Kindergarten

Note: to see other schools we attended prior to high school, click on the "Kindergarten Thru 8th Grade" link to the left and then on the school of interest.
 
Some of us attended the Young Folks' Kindergarten at the Methodist Church while others attended the Community Co-operative Kindergarten at the Congregational Church. 
 
Please scroll down the page or click on a link below. 
 
 
Young Folks' Kindergarten

Class photo in May 1958. Our teacher was Mrs. Doris E. Woodworth, who passed away in 2008 (please click here for her life tribute). Front row: Dennis Plante, Jarl Weyant, Bruce Lindwall, Scott Moore, Gail Taylor, Carol DuBois, Judith Bliss, Malcolm White, Leslie Bergeron. Row 2: Patricia Hendrick, Bruce Moore, Paul Stilphen, Brian Falk, Diane Tower, Deborah Hanson, Susan Wolcott, Christine Bortle. Row 3: Linda Bates, Peter Ouellette, Allan Phillips, Clark Swanson, Janet Betterley, Donna Anderson, Linda Mottle, Jeanne Symmes, William Kenyon, David Gallerani, Joan Stack, Stephen St. Marie. Photo courtesy of Mary Darling Studio. 

 

Invitation from Scott Moore to his parents for Young Folks' Kindergarten graduation, May 29, 1958.
 

Candids from graduation ceremony. Photos courtesy of Mr. Robert Moore.

Following the Young Folks' Kindergarten graduation ceremony. Left to right: Donna Anderson; our teacher, Mrs. Doris E. Woodworth; and Susan Wolcott. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Laurys Anderson.

Classmate Scott Moore's Kindergarten Report of Progress.

 
 
Parking lot in back of the Methodist Church and its brick parish house. Inside the fence was where we held recess.
 
Community Co-operative Kindergarten

Class photo in May 1958. Our teacher was Mrs. Margaret F. Tull, who passed away in 1979 (please click here for her life tribute). Front row: unknown boy, David Sand, Lynne Kinney, Bruce Cohen?, Thomas Ouellette, Jane Passburg, Ellen Bonneville, unknown boy, Thomas Murray. Row 2: Nancy Bryson, unknown boy, Susan Waterman, Andrea Burger, Andrew Farquharson, Nancy Burritt, Susan White, Douglas Milroy, Nancy Birtwell, Janet Gorrod?, Mrs. Margaret Tull. Row 3: John Haetinger, Nancy Blaisdell, Lawrence Cooper, unknown girl, Lawrence Bradley, Paula Seligman, Deborah Bouchard, Ralph Nooney, Alison Cox, unknown girl, Dale Goddard. Photo courtesy of Mary Darling Studio.  

 

Letter from Mrs. Tull to mothers of kindergarten students at the end of the year.
 
Memories
 
 
Article in Springfield Union newspaper, May 30, 1958. Courtesy of The Republican.

Bruce Moore remembers, "My brother, Scott, and I went to kindergarten at the old Methodist Church in the center of town near Elm St. We walked to and from class. I recall, as a four year old, being allowed to walk down Somers Rd. by myself to get to class. There was a crossing guard who took you over to Pleasant St. where you crossed over to the church. Today's parents seldom let their children out of sight. I feel fortunate to have lived in simpler, quieter times." 

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While some of us were busy attending kindergarten at the Methodist and Congregational Churches, a number of East Longmeadow women, concerned about the future of kindergarten in East Longmeadow, banded together to create the privately owned Young Folks Cooperative Kindergarten. After much work, the kindergarten opened in 1961 in its newly constructed building on Spruce St. Simultaneously, the kindergartens at the Methodist and Congregational churches ceased operations. It remained open until the newly built Meadowbrook School hosted its first kindergarten classes in September, 1969. Pictured here are some of the women who were instrumental in opening the Young Folks Cooperative Kindergarten, including several of our mothers. 

Front row: Mrs. Cora Douglas, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Nancy Teden, Mrs. Mitzie Radebaugh, Mrs. Dorothy Butler. Row 2: Mrs. Priscilla Nooney, unknown, Mrs. Jean Moore, Mrs. Nancy Bortle, Mrs. Beverly Davis, Mrs. Anne Grigley, Mrs. Arlene Haetinger, Mrs. Barbara Hird. Row 3: Mrs. Lucille St. Marie, Mrs. Louise House, Mrs. Barbara Crosier, Mrs. Irma Osterman, Mrs. Jane Mulcahy. Photo courtesy of Jane Passburg.

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We love adding memorabilia to this page. Please contact us if you have a photo or item of interest from kindergarten you'd enjoy sharing.