Leo High-Lights
January 1940 edition. The first grade is building a farm in the sandbox in their room. Each student must make a farm related item for the display. The second grade is making a grocery store which will have items for anyone to purchase. The third grade is giving a play to the student body. The fourth grade…
Wow! That sounds exciting! I think I’ll enroll in the first grade and start all over again. A “friend,” gave me a copy of the Leo School newspaper, Leo-Highlights, January 1940 edition. I was fascinated. I have never even seen a school newspaper. In the 1950s we have didn’t have one. I’m sure there have been some but I don’t recall seeing one.
This paper was quite well done, 22 pages, school news, announcements, opinions, sports, cartoons, interviews, ads and more. They said they had gobs of pictures but apologized that they had no way of reproducing them. I wonder how they duplicated in those days. Among the December news was the school program, a cantata, “Memories of Bethlehem.” It must have been legal to do the Bible story.
I hate history, but this is a great history of their era. Nearly all of the businesses advertised are no longer there. They had many ads from Fort Wayne businesses and the only one left is the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand. In those days it was a full service restaurant serving meals. Advertising can be a good source of revenue for any project. Our tiny town of Leo even had a Plymouth DeSoto dealership.
There is much more to school than learning your ABCs, or sitting in a classroom for 6 hours each day. Years ago there was a book written, “The Dumbing Down of America.” Perhaps part of the problem is that Mrs G knows everything. You can find the answer to any question in an instant. Here is a joke from the paper;
Jackie, ‘My teacher said if I had more spunk I would stand a lot better in my class. What is spunk?”
Willie, “I ain’t sure, but I think it’s the past participle of spank.”
I’ve said before, you guys in Ohio I have many opportunities. The West Bend paper covers a vast area, even a good chunk of Indiana. A few ideas, grow a crop, and market it. Make a book, even a binder of your school year. If you have a yearbook staff join it. Make a DVD of a play, or a movie, Even of your school or basketball team.
The Leo High-Lights said many students stayed up til after midnight making the paper. Don’t be afraid to work. The above cartoon, are you traveling above the bridge or below it? We all have something to contribute. A New Year’s resolution from the January edition; “Never let a day pass, without making another’s life happier and easier.”
—James Neuhouser