San Marco elementary students come back to HAE 50 years later

San Marco elementary students come back to HAE 50 years later
Hendricks Avenue Elementary Class of 1967 Reunion

The yellow school bus pulled into the circular drive at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School, just like it did 50 years ago, and about 20 graduates of the sixth-grade Class of ’67 walked up the steps and into a building full of memories.

Teachers of Tomorrow 1967

Teachers of Tomorrow 1967

The reunion on June 17 was the first time some of them had seen each other in 50 years.

Others still live in the neighborhood and see each other from time to time.

“No one had changed that much,” said David Zavon, one of the organizers. “It was amazing. They looked the same with an extra 50 years.”

In some cases, they had gone to the same school for 12 years – from Hendricks to Landon Middle School and then Wolfson High School.

Zavon, who still lives in the neighborhood, said he liked the idea of an elementary school reunion, because the class was so much smaller.

“There were probably 600 in my graduating class at Wolfson and I doubt I would remember many of them,” he said. “But Hendricks was different. There were probably 100 students and you knew everyone. The bond was much stronger.”

The ones who had stayed in touch put out the word via social media and set up a Facebook page to help reconnect.

Ellen Copeland drove down from North Carolina, bringing a stack of old black-and-white class photos that were passed around, people trying to put names with faces.

Teachers of Tomorrow 2017, front: Susan Price Jan Mizrahi, Melanie Jennings, Marcia Hunter; back: Peggy Marcum, Ellen Copeland, Kathy Ellmaker, Carole Jackson and Glenda Greene

Teachers of Tomorrow 2017, front: Susan Price Jan Mizrahi, Melanie Jennings, Marcia Hunter; back: Peggy Marcum, Ellen Copeland, Kathy Ellmaker, Carole Jackson and Glenda Greene

One of the old photos was of the TOTs – Teachers of Tomorrow. Five of them made it to the reunion and posed for a photo.

The old school hadn’t changed that much, said Robert Bethea, who lives in Miramar. The big change? Air conditioning. Back in the 1960s, every classroom had fans.

One of Bethea’s favorite memories was serving on the School Patrol, which meant riding his bike to school so he could be at his station when the carpools started arriving.

Serving on the School Patrol also meant going to Washington, D.C. It was a trip of firsts for Bethea – his first ride on a train, visits to all the important places in the capital and his first major league baseball game, Senators vs. the Red Sox, where he saw Carl Yastrzemski hit a home run.

Before they adjourned to Intuition Ale Works for dinner, they gathered in the auditorium, site of so many school assemblies and school plays, for a group photo on the stage.

And everyone noticed something very strange – the once huge auditorium had gotten small. When did that happen?


By Lilla Ross
Resident Community News

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