I arrived at Pettingill in the fall of 1944. I was in the second grade, in Miss Holgate’s class.

At that time, there were only four rooms at the school. Miss Murphy had kindergarten, Miss Campbell had first-graders, Miss Holgate had a split class of second- and third-graders as well as being our principal and secretary, and Miss Nicholson also had a split class of third- and fourth-graders. The male presence there was our janitor, who was fondly called “Jant.” Who could bother us with “Jant” as a protector!

The basement held our bathrooms, our lunch tables for the bus students and our refuge on stormy days when we could not go out. “Jant’s” little room was there, and we all tried to get a peek inside that room because it must have held wonderful, forbidden things. Never did.

Every Monday we brought in a quarter and proudly handed it off to our teacher for the War Bond project. That was a considerable sum because it would also buy two loaves of bread for many struggling families, and that would include all of us.

We did not have a nurse at school, but every once in a while one would show up to check our teeth, ears, eyes and give us the latest shot recommended by the government. First aid consisted of a Band-Aid. If that didn’t work and you were a bus student, you had to sit in the teacher’s room until bus time. Our parents could not come to the rescue.

We may have had an art and music teacher, but I don’t remember that we did. I do remember Miss Farley, who came frequently to teach penmanship. It was the Palmer Method with the push-pull stokes using the hand and arm rather than just fingers. She was exacting, and my circles and strokes never made her smile. Anyone who received praise from her was shunned at recess.

I had Miss Nicholson for two years, third and fourth grades. She was such a good teacher. Resources were very limited, but we had wonderful maps, a sandbox for creating scenes, a shelf full of books and the overhead projector to look at different parts of the world. Miss Nicholson was the teacher who I wanted to emulate when I later went to Gorham State Teachers College.

Field trips were unheard of. We did have a few excursions within walking distance. We planned and practiced for weeks for an Arbor Day experience. Early on Arbor Day we all walked to and climbed Davis Mountain to just the right spot where we planted a tree. We sang our hearts out and then had a breakfast treat. What fun that was!

Pettingill. Such a small school on a country road that taught us our ABCs, number facts, how to be a good citizen, to contribute to making our world a better place and how to get along in a small unassuming place. Thank you!