Ervin B. Shaw's 6th Grade Central Elementary Memory

Our classroom was on that elevated first floor in the north-east corner of the Central School building where the 3 schools were located between Hampton & Liberty Streets facing Calhoun Street. No air conditioning in those days, and rooms had very high ceilings and heated via in-room radiators that made noise as steam went through from the coal-fired furnace in the basement. As I recall, a boy was appointed in each class room each week to open and close the extra-tall windows, as needed. Being in town, some of the 6th grade class members composed the official "safety patrol" to assist at the street crossings. They wore a white waist band with one angled white strap across the chest. Frankie Yarborough and I were captains that year. At the end of the year, the patrol members who could do so went on an organized train trip to Washington, D. C. I was totally blown away by the dinosaur skeletons in the Smithsonian Museum!