Marsha Dishler

.Well I also went to Pennypacker for k 1st and part of 2nd grade.  I remember walking up Washington Lane with my sister who was a little older and stopping at the candy store to spend the coveted five cents my parents gave us each. I used to get "dots" a lot and other penny candy. Five cents bought a lot of candy.

We also walked to the public library every Saturday. That was a special treat for me.

My wife, who I met in Maine,has two half sisters who also went to Pennypacker at the same time and also stopped at the same store.One lives in Alaska and the other in Scotland

Susan Pomerantz

I haven't been on this page for so long I forgot my password. I am another war baby born on Feb 25, 1945. It seems that are a lot of use born on that date. I went to Shoemake with Harriet with Mrs Wilson.

Janet Hoffman

I remember Miss Wilson.  However, my sixth grade teacher was the other one -  Mrs. Gillespie.  Miss Wilson, however, was the one who gave us the lesson about the "facts of life" (which had only to do with what happens to girls; they never told us about the boy stuff.).  Mrs. Smith I had in fifth grade.  Forgot about fourth....

J

Amy Shelanski

Wow! Great response. Hello all Pennypackerians! I was there through half of 5th grade - I loved that school. I remember being really bummed that I would not get to finish elementary school at PP and had to go to Cheltenham Elem - which I disliked intensely. Here's a memory - walking home from school in about 1st grade (probably with my brother who ignored me most of the time). It was spring and there were some lovely flowers in a front garden which I picked for my mother. I can't say that my brother ratted me out, but somehow Miss Michaels found out about my flower theft and I got called on the carpet. Getting called in front of Miss Michaels might have been the most terrifying school experience I've ever had!

Enough of the past - now to the future. Specifically to January 17th, 2016. Janet Hoffman and I invite our classmates to a 70th Birthday party at Janet's apartment in New York. Brunch will be served! If you would like more information send us messages from this site! Hope to see many of you there.

George Bell

Thanks to all of you who expressed condolences over my lonely death chronicled in the 10/18 New York Times. The article failed to mention my happy days at Pennypacker elementery with Bonnie Verbit, Terri Saltzman, Amy Shelanski, Laura Lewin, Nate Skalar, Sandy Slubin, Jill Orenstein, Brad Rothkoff, and Sheryl Surkin etc.  Before I died, I particularly enjoyed May, June, and July which supports Susie (animal) Fishman's theory about most enjoying the time of the year around the time of one's birth...it must be a very primordal phenominon.

Stan Denenberg

Recollection from moving from Philadelphia to Cheltenham during the 4th grade. At Cheltenham Elementary, the desks were all moveable and could be arranged in a large square for the full class, or cordoned off into smaller discussion groups. This was an entire radical concept for me. During my Philadelphia school days, the desks were fixed-being bolted to the floor, so the floor plan was either rows or rows (all with inkwells).

The teacher was Ms. Wright (sp?)-she was young and attractive-quite a departure from Philly where all my previous teachers were versions of Miss Grundy from the Archie comics!

Nancy Eisenberg (Einhorn)

Where are all the boys and girls that attended Myers?  Anyone remember Miss Harrison in second grade,Miss Bunn, Miss Shaw and the blue haired principal Miss Smith?

Nancy Cunningham (Moore)

I remember all of the Myers teachers you mentioned, Nancy. I had Miss Fell for kindergarten and remember going to her parent's farm and chasing the chickens. What fun! Also, Miss Parsons, for 1st grade. She invited our whole class to her wedding. We felt that we were really cool! How embarrassed we all were when Miss Parsons actually kissed her new husband!  

Sunny Ingber (Drohan)

Susan, since I was born in August, my preferences are the summer months. Hate winter. So far that's 3 of us. Interesting theory. 

Nancy, I came to Myers in the 3rd grade. Ms Knoff was my teacher. To me she was witch like. It was kind of scary. Then I forget the 4th grade  I remember a Ms. Crumb. She was terrific. And sixth I had Ms Shaw(mercy she said as she hiked up her bra straps.....constantly. And Ms Bunn. She was fine. I have our graduation picture of our sixth grade class which I posted on FB. And of course Ms.Smith. Loved her purple hair.  I remember our recesses and having that wonderful chocolate ice popsickle. Not that horrible stuff they have now. Wonderful memories.

