awesome, I also thought about a studio set where the lighting could be framed out of the image. I don’t like cottage cheese in any form, so seeing it on a salad or whatever makes me want to just have bread and butter.
Melissa, aw, poor Joanne Manno. She’s not that grotesque!! Wow, you got to have three costumes? I feel like I had to wear the same costume several years in a row (there were four kids on a Navy salary), or else I wore my older brother’s costume from the year before. Except when he was Batman, he would never let me be Batman. I always had to be Robin. I have photos to prove it, somewhere. My grandma says that one time we arrived at LAX in our full (home made) Batman and Robin outfits!
JG, yes, I don’t know why exactly, but I love having the names. I could have just made some up, but it wouldn’t be the same. I would make up dumb things like Mike Magillicuddy. Sorry to all you actual Mike Magillicuddys out there! One of my grade schools in Pennsylvania must have been built in the 1930s, and it hadn’t been updated much since then as far as I could tell. Lots of “institutional green” on the walls, and the smell of damp plaster always. I find it hard to believe that French people envy Americans (!), but I’ll take your word for it!
K. Martinez, aw, I miss Toys ‘R Us. I think I’ve heard that it might be making a comeback?
Kathy!, great minds think alike, clearly. Remember how the New Yorker had cartoons with regular themes, like someone on a tiny desert island, or a missionary in a big iron pot? They also had cavemen doing goofy things like creating the wheel, only it was square. Because they were dumb, see?? Interesting, that mouth on that kid’s mask does look very Mickey-ish.
Stu29573, here come the shoggoths! They like donuts, by the way. Now I need to reread some Lovecraft, it’s been too long. Ha ha, no more funny nicknames until next year… start working on them NOW!
Sunday Night, you could be right, I have no clues at all about where that photo was taken. I would have guessed “east coast”, but of course California had plenty of old schools at one time. My mom’s old high school was torn down and rebuilt in a more modern (cheap?) style. I was definitely fascinated by saber tooth cats and wooly mammoths, but what self-respecting kid wouldn’t be? Good point about the lack of TV characters!
Major, I'll be back with more comments, in a couple minutes, but I just had to say this, first:
YOU JUST MENTIONED SOMETHING FROM I LOVE LUCY!!!!
Happy Halloween, everyone! I am loving all the funny comments.
Sunday Night is brilliant! I do think that mess on the back wall is (are?) the La Brea Tar Pits.
And Ken is absolutely right, that has to be Geoffrey.
Melissa, I think the girl with the tiara, behind #13, is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. But I guess the year is off.
JG, did you say "fez?" I have my dad's fez...he was a Shriner. Were you, too?
JB (Jellyfish Bacteria), that "drawing of dancing ladies" is actually a drawing of dancing pears around a campfire, silly.
Yes, my dad's getting better - but he was 'under the weather' last week and gave us an early Halloween scare. He's amazing and keeps bouncing back...I should dress him up as Superman, today.
TM! (Too Much b-s!), please remind me to prank you on April 1. You actually had me going for a couple seconds regarding the kids on Facebook. And, yes, that's the hospital cafeteria. Just wait til you see some of the Christmas party food concoctions.
Thanks, Major, and all!
Melissa, #13 does look like her face is super-imposed, doesn't it. But she's wearing her domino mask atop her head. So, I guess that's really her. Sort of Mona Lisa-like.
Hmm, Lascaux or La Brea. It must be one or the other.
A note about spiced apple rings: You have to rinse them off real good or they'll bleed all over everything else on the plate (especially cottage cheese), making it look like one of Major's faded, magenta 35mm slides.
Wasn't Lucy's maiden name Magillacuddy? (Maybe spelled differently) Sooo, Major just made an ILL reference? THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! (Sue beat me to it, but I'm leaving it in, anyway.)
Sue, Ah. Dancing pears. It looks so obvious now!
Major-
You're correct - TOYS "Я" US is making a comeback. They are slated to open more than 400 shop-in-shops in Macy’s stores in 2022. (Hopefully the health of Macy's is strong-enough so IT can remain a viable concern-!)
Major, I would be so delighted if my grandkids showed up to meet me at the airport dressed as Batman and Robin! As a younger sibling, I totally feel you on never getting to be the main character!
Glad to hear Lou is on the mend. Part Superman, part Timex - takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
JB (Justin Bieber), you are correct regarding Lucy Ricardo’s last name. Of all the names for Major to pick. ;o)
Thanks, Melissa, you said it!
Major, if you like ebooks, there is a one volume epub with all of Lovecrafts published works. All public domain now.
I can send (or anyone) a link if you want. LMK.
Also, I was being sarcastic about French people, please forgive me.
Sue, I was never a Shriner, but I’m a fairly big tiki fan, my wife found a fez for me online some years back. It’s good for screwball dress up, no disrespect intended. I always admired those guys with the close-order minibikes in parades. Did Lou ever drive one of those? Please give him my very best regards.
Major, there aren’t many old elementary schools from that era left in California. There has been an aggressive earthquake safety program over the years and most of the classic old buildings were demolished in favor of newer safer designs, which also mostly are taste-free ugly monstrosities.
JG
JG, nope, my dad was never in any of the parades or riding the little mini-bikes. I do remember big picnics with lots of toys and prizes for kids. Lots of stuffed animals. I haven’t stumbled on any pictures he took at any of the events - but maybe I still will, as I look at more trays of slides. I’ll scan them for here, if I do come across any.
These are a neat, eclectic mix, and I love each of them. Platonically, of course. After all, I am a married spud.
The kid in the back row wearing a cowboy hat in front of the cabinet with the birds painted on it appears to have a large, black bird perched on his head. I just watched the first Simpsons Hallowe’en special again last night, so of course it looks like a raven to me.
