Hi, Peter;
I came across your website by accident while doing a google search.
You have a great website. I began 7th grade in September, 1962 in Fresno,
CA. Reading all of the the stories from you and your classmates was a real
deja vu experience for me. My experiences in Jr. high were similar.
One thing that was missing from your stories was the 7th grade posture check in
P.E. They never told us at the time why they were doing it, but I learned
years later they were mainly checking the girls for scoliosis. They didn't
want the boys to feel left out, so we were checked after the girls were
finished. About a dozen of us boys flunked the test and were put in a
special P.E. class in 8th grade. Near the end of the 8th grade year, the
coach (not the regular one) had me stand in front of a 3-sided mirror with my
shirt off. It was quite a shock to see that I had a forward curved
spine. No one had ever told me. A few years ago I learned that is
one of the characteristics of Marfan Syndrome and it starts curving at about age
10.
The Cuban Missile Crisis and the JFK assassination were the main mileposts
when I was in Jr. High. I was sitting in my 4th period Algebra class
when we got the news about JFK. I have discovered that most people
don't remember (or don't want to remember) their Jr. High years. But I'm
one of those who remembers Jr. High better than High School. All of the
people that I hung out with in High School were people that I knew in elementary
or Junior High.
John Burroughs must have been built after 1933 or it would have been torn
down in the 1970's because of the Field Act. Most of the schools that I
attended (including Jr. High) have been torn down. I was able to take
pictures of them before they were demolished. The replacement schools are
mostly ugly. When I took pictures of the Jr. High school I was able to go
in and take pictures of the gym and locker room. I even took a picture of
the 1915-era shower room. I was shocked to discover the shower heads
were about a foot lower than what I remembered. Then I realized that it
was me - I had grown a foot in the 3 years since I had left.
Well, that's all. Again, congratulations on a great website.
David Firth
July 4:
I forgot to tell you that you can see some of my school photos at gradfinder.com.
Go to Fresno, CA - then either Washington Jr. High, Fresno High, or John
Muir. My photo album is cross-linked to all three school lists.
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