Tom Israel

Carole Grossman (Chasen)

Those of you who had Niss Robertson in 6th grade at Wyncote...was she the same Miss Robertson who taught 2nd grade?  I had her in 2nd grade and probably never smiled..I was too afraid

As for Myers..I remember Miss Shaw was always fiddling around with her bra strap and one day it broke and she said serves me right for playing with it so much.  Do you rmember Mr. D, our phys. ed teacher and our music teacher, was that Mrs. Wagner?  We had music in the auditorium.  Who remembers Miss Brogden, phys. ed. teacger at EP and the showers we had to take?

Janet Hoffman

Vicki Hessan (Fox)

All of these responses and no one has mentioned Lynnewood!!! I did go to Meyers for kindergarten tho, and I remember Bobby Rosin since those days - and we are still very good buds, as we were then! I don't remember our teacher tho I do remember her letting me carry the juice from the (dark) cafeteria - it was a big honor to do it. I also remember the huge wood building blocks which somehow only boys were allowed to use.

Lynnewood was all new, like us. My second grade teacher was Miss Coonley. She wore pastel angora sweaters and I thought she was sweet and Cinderella-like. Miss Batiste lead the fourth grade and was a delght as I recall - spoiled me for fifth grade when the teacher was Miss Witwer, quite a scary woman to me.

I am a middle-of-the-roader - born September 26, 1945. Just celebrated my big one with my kids in SC. Niki Lang stopped by for dinner bec she lives nearby. It was great to see her!!!
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Lucy Gilbert (Rhoda)

@ Tommy and Nancy C....  HEY... guess what, you are not the OLDEST!!  I am.... January 3, 1945.

 @ Nancy E...

          I still have and need to hunt where it is (since our move to FL) our sixth grade picture.  Yes, I rememeber all the teachers....  How could we forget the silver blue hair, Miss Smith, and the purple lady, Miss Shaw.  Then we all loved Miss Bunn and dreaded Miss Crum?  I had MIss ? for kindergarten and went to her wedding where she became Mrs. Winehart., later principal of Lynnewood/Wyncote I believe.  Can't remember.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ONE and ALL.

Lucy Gilbert (Rhoda)

How do you edit a message post?  I meant to write Bobby R instead of Tommy I and Nancy C.  about being the OLDEST in class. 

We may be old by birth .... but we are all part of the new middle age !!  

Harriet Frankel (Withstandley)

Sue- I agree about birthdays and favorite time of year.  My birthday falls on Thanksgiving regularly, and I love the fall and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  The teachers I remember from Shoemaker-  mrs. Armstrong in kindergarten, mrs. Eckert in 1st and 2d, mrs. Benjamin in 3rd, Miss Cohen in 4th till she got married, then Miss Garson, mrs Gillespie in 5th and miss Wilson in 6th.  Maybe Miss Shoemaker for music, and the principal, Bessie Husted.  

Jerry Chonin

I never new so many people came from other elementary schools. I came from Baltimore to Mt. Airy to Cheltenham and Wyncote elementary. I thought we all were there. Does anyone remember Thomas Williams?

Susan Pomerantz

Harriet

Do you remember Miss Husted...the principal?

Laura LeWinn (Lehrich)

I vividly remember Thomas Williams, especially Miss Stauffer the bible-toting guidance counselor who was clueless about how to talk to pre-teens and teens.  I remember JBT (Junion Business Training) with Miss Sawtelle, who taught us how to write a check and told us always to write our signatures legibly, otherwise they would be very easy to forge.  Whenever I tried to tell my kids I was a child of the 60's, they quickly reminded me I was very much a child of the 50's.  TW was SO 50's!

Virginia Webster Hilligoss (Patton)

I have been an interested bystander to this group but will finally jump in.  Yes I was 70 on May 1st and since I finally retired from fundraising last year I am really enjoying life.  I attended Myers and my favorite teacher was Mrs. Fox probably in 1st grade and no one else mentioned her. I do remember Ms Knoff, Miss Shaw and the gym teacher too.  So many of your names are familiar. Try to keep in touch with Nancy Cunningham Moore, Susan Brush Ambacher and Ruth Weisel Guthrie from Elkins Park JHS.  Ran into Amy Shelanski in Palm Desert years ago.