I also watched The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad and The Muppet Haunted Mansion. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the first, but if you haven’t seen the second, do yourself a favor and see it. If you are a Mansion fan, I guarantee you will appreciate it.
JG, Mrs. Chuck and I went to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show at Disneyland Paris (not in the Park itself, but in their Downtown Disney equivalent), and a group of young (say, college-aged) French people were sitting near us. Included with the show was a stereotypical American barbecue meal, served right there in the bleachers. The appetizer was cornbread and chili, and it was funny watching their reactions to it. One member of the group in particular reacted very negatively to the appetizer, and the others then didn’t eat theirs. I did catch the two guys stealing glances at us occasionally, watching us happily eating Yankee comfort food, and I could swear that the looks were somewhat envious.
Sue, so happy to hear Lou continues to pull through. Have you considered getting him a red cape? I still recommend he continue wearing his trousers over his underwear, however.
- Crazed, Headless, Undead Clown Killer
JG, I will pass your regards on to my dad. I always read everyone’s comments to him. You Jr. Gorillas all make him happy.
Chuck, "Crazed, Headless, Undead Clown Killer". BEST NAME YET!
- Jujyfruits, Butterfinger (more Halloween candy.) "You trick-or-treaters get off my lawn!... And your little dog, too!"
Lou and Sue, I figure it’s inevitable that I would someday mention SOMETHING that inadvertently tie in to ILL. I also love that the abbreviation for the show is “ILL”.
Lou and Sue, somehow “Jellyfish Bacteria” is very disturbing. Thank you for the brief update on your dad, I’m so glad to know that he is getting better. I have an elderly parent too, and know how scary it can be when there is an unexpected illness or injury. Glad you enjoyed these, and thanks for sharing the office party pix.
JB, I guess I have looked at that photo too many times, I’m used to Joanne Manno’s appearance. It doesn’t strike me as odd at all. As far as I know I’ve never had spiced apple rings, and think I could live the rest of my life happily without them. But… maybe they’re amazing. And Sue did confirm that Lucy’s maiden name was… well, you know. Again, pure coincidence.
Nanook, I was going to say, opening shops inside Macy’s does not give one a secure feeling. I thought we were going to have those big stores back, which I would like very much!
Melissa, I can’t tell you if dressing as Batman and Robin was our idea, or if my mom just thought it would be cute. But I do think that we were so crazy about the 1966 show that we wore our outfits all the time.
Lou and Sue, you weren’t the only one who knew!
JG, I have a few Lovecraft ebooks, but it’s good to know that they are public domain now, they will probably be on Project Steve Gutenberg. It’s OK about being sarcastic about French people, it was very meta. Love you, French people! I’d be happy to go to France any day of the week. My brother used to have an old fez that my mom got at a local thrift shop, and when he decided he didn’t need it any more, she took it back to the thrift store. Without telling me, of course. And yes, I have no doubt that any truly old schools in SoCal are long gone, unfortunately. My mom says that her old school had murals by artist Kay Nielsen, who did art for Disney in the 1950s.
Lou and Sue, I would prefer to drive one of those little cars… even smaller than an Autopia car I believe. In fact, that’s the only reason to be a Shriner, in my opinion.
Chuck, yes, I noticed that raven or crow or whatever that is, since I was looking for evidence of anything that was “standard Halloween issue”. I do love “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad”, that will be a great thing to watch on Disney+ (assuming they have it). “Muppet Haunted Mansion”, I’ll have to give that a look too, though I confess to being only a mild Muppet fan. I know, heresy. I have no doubt that many French (and folks from other countries) would turn up their noses at the things we eat in America. One time (LONG ago) I was in Paris with some other Americans and we were all homesick for a good burger, so we went to a place called (believe it or not) “Cactus Jack’s”. It was terrible. How could they mess up a hamburger? We were very proud of ourselves for not going to McDonald’s, but we probably would have liked that more.
Lou and Sue, I’m glad you read the comments to Lou! I’ll bet he thinks we’re all nuts.
Muppets Haunted Mansion is the most Muppety thing the Muppets have done in a long time. They were really back on their game.
I fell asleep to a YouTube playlist of Lovecraft audiobooks one night. I had some straaaange dreams.
Also, I bet that classroom has the kind of windows you have to open with s pole.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/696228423616257066/
I think this is the Mickey costume #22 is wearing! Sadly no year on this photo either, I thought it would help date this.
Major, I went to McDonald’s in Paris once with my parents and sister. That was more a function of it was late and we were tired and didn’t want a traditional, multi-hour French meal, plus they were all living in the Azores at the time and hadn’t seen a McDonald’s since a vacation to Germany the year before.
I had stepped on my mom’s foot while crossing the street, and she had tripped and scraped up her arm badly enough that she was bleeding. We stumbled into the McDonald’s and the staff immediately took her into the kitchen, broke out the first aid kit, and made sure she was taken care of before we could even order. Whoever says Parisians are stuck-up snobs never met these people. And that Royale with Cheese was pretty good, too.
JB, thanks. It just came to me. In fact, I’m still hiding from it.
Melissa, agreed - very Muppety. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was not disappointed. I haven’t laughed so hard at a TV show in a while. I’m sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed it half as much if I wasn’t such a fan of the Haunted Mansion.
Oh, and Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. Pleasant dreams!
Kathy, aaaack! That looks like that kid is wearing Mickey’s severed and bleached skull! Or maybe it’s an insane killer clown version of Mickey. Either way, I’m sleeping with the light on tonight.
It’s Mickey’s goth cousin, Vernon Vermin.
I like your choice of Font in the classroom photos.
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