52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Elementary School

The prompt for Week 44 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Elementary School

Describe your grammar/elementary school (or schools). Were they big or small? Are any of these schools still in existence today? If so, how have they changed since you went there?

In the snapshot above, my friend Lydia and I are sitting on the Merry Go Round behind the old Venice Elementary School, where I attended school from Grade One to Grade Three. At the time I attended school at Venice, it was a part of the Margaretta Local Schools system. In the mid 1960s Venice was annexed into the Sandusky City Schools system, and the old Venice School was torn down. A new school was built nearby, in Venice Heights. My youngest grandson now attends school there.

My father, Paul, and all of his siblings also attended Venice School.

Dad was not too fond of school, but when he became a parent, he served as President of the Venice PTA! Mom was a "room mother" for several years at Venice Elementary. An article in the February 21, 1961 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Venice PTA helped in raising funds to purchase radios, record players, films, records, a clock, a movie projector and screen, and new flags for Venice School. The PTA was also instrumental in remodeling the school's basement to make way for a new cafeteria which served hot lunches.

My favorite memories of Venice School include our Christmas programs, the smell of sloppy joes and homemade gingerbread, and the wonderful teachers who gave us the start to our school days in those early grades. Today, a picnic shelter and playground are located at the site of the old Venice School.

Pictured below is my Third Grade Class at Venice Elementary. Our teacher was Mrs. Hall.