A collection of miscellaneous memorabilia and recollections from the Wells School era!
Girls’ lunch boxes
Metal lunch boxes were carried by most students. Girls favored Walt Disney, fairy tale, and TV cartoon characters. By looking at their lunch boxes, you can pretty much tell their personalities!
Boys’ lunch boxes
Boys’ lunch boxes tended have masculine, macho, and sometimes violent themes: Cowboys & Indians, war, TV Western gunfighters, frontier heroes like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, outer space, etc. Most of these lunch boxes are not politically correct today. For lunch, your parents gave you a sandwich (peanut butter & jelly, fried egg, SPAM, Oscar Meyer bologna, etc. And a fruit (usually a banana, orange, or apple). Since many kids were butter fingered, they would drop their lunch boxes and break the thermos inside, which was made of glass. Parents got tired of buying replacements, so they would give you a nickel to buy a small carton of milk. Since you came to school at 8am and had lunch at noon, your food did not need refrigeration. However, by the time you came home, your leftovers would reek! It’s amazing that no one got food poisoning back then!
Our textbooks
Remember the Dick, Jane, and Sally readers? They were introduced in the 1930s and were phased out in the 1970s. Our parents and we learned to read through these books.
Weekly Reader
Weekly Reader came into being in 1928, and is still going strong. It was distributed to 5th graders at Wells School. It was like a kiddie version of Newsweek. I first learned about the credit card in the WR! When I read the article, I thought “No way! This is ridiculous! Using a plastic card in place of money?!!” BankAmericard and MasterCharge were the first major credit cards that I can remember which came out in the mid 1960s. Just look at the marvelous, futurist phones just making their debut in the article below! (Weekly Reader, October 21-25, 1963)
Cafeteria menu
Wells School Lunch menu, November 2–30, 1964. This is the school district menu which was passed out to all students on Monday morning. We had the option of buying our lunch tickets singly at the time of purchase $0.30, or buying five lunch tickets Monday morning $1.50. The teachers had the option of ordering a different menu, like a salad for $0.50. For those who brought our own lunch to school, we could buy a small carton of milk for only a nickel. I was not aware of any free lunch program then. We had students from poor families, but back then, families did not get free handouts and made sure their kids were fed. I don’t know why these lunches had celery and carrot sticks, and sauerkraut…they were universally despised and thrown out!Kirk Rogers prepares for his first day of Kindergarten. The giant name tag has his name and address. 1959.Waiting for the school bus on the first day of Kindergarten, on the corner of Walnut Grove/Grand Ave. in Rosemead, 1958. Left to right: Joey Markel, Cindy Bahruth, Robert Rankin, Helen Edwards, and Johnny Torris.Their bus has arrived to take them to school! Helen waves goodbye to her mom as she prepares to board.The 1st graders are, left to right: Helen Edwards (Super Girl), Carol Yoshida (clown), Jessica Disimoni (gypsy), Elizabeth Eatherly (princess), Debbie York (flapper girl), and Kathy Hinson. It was Halloween 1959. Dressing up for Halloween was an annual event which all the students looked forward to!Jessica Disimoni, Helen Edwards, Debbie York, and Carol Yoshida.Helen Edwards, Carol Yoshida with clown mask on, Jessica Disimoni, Elizabeth Eatherly, and Debbie York. Halloween 1959.4th grade classmate Helen Edwards was at Disneyland in 1963 when she and her little brother encountered Walt Disney by chance. He was very impressed with this cute and spunky kid and immediately asked her mother if she could be interviewed for a segment of the Mickey Mouse Club. Her mother snapped this photo. Helen is on the far right with her little brother. I saw Helen on TV when I tuned into the Mickey Mouse Show!
Two 6th graders were chosen to be hall monitors. It was always a boy and a girl. The symbol of authority was this badge, on a green cloth strap. It was really a big deal to be chosen as a hall monitor and we took our jobs seriously! If kids were running down the hall, they were told to “go back and walk!” If they did not obey, they would be reported to Mrs. Shuey!
Students who completed their assignments as hall monitor received this certificate from Mrs. Shuey. It was a BIG DEAL for a 6th grader!
Wells Menu Nov. 1965Every February, students bought Valentines Day cards to pass out. Boys hated this, but the girls loved it! In order to be fair, everyone received a card whether you liked them or not! If a boy liked the girl, then she got a higher quality card. Boys NEVER wrote anything more than their first names. Sometimes, a girl would get “mushy” and write something sentimental to a boy she really liked. The students decorated a white paper lunch sack with hearts and put their names on it. The bags were tacked up on the wall, and classmates dropped a card into each one.
Our teachers created their own awards to recognize classroom achievement and foster competition. They actually worked!
Our school district partnered with the LA Fire Dept. to promote fire safety. In the 5th grade, we had a class project to promote fire safety. Some students made posters and others made dioramas of a house with fire hazards. The projects were graded on creativity and presentation. Everyone received the inspector’s badge. They presented a badge for lieutenant, captain, and finally, a gold plated fire battalion chief’s badge. In my 5th grade class, my classmate Helen Edwards was awarded the highest honor. She and I still retain our badges to this day!Jr. LAFD badges. Captain on the left and an inspector on the right.
Two 6th graders were chosen to be hall monitors. It was always a boy and a girl. The symbol of authority was this badge, on a green cloth strap. It was really a big deal to be chosen as a hall monitor and we took our jobs seriously! If kids were running down the hall, they were told to “go back and walk!” If they did not obey, they would be reported to Mrs. Shuey!
Students who completed their assignments as hall monitor received this certificate from Mrs. Shuey. It was a BIG DEAL for a 6th grader!