I moved to San Francisco in 1970 and have stayed in CA every since.  Had careers with BART, fundraising and the antique and art business in which I am still involved. Had 2 wonderful marriages with older men, no natural born children but 5 step children, 5 step grandsons and 2 great grandchildren and I try to keep in touch.  And I am getting married again on December 12th to a wonderful man who is only 2 1/2 years older than I am.  After living in Palm Springs for 30 years, I moved this spring to Temecula where my fiance lives.  Come visit and we can have a glass of wine!

Marsha Dishler

Jerry and all, I went to Thomas Williams and have only a few memories of  it. I remember the guidance counselor who was not so great . But is that where the secret soloist snag the Christmas song each year or was that at the HS?

Laurence Liss

Virginia, I too went to Myers and had the same teachers.  Mrs. Fox was a sweet, dear person, but I had a rude awakening with Ms. Knopf.  I'll never forgive her for not letting me go back to finish a test problem which I had skipped over when I was having difficulty.   :-)   On the other hand, I also will never forget Tom Feeney, our high school math teacher.  I was pretty good in math, and I didn't get an A on the mid-term test.  That surprised me, because I thought I had done really well.  I went to speak with him afterwards to find out what mistakes I had made.  When he showed me, I was puzzled, because the one he marked wrong, looked correct to me.  When I showed him, he agreed that my answer indeed was correct, just shown in a different way than he expected.  He went back and changed my grade which, at year's end, allowed me to have straight A's.  :-)   These two incidents taught me a lot about fairness and giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Congratulations on your engagement!  Be well and happy!

Larry

Harriet Frankel (Withstandley)

Susan-  I do remember Miss Husted (vaguely).  I have a picture in my head of a large blue-grey haired woman wearing "grandma" shoes and an old-fashioned dress.  Maybe I'm just having an association with the name Bessie Husted.  What do you remember? Also, I have very clear memories of spending lots of time at your house on Aspen Way, and that you lived next door to Fred Rosenberg.  Also, that your family had a real Christmas tree, and I had a miniature fake tree, which was my parents' concession to my insistence on Christmas.  

Larry-  I have very fond memories of Mr. Feeney.  My grades were terrible through junior high, and in 10th grade until the spring. Then, in 11th, I had Mr. Feeney for geometry and fell in love with it.  I remember his saying that the very best math students (Andy Egendorf, for one) were much better than he.  And, from the end of 10th grade on, I had almost straight A's.    

Jerry Chonin

Thomas Williams was there for us in 7th and 8th grades. I remember my homeroom/english teacher, Mrs. Blasband. Her maiden name was Snellinberg. I remember calling her a bitch because she kept calling me Cronin and I corrected her. She told me she would call me whatever she wanted. That got me sent to the principal's office and my punnishment was no Roland for a month. In 9th grade we went to Elkins Park Junior High. Who else remembers Roland, John Zacherle. Linda Zacherle was in our class.

Constance Burak (Rubinstein)

Nancy Eisenberg Einhorn, Virginia Webster Hillgoss, Nancy Cunningham Moore, Larry Liss and Bobby Rosin (then and now my blood sister), how could anyone forget such a wonderful place as Myers School?

Sorry, I don't recall "FunDay" but I do remember us going to Miss Harrison's wedding at the end of third grade--she married a man named Austin Creel. Mr. D'Ancona was the (very handsome) gym teacher. Miss Shaw, whom I thought was about as old as anyone could be (probably 60ish) used to commute every day from Quakertown. Beneath her dress her slip strap was chronically falling off her shoulder; she'd put her hand in her dress, put the strap back in place and plaintively remark, "Mercy!".

Jean Ann Parsons was one of the best teachers I've ever known. I had her for both first and second grade and knew I was  fortunate. She told our class something like: Never worry about manners. If you are kind you will always be polite.

Somehow I often had the job of reading aloud the ritual ten verses (at least) of the Bible daily. How did Miss Parsons deal with "separation of church and state"?

During the height of the McCarthy era, 1951-53, she would alternate reading the psalms with translations of native American poetry. I still recall some of the lines which had a simplicity that has echoed through my life. Some years later I learned that she was still teaching but had married and become Mrs. Metzger. I always wanted to go back and visit her. Alas I  never did.