Masson Class Photos – March 29, 1966

Recently I received a nice email from one of my old classmates named Frank Zabrecky. Frank went to Masson School as well, and some of his high school years were spent at Admiral King (my Alma Mater). I remember his sister Monica was at King as well. Frank commented that he enjoyed my blog and that it brought back some pleasant memories for him.

"In regard to the Masson section, I especially took note of the picture showing your first grade class with Mrs. Pierce," he wrote.  

Here's the class photo that he was referring to. That's me in the second row, second from left. (Mom helpfully drew a little arrow on it.) As you can see, it was taken March 29, 1966 – 59 years ago tomorrow.

Frank continued. "As I recall in a past site visit," he noted, "you had stated that Mrs. Pierce and Miss Duskey were somehow related.  

Yes, Mrs. Pierce and Miss Duskey were cousins (and the subject of this post).

"I was in Miss Duskey's first grade class, and I happen to have the picture of the class taken on the same date.  It is in good condition, and I thought you may possibly be interested in a copy of it to post."

Here's Frank's photo of Miss Duskey's class, taken the same day as mine, and with the same classroom as the backdrop. That's Frank in the front row, second from left.

It was neat to see kids in Frank's photo that I instantly knew. Frank felt the same way about my photo. "I was even able to recognize almost all of the people in your picture as well," he commented. 

It's funny how even though I might forget people that I worked with over the last forty years, I can almost always remember classmates from elementary school. I certainly remember all of my teachers, such as Mrs. Pierce, who were all terrific. And although I didn't have her as a teacher, I remember seeing Miss Duskey at Masson and thinking she was pretty, with her distinctive hairdo.

My thanks to Frank for sharing, and letting me take a peek at who was in the classroom next door.

Judson S. Masson Passes Away – Feb. 1954

Masson School, named for educator and civic leader Judson S. Masson

The naming of buildings, highways, parks and other public properties by governments in honor of someone to honor their legacy has been going on for a long time.

It's a tricky business, not without its pitfalls.

In Lorain, the replacement of many of the old school buildings starting in the early 2000s as part of a $216 million project created a naming issue: would the new buildings retain the name of the ones they replaced – or receive an entirely new name?

As it turned out, the designation of new names was the preferred solution. And, the school system even abandoned its longstanding policy of not naming a school after someone that was still living.

Thus some local history was lost, even as new honors were bestowed. 

One of those names – Masson School, named for Judson S. Masson – was abandoned when the old school was demolished and a new school went up in its location on Lorain's west side.

And it was back on Feb. 22, 1954 it was reported in the Lorain Journal (shown below) that civic leader Judson S. Masson had passed away two days earlier, paving the way for a new school to be named after him. 

"Mr. Masson served 52 years in the teaching profession until his retirement in the summer of 1947," the article noted.

"His career in Lorain began as principal of Garden Avenue School in 1916 and he became assistant superintendent in 1922.

"Mr. Masson had a leading role in many community affairs but it was his enterprise in promoting good citizenship through the annual "Coming of Age" ceremonies that won him a place on the city's "Roll of Honor" in 1940.

"Mr. Masson was also responsible for the start of the "Town Meeting" in Lorain several years ago, which brought persons well versed in world affairs to Lorain as speakers.

"He has served continuously as a member of the board of trustees of the Lorain Public Library since 1944 and has served as president of the board since 1946."

As noted on a previous blog post, Mr. Masson had many other civic accomplishments, including helping to organize the Lorain Musical Arts Society and the Lorain Philharmonic Orchestra. He also wrote the first Lorain history book.

It sounds like Masson spent his life working to improve Lorain, first through his work as a teacher and school official, and later by way of his civic activities that included enhancing the city's cultural environment and strengthening its library.

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I've written a lot about Masson Elementary and Masson Junior High School, seeing as my siblings and I received a fine education there.

I did a four-part series about "Masson Memories" here, here, here and here; wrote about the school's demolition here and here; and reminisced about those infamous 'half day' sessions here and here.

Masson Heads for Half-day Sessions – May 1969

Will schools finally reopen this fall?

