The Adventure Quilt - Into the Woods

Kate & Tammy have taken us to the woods with block 10 Road Trip Quilt...  and I gladly went and played along!














I have to admit though, that beyond the instructions for the tree trunk, I really didn't follow the directions that called for 2-1/2" strips that make up the tree... nor did I use the special ruler...  I opted for a method similar to string piecing.  I didn't measure the widths of the "pine branches"... Nope, not a single one.  

I was too busy recalling my elementary grade school - North La Junta School - located in La Junta, CO.  It was a small school that housed grades 1-4 with just seven small classrooms and an auditorium.  The school may have gone through 8th grade at one time, 6th grade for sure for a time.

(The photo below was taken after a flood in 1965... the year I was born!)

The playground had all of the fun and dangerous equipment... you know, the metal slides that were HOT, slick and fast; the merry-go-round that you could fall and break an arm trying to get off... or puke your guts out because you got dizzy (especially after lunch), monkey bars and a jungle gym, swings and teeter-totters.  

There was a section beyond the playground that was called "the woods".  Hide & seek, chase and fort building were among the activities that were most popular there.

For me, "the woods" reminded me of Winnie the Pooh and the hundred acre woods.  The imaginations of my 1st and 2nd grade bestie, Georgia, and myself would be creating houses with small sticks, beds and couches out of leaves, etc.

Miss Elliott was the first grade teacher... she seemed ancient to this little 6 year old!  Sadly, one of my most vivid memories of Miss Elliott is not a pleasant one.  She was a short-tempered teacher and probably should have been retired... and by today's standards, would have been fired and possibly spent some time in jail... 😖  I distinctly remember her pulling one student out of her chair and shaking her!  Oh my... you did not want to cross her.  

But, thanks to my cousin, I was often in her sights.  The students in the class were seated alphabetically, since we shared the same last name and M came before R, he was right behind me.  In his boyish ways, it seemed that he was forever pulling my hair, stealing one of my hair ribbons, poking me with his pencil or pushing his desk up against my chair.  I tried to ignore him, like Mom told me to, but would eventually lose my patience with him and end up being the one in trouble.

There must have been a note sent home to my parents... or it was brought up in a parent-teacher conference... that I was being disruptive.  Let me tell you... my Mom was quick to defend me and asked Miss Elliott (maybe demanded) that she change the seating arrangement.  Miss Elliott quickly discovered that it didn't matter who my cousin sat next to, behind or around... there was a raucous!  I believe my Mom got an apology. :)

When it was recess time the kids would burst out of the classrooms and run down the steps, out the front door to the playground and the woods.  

In the spring time there were large lilac bushes  In the picture you can see the large arbors to the left of the building.  The girls were forever picking stems full of lilac blossoms for the teachers.  My eyes would swell and itch and I would be miserable!  MiSeRaBLE!  

I promise, not all of my memories from grade school are bad... There were plenty of good ones too!  Playing four-square with my friends, playing on the swings and seeing who could go the highest... and then jump out of the swings!  Playing on the teeter-totters with friends and figuring out which way it had to be moved so that it was evenly balanced (physics in grade school!), tether ball...  Standing in line in the lunch room... and then bartering with friends for food that I would eat (it wasn't much... I was a picky eater!)...

What are some of your grade school memories that stand out?

Leave a comment... I love to hear from my readers. 💓

Piece Peacefully,

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series