The Times has been gratified by the many positive comments about our series about the history of our great neighborhood. This past summer, Marj Weir and I were so fortunate to attend a gathering of several current residents of the Willows who share something remarkable: they all went to Hamilton School in the 1940s, a fact learned by our friend, Lucille Green, who works for St. Andrews Services and who organized our meeting there along with neighborhood alumn Mariann Baker.
Herb Bilinsky, Eunice Weinhaus Bailis, Mary Jane Bartlett Conrades, Carol Lasker, Eva Bell, Renee Hartod, and Leroy Grossman shared their memories of attending elementary school at Hamilton, as well as some snippets of their lives as children in our neighborhood during this historic era of the Depression and World War II.
Herb Belinsky lived with his family at 5749 Kingsbury, near Hamilton School. Several of those we met lived on the same block! He also graduated from the 8th grade in 1945. However, his stories were less about school and more about the life of a boy in the DeBaliviere neighborhood of the 40s. His father Harry Bellinsky (or Harry Belins, as he was known in the store), was owner of his own store, “Harry Belinsky Grocer” at 315 DeBaliviere.
Herb recalled boys playing with rubber band “guns,” running over the roofs of a restaurant at DeBaliviere and Kingsbury and going to Hodges Roller Rink in Wellston, as well as Winter Garden ice rink on DeBaliviere. He took the trolley on his own to deliver groceries from his grandfather’s store at Pershing and Clara.
Food Memories
Herb Belinsky remembered lunchtime and walking from school to lunch at “Aunt Minnie’s,” where for 30 cents, children could have a hot lunch at her apartment on Hamilton, just off Delmar (and very near Hamilton School!).
Eunice Weinhaus Bailis recalled other nearby restaurants: the Blue Moon and the famed Golden Fried Chicken Loaf, on Delmar (where the Ruth Porter Mall and Park is now located). Upstairs was a pool hall. The memory of a loaf of bread with an entire fried chicken inside was a mouth-watering image for all of us! She mentioned teacher Miss Dryden, who didn’t allow 8th grade girls to wear lipstick.
Leroy Grossman recalled the baked treats at Dorr and Zeller (where Pulaski Bank is now) and the “lick em dots” at Busy Bee Candy, just across the street on DeBaliviere near Waterman. Leroy had a paper stand at Delmar and Goodfellow, as well as at the Muny Opera during the summer.
He recalled seeing “bookies”—the “Happy Hollow” and Chester’s on Delmar (Chester’s Pipe Shop was there for many years and is probably remembered by many in the neighborhood).
Mary Jane Bartlett Conrades’ food memory:
“When we were old enough to handle the finances Mother gave us each a quarter to spend at the Blue Moon Cafe on Delmar. Twenty five cents bought us milk, a roast beef sandwich, mashed potatoes and gravy. If we skipped the milk and drank water we would have a nickel left over to spend at Cohen’s Drug Store across the street. At a penny a piece we could splurge on five colored and gummy hats or five Tootsie Rolls or five licorice whips or a combination of these. It was a real challenge to make these choices, but Mr. Cohen was very patient while we deliberated.”
School Memories
Kindergarten at Hamilton School must have been quite an experience. Miss Hill was vividly recalled by many. Carol Lasker said, “I think I threw up every day of kindergarten! But I also remember games of corkball and playing on the swings and merry-go-round.”
Carol returned to Hamilton a few years ago as a mentor and said that remarkably, it looked just the same!
Eva Bell came to Hamilton School “off the boat from Germany” at age 8, in 1938. She was partnered with Nora Layman to learn English and lived at 5790 Kingsbury. Eva recalled that she “loved the Christmas carols,” which was remembered by many in the “reunion” group. She spoke of decorating the large tree and singing the carols, along with the Christian students. Renee Hartod, also Jewish, also loved decorating the Christmas tree and remembered being asked by her Catholic neighbors at 5743 Kingsbury to come over and decorate their tree.
Mary Jane Bartlett Conrades actually remembers starting school:
“Hamilton School was built in 1917 and I entered Kindergarten there ten years later. Claire Heimrod, the sixth grader who lived upstairs in our flat at 6047 McPherson escorted me along Kingsbury, over the river Des Peres, crossing Nina Place, the railroad tracks and DeGiverville to Westminster Place to my new school. In those days Hamilton looked massive and scary. I’m sure I cried. Miss Hill or Miss Holland taught me to wipe my eyes and then blow my nose in that order whenever I cried. That lesson is one of my first memories of starting school.”
Renee Hartod described walking to the Velvet Freeze ice cream store, shopping at the dime stores Kresge and Woolworths on Delmar, and skating at the Winter Garden ice rink (where Crossroads School now stands). She also spoke of “walking from Hamilton to ‘manual training’ at Dozier School, at Maple and Goodfellow,” and travelling in a “service car” to Dr. Goldman’s on Euclid Avenue.
Lainy Nodiff Vinikow lives in California now, but learned from her brother, our neighbor, Marv Nodiff, about the Hamilton School project. She wrote:
“My family lived at 6055 Kingsbury and I attended Hamilton for 3rd grade through graduation. I have fond memories of Miss Smith, Miss Cook, Miss Landzettel, and Miss Grossberg, and the marching and dances we did for PE either in the classroom or the gym, especially when it was raining. And spelling bees. I remember waving to train passengers as we walked over the viaduct to the school.
“I remember singing as a group with Miss Grossberg and how I awkwardly insisted on standing while playing the piano while we were singing. I remember walking as a group to the Tivoli theater on the weekends. And skating at the rink on a SaturdayÖ.
“About the teachers: Miss Grossberg was the music teacher, as well as taught her own class. Miss Landzettel (not sure how it’s spelled), Miss Smith, Miss Cook (‘all countries will rise . . . and then fall’). I remember Miss Cook wearing sturdy tie-shoes with low heels and dark navy blue serge fabric dresses.”
Many of the Hamilton School students lived in multi-family buildings on the 5700 block of Kingsbury, just west of the Dorr Zeller Building (now Pulaski Bank).
Leroy Grossman, class of 1948, went on to be a program director at the East-West Coordinating Council and in the 70s participated in a study of housing in the 70s which involved his old neighborhood.
Later, in the 80s, when Leon Strauss’ Pantheon Corporation undertook redevelopment of what is now called DeBaliviere Place, a large number of the multi-family buildings west of DeBaliviere were demolished and replaced by Kingsbury Square. Mr. Grossman has generously donated his copy of the urban study to our archives.
Editor’s Note
In our 2014 November-December issue, we published the neighborhood memories of Mrs. Mary Jane Bartlett Conrades of her childhood on the 6100 block of McPherson. We have been very pleased to receive a new installment from Mrs. Conrades, who has a lively and lovely writing style and seems to remember everything!
Her complete reminiscence, including segments on “Physical Education (or whatever),” “Sex Education,” “Adventures,” “The Literary Arts,” “Music at Hamilton School,” “Art at Hamilton School,” and “The Depression” appear in full on our website.
Go to http://sdtimes.org/Neighborhood Memories to see more text and photos than we have space for in print.
We are also happy to have many photographs from participants in the Hamilton School “reunion” and hope that readers will send us many more! Contact us at http://sdtimes.org or email me directly at jvatcha@gmail.com.
Thanks to all the Hamilton School alums who have shared their stories!
Archival date note: the printed issue is November–December 2015. Only its month or season is established; a first-of-month date is an archival indexing convention, not a verified publication day.
Transcription note: the printed page contains the typesetting artifact “Ö” after “Saturday”; it is reproduced here rather than silently interpreted.
Original newspaper source
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2015.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