It’s hard to say at this point. Even if they do, some school systems are pondering ways to reduce the number of kids in the classrooms in an effort to keep them safe.

Which reminded me of the year that Masson Elementary School in Lorain had the half-day sessions to alleviate school crowding.

The article below, which appeared on the front page of the Journal on May 29, 1969, allowed parents of the affected children to voice their opinion of the radical concept.

Some parents were indifferent to the whole thing; others were disgusted.

Hey, regular blog commenter Mike K. is in this photo
of my fifth grade class. 

I included my opinion of the whole thing back on this post. I noted, "It's suspicious that the decision to do this was made in late May, right after the failure of the $12.5 million building bond issue at the ballot box. I guess the school board had to make their point. 

"Under this new schedule, students who walked to school attended from 7:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and those who took the bus went to class from 12:45 to 5:45 p.m (which seems pretty late).”

(I also wrote about the half-day sessions on this post.)

I still think the whole thing (which took place when I was in fifth grade during the 1969-1970 school year) was kind of disruptive. Up to that point, you pretty much had the same kids in your class every year, and you got used to seeing them. Half-day sessions caused the kids to be split into two groups: those who walked to school, and those who took the bus.

As I’ve mentioned before, where I lived on Skyline Drive was right on the edge of the bus boundary. The bus went right by our house on its way to Leavitt Road.

Of course, in the present day, parents have so many options of where to send their kids to school that it’s highly unlikely that living in the same Lorain neighborhood means that they automatically go to the same school. And more’s the pity. 

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It’s still incredible to me how many buildings there were in the Lorain School System had back then.

There were 17 elementary schools (Boone, Charleston, Emerson, Fairhome, Garfield, Harrison, Homewood, Irving, Jane Lindsay, Lakeview, Larkmoor, Lincoln, Lowell, Masson, Oakwood, Palm and Washington); and 5 junior high schools (Hawthorne, Irving, Longfellow, Masson and Whittier).

I know, I know... it’s time for Alan Hopewell to make the usual remarks about how cool Hawthorne was.

Ah, but "Masson Mustangs are the best,” as the old cheer went.

Masson Creates History of Lorain Course – July 28, 1939

Masson at the time of its demolition in Sept. 2013

Although Masson Elementary and Junior High School are no more, and the elementary school that sits on the former Masson property today was named after Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, I still think that Judson Masson deserves to be remembered.

As I noted in my series on "Masson Memories" back in 2012, "For 31 years, Masson was an employee of the Lorain city schools. He was an assistant superintendent of schools, as well as being a former president of the board of trustees of the Lorain Public Library. He had been in the teaching profession for 52 years until his retirement in the summer of 1947.

"His civic accomplishments included having helped organize the Lorain Musical Arts Society and the Lorain Philharmonic Orchestra. He also wrote the first Lorain history book: "Our Town, the Story of Lorain, Ohio," for the public schools.”

Thus, the abandonment of the Masson name by the school board also meant the loss of a school honoring a local teacher. Too bad. 

Anyway, the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on Friday, July 28, 1939, covers the creation of that history of Lorain school course by Judson Masson.

If a course on the history of Lorain is not part of the current Lorain school curriculum, it should be.

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LORAIN HI PUPILS
TO MAKE STUDY OF
HISTORY OF CITY
New 7-B Course Will Be
Introduced; Designed by Masson

This fall, for the first time in the history of Lorain schools, a course will be introduced into the curriculum dealing entirely with the city of Lorain.

General guidelines of the course were designed by J. S. Masson, assistant superintendent of schools. The general outline topics, including city government, industry, commerce, transportation and communication, history, nationalities, recreation, schools, and churches, have been enlarged by a committee  of teachers.

The course will be offered ti 7-B pupils as a one semester course, substituted for the regular social science course, but plans are in the making to broaden the scope to state and national coverage and continue the second semester.

Chance For Research

Masson said the principal values in the course are creating an interest in the community, recognition of the responsibilities of citizenship, and understanding of local affairs and human relationships.

He ventured the opinion that the opportunities presented for personal research on the part of students, and for field trips and other active participation instead of the more prosaic reading of textbooks will stimulate pupil interest.

