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Arthur Schechner (1/49) and Saul Kelton (6/64) add their recollections of attending Peshine Avenue School:
I went to Peshine from 1937 until 1945. It was a good place. No buses or car pools; we walked both ways with a brief stop at Louis’ Newspaper/Candy Shop on the corner of Custer and Meeker. Crossing guards and student monitors were stationed at every crossing.
The Principal was Mr. Albin J. Fry. This was during WW2 and most educators were either in the military or with defense jobs forcing Mr. Fry to serve as principal of three grammar schools (Peshine, Maple and, I think, Bragaw). The day to day at Peshine was run by Vice-Principal Eichorn. She had some odd ways. We once painted a huge banner, about three by fifteen feet, saying “God is Love” and hung it high in the auditorium for months without any explanation at all. I guess she thought it spoke for itself.
We students stayed in our own homeroom and the teachers rotated for the first few grades. Then we moved from class to class. My Homeroom teacher was Ms. Kehrer, who was also the school’s Penmanship teacher. Ms. Kean taught Music; Mr. Brady for shop; Ms. Clarke was the first-grade teacher. The Gym teacher was Mr. Jackson O’Sullivan with his “two sixteens” discipline tactic. The oddest class of all was “Auditorium” run by Ms. Minnie Nass and Ms. Rostow. We did nothing at all there but sit around waiting for the next class. Shop was fun and I made an end table that I still have in use at our family shore house in Bradley Beach.
Every morning at about eleven, I went to the school office to pick up and then deliver tiny cartons of milk and graham crackers to my class. To this day I hate graham crackers.
It was a good school district, some professionals most residents were blue- and white-collar people who worked downtown. I always felt a bit inferior to the kids from Maple Grammar School. They seemed more grown up both socially and sexually. I never knew anyone from Chancellor, Hawthorne, or Bragaw schools.
We all matured and with a one year freshman stop at the “Annex,” a/k/a Hawthorne Avenue School, we finally got to the “Great Wigwam on the Hill” run by “Chief Max J. Hertzberg.” I became Class President for all three years until graduating from Weequahic in 1953. Arthur
As I remember it, Peshine was a three-story building, but there was one classroom one flight up from the 3rd floor, The only one up there, and it was where Science was taught. I don’t remember the Science teacher’s name. She seemed very smart to me and very sure of herself; very confident and authoritative, too. I guess, at the time, the idea of death was starting to dawn on me. So, I went up to her after class one day when the rest of the students had already and asked her what happens to you when you die. She looked me straight in my eyes and said, “You just die.” The teacher certainly didn’t sugar-coat it. Made for quite a rude awakening for me and gave me quite a fright. Guess it was a coming-of-age type event for me.
Another notable experience was in Auditorium class. The teachers were Mrs. Zipkin and Mrs. Schimmel. One year, the 8th grade was putting on their Senior Class play, “The Mikado.” Throughout the semester, the scenery for the play slowly evolved from an empty stage to blank sheets of paper on backdrops, to sketches, and to fully painted scenes. Also, we were able to see the student-actors rehearsing. I found it all so fascinating. And by the end of the semester, I got to attend the play. I was so impressed.
Then there was the boys’ Gym teacher Mr. O’Sullivan. In the large gym long ropes hung from the ceiling, maybe 16-18 ft. high. He cautioned the class to not let go when we reach the top. Then he said, and I can still remember his voice, “Superman no come.” Saul
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