On January 9, 1979, Ms. Gale Hardeman, fourth and fifth grade teacher, and Ms. Jacqueline Barham of our Learning Disabilities Class took their students to Bob Cramer’s Marionette factory and to the Stadium Cinema. It was a fun filled day for these two classes. The children got the rare opportunity to see how marionettes (puppets) are put together and a puppet show which would have captured the heart of any child or adult. After that experience, the children were whisked to the Stadium Cinema where the much raved film production of The Wiz was featured. The children’s reaction to the movie was one that will be long remembered, the chuckles and smiles from the children in the audience was evidence enough that the movie was serving its purpose of providing the kind of entertainment for children that is often lacking in our society. Our two teachers, Ms. Hardeman and Ms. Barham, indeed, have made some Hamilton School children extremely happy.
The classes of Ms. Joyce White and Ms. Gail Satz visited the downtown areas during one of its peak shopping days, December 22, 1978. The sights and sounds of the Famous-Barr Department store and its busy activities were quite intriguing to the eyes and ears of the boys and girls. Of course the highlight of the trip was seeing Santa in all of his glory and majesty. The Old Courthouse display of Christmas trees sparked the imaginations of our first and second graders and the return to school gave rise to follow-up activities such as pupils drawing, cutting and decorating Christmas trees, and giving their own visual and written interpretations of what they experienced during their visit downtown. The smiles on our pupils’ faces and the general buzzing that was witnessed in the classrooms certainly led us to believe that Santa and Downtown St. Louis had won some ardent admirers.
Originally published in The Paper, January 1979.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1979_01.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