Students, he said, can obtain a wealth of information by consulting parent and other adult acquaintances and thus find a definite satisfaction in their work.

No textbook will be used in the course, but several sources of information, including the 60th Anniversary Edition of the Lorain Journal and Times-Herald will be used. The board of education has already ordered 75 copies of the edition for use in the course.

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I remember taking that course in seventh grade at Masson Junior High. There was a book by then, and it was well-written and informative.

The Lorain Public Library has several copies on its shelves in the Local History section. The book remains a handy reference.

Half-Days Coming to Masson – June 5, 1969

Masson as it looked when it opened in 1959.

Back in the late 1950s, Lorain’s west side was experiencing a boom as farmland gave way to new homes for young, middle-class families.

Since many of these families had young children, Masson Elementary was built – opening in time for the 1959-60 school year. Masson Junior High followed in the fall of 1966.

Unfortunately, there still was a problem of overcrowded classrooms. As a creative solution, the decision was made to schedule half-day sessions at Masson Elementary.

The plan was explained in the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on June 5, 1969.

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I remember those half-day sessions well, as they took place when I was in fifth grade in Mrs. Grego’s class. The main thing I remember is that half of my classmates that I knew from first grade to fourth were suddenly M.I.A. I seem to recall that it was mainly the bunch that lived over in the Sherwood Allotment area.

By the time sixth grade rolled around, the new addition to Masson Elementary was open, with its newfangled movable classroom walls. While these walls provided some flexibility, it also made it easy to hear what was going on in adjacent classrooms.

Today of course, all traces of Masson Elementary (as well as the junior high) have been erased, and replaced by grass.

A Tale of Two Miss Duskeys

Yesterday I mentioned how I instantly recognized my first grade teacher in the collection of photos of Lorain City School teachers and administrators. In the caption, she was identified as Miss Anita Duskey, but I knew her as Mrs. Pierce.

Mrs. Pierce’s family was well-known to many Lorainites. Her father was Walter Duskey, who with his brother Ed ran the Duskey Brothers service station at 19th & Broadway.

One of Ed’s daughters was an elementary school teacher too: Miss Delores Duskey.

Here’s a 1948 Lorain High School Scimitar yearbook photo of Anita and Delores when they were both juniors.

And here they are a year later as seniors.

Mrs. Pierce started her teaching career at Larkmoor in the mid-1950s, moving over to Jane Lindsay by 1960 and then Masson a few years later. Dolores Duskey ended up at Masson at the same time as well. It's nice that the two cousins could work together.

I ended up at Masson because my family moved from W. 30th Street to Skyline Drive in December 1965. It was right in the middle of first grade for me, so it was fairly traumatic to leave Charleston Elementary (and Miss Reiber) behind.

But Mrs. Pierce was very kind. She helped me adjust to my new school and classmates, and soon I felt right at home at Masson. So I have pleasant memories of her as my teacher.

Here’s my class picture.

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Mrs. Pierce enjoyed a long career as a teacher in the Lorain City Schools system, retiring in 1998 after 42 years of service.

She passed away in May 2002 at the age of 70. You can read more about her and her family in her obituary here.

Masson's Walls Come Tumbling Down

Looking north from W. 40th Street

I drove by the former Masson School on Saturday to see how the demolition was coming along. (I still don't recall seeing the demolition mentioned in the Morning Journal yet, although the Chronicle-Telegram ran a photo a few weeks ago.)

The demolition started with the Junior High portion fronting on W. 38th Street, and moved west almost in a horseshoe pattern. As you can see, that entire section is gone (below).

Looking northeast from W. 40th Street; the homes off in the distance are on W. 38th Street

Now the only section still standing on Saturday was part of the original elementary section on W. 40th Street. They did start tearing down the eastern end of the building (below).

Looking north from W. 40th Street

I guess it's only fitting that they left the part with the Masson name on it for last (below).

Ah, and for the last time, here's what it looked like in happier times – when it first opened in 1959 (below).

Goodbye, Masson School

I took a detour on Saturday morning to see what was going on over at Masson School. Earlier this year the school system had indicated that it was next on the list for the wrecking ball (or more accurately, the bulldozer).

