After spending kindergarten and first grade at Bingham public school, a new Catholic school, St. Teresa’s opened in 1953. Staffed by Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, It originally occupied four classrooms above the church.

A few of my first grade classmates from Bingham moved with me to St. Teresa’s, but many more were new to me, from Downing School in Runnemede and from other nearby communities.

Looking back, these sisters were nothing short of amazing in their energy and dedication. Each of them managed a classroom with ninety or so students and kept order by a combination of guile and intimidation. I can’t imagine a modern-day teacher of any kind being willing or able to take on such a workload. They taught what they knew, so we learned good penmanship, the Catechism, English, history and arithmetic. Science was pretty much ignored and left up to Mr. Wizard for those of us with an interest.

On the playground, I met Ed Davis who is my dear friend to this day. While I’m not in touch with any of my other classmates, I still have fond memories of kids like Jim Corbett, whose mom was our Cub Scout Den Mother. Along with Ed, John Boucher and Rich Jablonski were fellow members of Boy Scout Troup 123. I was also a member of the boys choir, at least until my voice changed in the eighth grade. Among the girls, my fondest memories are of Gerry Bush, my high school sweetheart.