"I went to Aptos
School from 1946 and graduated in 1949 and my brother
also went there.
He is
6 years
younger than
me.
I think
he went
there from 1948 through 1952, then we moved away.
My friend, Anabel (Iverson) Menefee, (she is sitting next to me in
our 6th grade photo) lives in Sonoma. She started first grade
at
Aptos
Grammar School and may be able to find more pictures for
you. She said she would
be happy to write down some
of her memories and information that might be of some help. Anabel
said Mrs. Eva Gurkovich married and became Mrs Bulich.
As to your questions regarding Aptos school, there were no classrooms
out back when I went there, only the original building that is
by the driveway. My 8th grade room was what is now the library.
My 7th grade room was adjoining it to the right. I don't know the
total number of students when I went there and I was amazed to
see how much the school and town has grown. I started Aptos Grammar
School in my 5th grade (1946) and graduated from the 8th grade
in 1949.
My family and I lived in a small house on Valencia Road. It was called
Forest Glen and if you turn right when leaving the school it is the first
place
to turn off to the left. Our house was the one on the right just as you turn
in, there
were only 3 houses at that time. When we drove past I noticed that a porch
and bedroom had been added and also that the kitchen had been enlarged. Also
there
are houses up the hill now which was all forest then.
One specific memory I have is that my 6th grade teacher, Mrs.
Wallace, told us to never put a pen or pencil in our mouths
because of the germs from someone
else touching it. Ever since then I have never put a pen or pencil in my mouth!
The playground still looks about the same except it was somewhat smaller and
there wasn't much grass. As for sports I remember playing baseball, but I wasn't
very good at it. We didn't get to play any games with other schools. There
were no clubs or extra curricular activities at the school, but I did belong
to the
Girl Scout troop. At school we studied the basic subjects and had music (singing)
on Fridays. There was no cafeteria and we took our lunch and ate outside when
the weather permitted.
Anabel was the Valedictorian and I was
the Salutatorian. We each gave a speech
and our parents and teachers were very proud that we had done so well in school.
The janitor put up a small stage in front of the baseball backstop for us and
there were 20 graduates.
There was no high school in Aptos when I lived there so my father drove me
to Soquel every morning where I caught the Santa Cruz School bus. I attended
Mission
Hill Junior High my 9th grade, then went on to Santa Cruz High School.
When I lived in Aptos the owners of the Bay View Hotel, Alma (Babe) and
Fred Toney, built a small grocery store next to the hotel and my father worked
for
them there. Later on they added on a drug store and I thought it was so wonderful
because it had a soda fountain with 8 stools! The buildings across the street,
which are still there, was about all there was to the town, also there was
a repair garage and 1 gas station. We went to Santa Cruz to shop for clothes
and
other necessities. There was a big field of cauliflower where the Gottschalks
shopping center is now. Our entertainment was taking a picnic lunch to Sea
Cliff Beach. There were only a few houses there and at Rio Del Mar. It was
fun to go
out on the pier and we could go all the way out to the end of the cement
ship.
I had a very happy experience at Aptos Union and liked all of my
teachers. I hope I have answered all of your questions and have given
you some idea
of what
Aptos and the grammar school was like when I lived there."