Sure enough, there was a fence around the whole complex (above) – the elementary school portion as well as the former junior high part. The building has already been stripped of most of the windows.

So I poked my camera through the fence for some shots (below).

It was a strange sight.

This "Exit Only" sign at the former entrance to the parking lot really drove home the point that times had changed in Lorain.

I'm pretty much emotionally detached from Lorain these days. The Lorain of my youth is long gone, never to return, and I just shrug my shoulders at school demolition sites while I take my pictures. But I have a lot of good memories of Masson, and I still have more in common with my Masson classmates than anyone I've met since those school days long ago.

Masson Memories Part 4

Courtesy www.oldohioschools.com

Thinking about my Masson School days brings back lots of memories; it's impossible to talk about all of them in just a couple of blog posts.

But some really stick out in my mind. Such as the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills – remember those things? Ugh.

We seemed to take them at Masson in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade. Remember how important it was to use a No. 2 pencil and to color in the oval shapes in their entirety? I remember how nerve-wracking it was to take it in the gymnasium which was full of other nervous kids. I also recall getting confused during the map reading portion, which wouldn't surprise my spouse in the least.

I still have my 6th Grade test results (below).

French class is a nice memory from Masson days. Miss Nelson was our teacher, and many of us had a crush on her, as she was young, pretty and funny. She made French class really fun, and it encouraged me to keep on taking it in high school and even a course or two in college.

One of the best things about my Masson days, though, was the introduction to organized musical groups, such as band and orchestra. I probably derived more enjoyment in school from playing a musical instrument than anything else. Mr. Radke was our band director at Masson, and he was quite a character; very talented, extremely knowledgeable, and he could play all the instruments too. The band director in Funky Winkerbean always reminded me of him.

What I really looked forward to music-wise each year was the All-City Instrumental Music Festival. Imagine bands and orchestras made up of kids from all of the local schools. It made quite a sound – but not always good though.

It's amazing seeing just how many elementary and junior high schools Lorain had back then.

It was interesting to meet kids from the other schools who played the same instrument. Later, I saw some of them again at Admiral King High School a few years later.

In conclusion, I have to say that I really enjoyed my days at Masson. I had mostly great teachers that I liked and respected – and never forgot.

This past summer I even ran into a student teacher I had at Masson in Mrs. Jones' english class. Sadly, it was at a funeral, but it was great to see her and strangely enough, she looked the same – forty years later!

Here's a terrific photo of the Masson School faculty, circa 1970 that was posted on the popular You Know You're From Lorain When... Facebook page. It has a lot of my old elementary school teachers, including Mrs. Radlow, Mrs. Gleason, and Mrs. Grego, as well as many of my junior high teachers, such as Mrs. Jones, Mr. Gay, Mr. Kalo and Mr. Chawansky.

I guess it doesn't matter if Masson School gets torn down or not, I'll always have my fond memories of the place.

Masson Memories Part 3

There's lots of things that come to mind when I think back about the eight years I spent at Masson.

One of them was the half-day sessions, which took place during the 1969-70 school year. Because of overcrowded conditions, all of the children in grades one through six had the shortened day.

It's suspicious that the decision to do this was made in late May, right after the failure of the $12.5 million building bond issue at the ballot box. I guess the school board had to make their point. Under this new schedule, students who walked to school attended from 7:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and those who took the bus went to class from 12:45 to 5:45 p.m (which seems pretty late).

It was strange getting up even earlier for school. I remember that my siblings and I had to be in bed by eight o'clock on school nights, except on Mondays – when we allowed to stay up and watch Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

The half-day sessions took place while I was in fifth grade, and we didn't see the kids who rode the bus over to the Sherwood allotment until the following school year. Which was tough, especially if you had a crush on one of those girls who rode the bus.

Mr. Ksenich's Sixth Grade Class

Another thing about Masson that I remember was the latest building addition that was opened up during the 1970-71 school year. The new section was modern in that the walls were movable; you could adjust them depending on how big a classroom you needed.

This wide open concept also made it possible to hear the other classrooms more easily, and I remember how distracting it was to hear other teachers' voices.

