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Proper Attire for School
St. Patrick's grade school in the fifties did not have uniforms. However, we did have a dress code. Boys were required to wear neckties. Most of the guys wore the regular four in hand style. Clip-on bow ties, called "snorkies" were also popular, easy on and off and very portable.
Jeans or dungarees were not acceptable. This rule was relaxed on snowy days.
Girls had to wear dresses or skirts. The age of pants for females to any great extent had not yet caught on.
Our high school required uniforms for the girls, dark blue jumpers with which a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar was worn. You could tell if a gal ran out of clean blouses with the peter pan collar. They would sometimes wear one of their Father's white shirts.
Boys had to wear ties and a sweater or jacket. Still no jeans or dungarees.
Interestingly, now even some public schools in our area are requiring uniforms in order to combat the "droopy drawer" thug look.
Jeans or dungarees were not acceptable. This rule was relaxed on snowy days.
Girls had to wear dresses or skirts. The age of pants for females to any great extent had not yet caught on.
Our high school required uniforms for the girls, dark blue jumpers with which a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar was worn. You could tell if a gal ran out of clean blouses with the peter pan collar. They would sometimes wear one of their Father's white shirts.
Boys had to wear ties and a sweater or jacket. Still no jeans or dungarees.
Interestingly, now even some public schools in our area are requiring uniforms in order to combat the "droopy drawer" thug look.
Happy Birthday
Lets all wish a very Happy Birthday to Margaretha. We hope you have a very blessed day.
Dressing to look like Saints
In my school we didn't acknowledge halloween, we celebrated All Saints' Day. We secretly picked a holy card and then dressed like the Saint we picked. I remember dressing like Saint Rita one year and I thought I was cool with lipstick on my forehead. It was made to look like blood from the thorn she carried. Any one else do this in their school?
Two new Members!
Lets all welcome our two newest members to the group: mrsweezie and orchidlover. Be sure to give them a warm welcome.
St. Rita's Grammar School, Boston, MA
Wow! It is great to have a group like this. Good memories and bad, we usually look back at our experience with some fondness. My nuns were Sisters of St. Joseph and they commuted from their convent in Brighton where the Archdiocese had its offices. I had a few traumatizing events. There was the time in 3rd grade that I raised my hand to let the nun know that I didn't fully grasp the math lesson she had just spent 20 minutes teaching. She walked down the aisle, grabbed me by my left braid and dragged me to the blackboard where she yelled a condensed version of the lesson at me for 5 minutes. At the end of her tirade, she asked me if I finally understood. I told her I did even though I didn't. I went home and asked my older sister about it and she explained it to me in a way that I understood. Then there was the story about the end of the world when all of the stars and the sun would fall to Earth and burn us all up. I had nightmares into adulthood over that! At 10 years old, when my nephew was circumcised, I looked for the bandage on his tiny wrist to see where the piece of skin had been removed. Seeing none, I asked my mother, who explained the procedure to me. The nuns MADE me drink the milk every day even though I tried to tell them that it made me feel sick, especially on Friday when my mom sent a tuna (in oil)sandwich made with mayo. Every Friday for years I was violently ill until my mom started to make egg salad sandwiches because the nuns told her the tuna made me sick. As an adult I was finally diagnosed as lactose intolerant. I could go on and on. There are good things that came out of my catholic school experience. When we moved to Salem,MA as I was going into the 7th grade, I begged to go to public school and my parents allowed it on a trial basis, they said. I was labeled as "one of the brightest students they had seen in years" which meant nothing to them because I was usually on the honor roll at St. Rita's. The homework for public school was a breeze compared to the 2-3 hours of homework from catholic school. Even the "Palmer Method" lower case "r" makes it immediately apparent that I am a former catholic school student. That somehow makes me proud. Did anyone else have to sell "Holy Childhood" stamps to raise money for their school/parish? Both my school and St. Philip's Church have been torn down, but I point out the sites to my grandchildren and tell them that my school used to be there, and I was baptized, received my First Communion and Confirmation at the church that used to be over there. I'd love to hear from others that went to St. Rita's.
Catholic stories in the movies
It seems that back in the 40s and 50s there were movies made with good Catholic themes. I just saw one of them. Go to hulu and find "Come to the Stable" with Loretta Young, you'll be pleasantly surprised, it's so good.
