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As a 7th grader at Hanley Junior High School, I was cast as the Little Witch in Hansel and Gretel. My appearance came late in the program, when the Big Witch, played by 9th grader Julie Portnoy, was put into an oven. Shortly later, I emerged and ran into the screaming audience. Ms. Portnoy was not amused, furious that I had "stolen the show." At the high school I recall some great teachers, the wonderful Friday nights at Wigwam, and awkward attempts at friendship and romance. I have my French teacher, the pear-shaped Bessie Wolfner, to thank for launching in me a love of France, and, especially, Paris. In her darkened lair I squinted at Kodachromes of Paris boulevards, vast cathedrals and marvelous chateaux; I took notes and made sketches. Perhaps it was these drawings that led to a more serious approach to art, and I signed up for an art class my senior year and did so well I determined to make art a career. |
There were trees behind the school back then, that some of us loved to climb. After a heavy rain, ponds would form and we'd put boards across the water to reach the trees. It saddened me later when the school district bulldozed the grove and built an athletic field that our high school class was among the first to use. |