Probably the most memorable thing I remember about that school year wasn't a particularly good thing. Back then, bullying hadn't risen to the level of a high crime like it is now; it was just a fact of life. Everybody was bullied at some point. (It probably got us ready for life as an adult, where you are bullied during your commute, bullied at work, bullied by the government, etc.)

What happened is that some kid in our class had been teased by practically the whole class – outside the classroom – about something. It wasn't vicious or cruel; I don't even remember who it was, or what was said, but I believe the kid was quite upset and probably cried.

When the teacher (Mr. Ksenich) found out about it, he was rightfully incensed. I'll never forget the fiery speech he gave us about how disappointed he was in all of us. We were all hanging our heads in utter shame and disgrace. He also cancelled some much-anticipated class outing as our punishment.

I never forgot that lousy feeling. But I guess we all learned something that day.

Next: I wrap up the look at Masson School

Masson Memories Part 2

Masson Elementary School at the time of its opening in 1959

I don't remember as a kid being aware that Masson Elementary School was named after Judson S. Masson, which is a shame.

For 31 years, Masson was an employee of the Lorain city schools. He was an assistant superintendent of schools, as well as being a former president of the board of trustees of the Lorain Public Library. He had been in the teaching profession for 52 years until his retirement in the summer of 1947.

His civic accomplishments included having helped organize the Lorain Musical Arts Society and the Lorain Philharmonic Orchestra. He also wrote the first Lorain history book: "Our Town, the Story of Lorain, Ohio," for the public schools.

Judson Masson passed away on February 20, 1954, and it was a nice gesture for the Board of Education to name the new elementary school on Lorain's west side after the longtime educator.

Masson Elementary opened up in time for the 1959-1960 school year. The school hosted an Open House on Sunday, October 4, 1959.

As farm land continued to be transformed into neighborhoods on Lorain's west side in the early 1960's, it was obvious that more space was going to be needed in the schools. In early August 1964, it was announced that Masson School would be growing.

According to an article in the Journal, "Approximately 48,000 square feet of new construction will be added to Masson School, between 38th and 40th streets, east of Edgewood Dr." The article also noted, "A central core which will be used by both elementary and junior high grades includes a gym (which will substitute as a dining room), kitchen, library, multi-purpose stage, music room, and central office space. Twenty-one new teaching stations will be provided, capable of handling 300 pupils. This includes two more kindergartens, a music room, two science rooms, industrial and fine arts rooms, four elementary and six junior high academic rooms."

It was the announcement of the junior high addition that convinced my parents to move in 1965 to make sure we were in the Masson Junior High district.

On October 22, 1966, Masson Junior High was dedicated. "Masson is an excellent example of what Lorain can look forward to with a modern school system," stated Mrs. Thomas Evans, president of the schools's Parent-Teacher Association.

Judson Masson's widow attended the ceremonies.


Next: Remember those half-day sessions?

Masson Memories Part 1

March 2012 photo

You know you're getting old when all of your former schools – elementary, junior high and high school – are either closed or soon to be demolished. I guess it's all part of growing up in Lorain.

That's what I was thinking last week when I read (here) that the two Academies at the former Masson School were closing. Closing down the building was going to save the school district $375,000.

Of course, the building hasn't been used as an elementary school since Toni Morrison Elementary was built right next to it. And the junior high portion of the building hadn't been used for that purpose for years either, since "middle schools" are now the preferred concept.

But it's kinda sad knowing the building won't be used for anything at all now. And in Lorain, that usually means one thing: cue the wrecking ball!

Mrs. Pierce's First Grade Class, March 1966

I'll always have fond memories of Masson. I was lucky enough to be able to walk to an elementary school in my own neighborhood. How many kids do that anymore?

My brothers and I were also able to walk home for lunch. We would get home around noon, my Mom would have some sandwiches ready, and we would watch news or cartoons while we ate. Around twelve-thirty, it was time to head back or we'd be late.

It all seems so quaint now.

And the best thing was that when we were ready to go to junior high – well, Masson Junior High was right there. We just went in a different door.

Anyway, I'll always feel kind of sentimental about that building.

Next: Some Masson School history