|
|
| Hallway, first floor, Calvert Middle School (my former high school), 2009 |
I had called ahead and asked if I could come in and take a look around.
I was given permission, so we walked into the office. I had my camera, and after a warm greeting from the staff, I was told
I could roam around as much I wanted. When I attended from 1953 to 1959, the school was two floors of classrooms along narrow
hallways, a library, a gymnasium/auditorium, several administrative offices, and bathrooms at the end of the halls. There
was also a third floor cafeteria, which was a claustrophobic room at the top of a narrow, winding staircase, which was an
awful space for waiting in line for lunch. Walking the halls
and peering into the classrooms was disorienting. They seemed so much smaller. But things started to get familiar. I figured
out where several of my favorite teachers' classrooms were, even where my locker was in my senior year. The gym/auditorium
is now the library, with a dropped ceiling. No basketball court, where Calvert usually knocked off Great Mills and Southern,
but was destroyed by Lackey and La Plata. No stage where we had the senior class play and stood in our gowns on graduation
day. Just when I was about ready to give up looking, I found
the narrow stairs leading up to the cafeteria. Up I went, and found the heating and air-conditioning systems, but no tables,
chairs, trays and plastic forks. The bathrooms were a shock - same locations, same bathrooms - exactly as they were 50 years
ago. I took as many pictures as I could. When we were leaving, the lady at the desk told me that a new middle school is opening
down the road next year, and they might tear down my beloved old high school. Well, I got one last look.
|
| Calvert Middle School (my former high school), 2009. |
Continue with story
|
