The Worthington Hooker Oral History Project

A project designed to preserve the memories of Worthington Hooker

alumni

We Remember...

The Old School House Our Wonderful Classes The Neighborhood The Good Times The Hard Times

The OldSchool House

The Desks

“We had desks that were actually bolted to the floor…On each desk there was an inkwell in the upper right hand corner, and it was somebody’s job to go around and periodically fill the inkwells” -Alumnus, 1939

“The boys would pull your hair and stick it in the inkwell” -Alumna, 1950

“Our desks were wood, and they had arms on them” -Alumnus, 1957

The Coatrooms

“Right outside of the classroom was a big cloakroom…we had some fresh boys in our class…they would have to sit in the cloakroom”-Alumna, 1950

“If you were really bad, you had to go stand in the coatroom”-Alumnus, 1957

“The coatroom was enclosed, almost like a cage. Now the hallway looks bigger” - Alumna, 1967

The Basement

“There was a small stage at the far end of what is now the lunchroom…there used to be a platform where we had holiday programs”-Alumnus, 1957

“The heating was by coal, and there was a coal bin down there. Some boys got asked to shovel coal on occasion”-Alumnus, 1948

The Playground

“The yard for playing was a lot bigger than it is now…It went all the way to that green house on the corner. It was dirt”-Alumnus, 1941

“You always rushed back from lunch because we used to have some great stickball games in the back of the school. Over the fence was a home run, the bar in the middle was a double”-Alumnus, 1957

More Playground Memories “At recess, kickball and ‘girls chase the

boys’ are the most memorable experiences…That schoolyard served as “my home away from home” when I had too much of my family (a rare occasion) or when homework was getting me down (a very regular occasion)”-Alumnus, 1978

Our Wonderful (?)Classes

Our Favorite Teachers

My third grade teacher was Miss Callahan…She had a friend who used to come up the fire escape to visit her. We teased her because we thought it was her boyfriend”-Alumna, 1935

“The reason I remember Miss Turbet is because she introduced me to a love of literature. We read some wonderful things in her class”-Alumnus, 1941

More Favorite Teachers

The art teacher taught me how to draw flowers, and now 50 years later, I take watercolor classes and think ‘Wasn’t I lucky to have Miss Peavy?’”-Alumna, 1950

“Miss Porter: what a gem!”-Alumnus, 1954

Mrs. Poor was famous around school for giving our fireballs when you did her a favor. Carrying her bag to the car might earn you one fireball.” -Alumnus, 1978

Some Memorable Classes

“We used to be marched once a week over to Lovett School over on Nash Street. The boys took woodworking and the girls took home economics”-Alumnus, 1939

“In fourth grade the girls took sewing…we made bloomers”-Alumna, 1935

“I made a shoe box. It took me about two years!”-Alumnus, 1957

Who Remembers Gym?

“We didn’t have gym”-Alumna, 1935

“The physical education teacher, Mr. Oneto, also taught social dance. I can still hear a foxtrot as us boys were prodded to dance with girls. God, I hated that class!”-Alumnus, 1954

“Square dancing was part of our Phys. Ed. We had to learn to ‘do-si-do with your partner’” -Alumna, 1967

The Neighborhood

Some Things Change...

“Outside, the streetlights were gas. At 5:00 in the evening, a young boy used to come around…and light the lights”-Alumna, 1935

“There were still things that were delivered by horse and wagon…our milk was delivered by Brock-Hall Dairy”-Alumnus, 1939

“I remember...the ice man coming down the street and he’d bring ice into the homes that didn’t have electric refrigerators”-Alumnus, 1957

Getting Around Town

“In the summer, we had open trolleys. We used to go to the Yale Bowl”-Alumna, 1935

“The trolley cars came up as far as Canner and Orange Streets”-Alumnus, 1948

“My dad drove the Orange Street bus for 43 years…I could get on the bus for free”-Alumna, 1950

The Saturday Matinee

“My favorite actress was Shirley Temple. I had a Shirley Temple scrapbook”-Alumna, 1935

“We had a movie theater very close to us on Lawrence Street. It was 10 cents”-Alumnus, 1939

“The movie on Saturday was generally a Western, followed by 7 or 8 cartoons. It cost 20 cents”-Alumnus, 1957

Happy Memories of Goatville “The streets were never empty…We always

knew when a family had a problem”-Alumnus, 1954

“This neighborhood used to be called Goatville…We never carried a key because it was a neighborhood concept that everyone left their doors unlocked”-Alumnus, 1957

Some Things Stay the Same “This neighborhood around here looked exactly as it does now…This is a very stable neighborhood”-Alumnus, 1939

“I am still amazed at the sun’s light at dusk, radiating off of East Rock. I think it is one of the most beautiful sights in the world”-Alumnus, 1978

The Good Times

Leisure Time

“We used to play marbles in the gutter coming back and forth from school”-Alumnus, 1948

“We played Monopoly and other board games. I had a simple Erector Set”-Alumnus, 1954

“Music was probably the biggest thing for us. Even if it meant getting together and spinning records”-Alumna, 1967

Early Technology

“We had a radio when I was a kid, and I’d listen to the “Lone Ranger”, ‘Amos and Andy’ and ‘Information Please’”-Alumnus, 1941

“Television was viewed through the windows of taverns by us kids”-Alumnus, 1954

“Our only television set was black and white…you had to redirect the antenna every time you changed channels”-Alumnus, 1978

The Hard Times

The Great Depression

“The time I was at Hooker was during the Great Depression. For my folks, things were very tight”-Alumnus, 1939

“My family was luckier than most…my father always had a good job”-Alumnus, 1941

World War Two

“I remember clearly the announcement on the attack on Pearl Harbor”-Alumnus, 1941

“The war was our life”-Alumnus, 1948

“We really didn’t mind sacrificing because we really felt like we were doing our share”-Alumna, 1950

A Long War

“You’d be walking down the street and see a star in the window and you would cry. That meant the family in that house lost a loved one”-Alumna, 1950

“Dad had come home [from the war]. He was calling from the railroad station. He came home on the Orange Street bus in his uniform”-Alumnus, 1954

The Civil Rights Struggle

“In 1967, that’s when we had the Black Panthers…Riots ruined a lot of the New Haven community…that was the sad part”-Alumna, 1967

Worthington Hooker Today... Worthington Hooker, as New Haven’s most

culturally diverse school, prides itself with its multicultural and international student population.

We value the variety of attributes and qualities that all bring.

We strive to support a school culture that models tolerance and respect for all.

We feel very special and enriched by our uniqueness.

Thank You!

Would you like to participate in the Worthington Hooker Oral

History Project?

See Beth Hart, our Library Media Specialist.