FRANKLIN MUMMEY

By the early 1950s all but one of the Lehigh Township one-room schoolhouses had been closed, the 7^th and 8^th grade students sent to Northampton, and the remaining first through sixth grade students consolidated in the two-room (double) schoolhouses located in the various communities.  We Berlinsville children, however, were able to attend a four-room schoolhouse instead! 

After the closing of the Berlinsville High School in 1948, both floors of the building were used as an elementary school for grades 1- 6.  As I recall, grades 1-3 were split on the two first floor rooms, while grades 4-6 shared the two second floor rooms.  So, depending upon which part of the class you were assigned to, you had the same teacher for two years in a row.  Although the building had electricity and running water, those rancid (especially in hot weather) outhouses were still in use! 

With kindergarten not yet mandatory or even customary, I began school in first grade with Mrs. Olivia Erschen as the teacher.  Since my group of 2nd graders was combined with 3rd grade, we had Mrs. Victoria Strubinger for the next two years in a row.  Some memories from those years include being chosen to go outside to clean (‘clap‘) the blackboard erasers, sticking those maple seeds on our noses at recess, being allowed on occasion to cross the street to buy a hot dog and soda at the small luncheonette, and of course, having William Beck (“Becky”) show movies at the school.  I remember after he showed a Robin Hood movie that many of us boys got scolded for picking up sticks at recess and sword fighting with them.  What did they think would happen?  Also, at Christmas time Becky always projected a 1946 black/white version of “The Night Before Christmas” which usually left many of us awe-struck.  When I found it on YouTube last year and showed it to some of our grandkids, they wanted to know why Santa wasn’t wearing a red suit!

Me in 1^st Grade (Row 1, 3^rd from left) with about a dozen other Berlinsville’64 classmates

 

Halfway through 4th grade (in February, 1956) with Mrs. Anita Snyder as the teacher, we packed our school supplies and boarded a caravan of buses that transported us and all of the other ‘double’ schoolhouse students in the township to the new “state-of-the-art” Lehigh Township Elementary School in Cherryville.  It was quite an exciting day for all!  We completed our 4th grade there, as well as 5th grade with Mrs. Kathryn Day and 6th grade with Mrs. Janice Szakaly.  Before she passed away a few years ago I was fortunate to collaborate with Kathryn on a book about Lehigh Township’s early schoolhouses (especially the Indianland Schoolhouse where she taught) which was published by the Lehigh Township Historical Society.  Janice contributed to the Benninger’s Schoolhouse chapter, and still lives down the street from our house. 

Seventh, eighth and ninth grades at the Wolf Annex and at the Jr. High in Northampton are pretty much a blur, but I soon learned that I finally had to study to get the same grades that I received in elementary school with hardly any effort at all.  Junior High slowly melted into Senior High with the “Fish Under the Sea” prom (oh sorry, that was the one in Back to the Future!) and the myriad of guidance forms to choose a career path.  With moderate ability in a variety of fields but with no specific area of great interest, I didn’t become certain which path I should follow (or so I thought) until well into my senior year.  Over the course of the ensuing years I’ve become convinced that success and happiness in life depend not so much upon strategic moves like on a chessboard (or ‘strategery’ as coined by a recent less successful U.S. President), but more on ‘the luck of just happening to be at the right place at the right time!’  Following are a few examples of how this belief has played a role in my adult life.

Upon graduating from NHS I had formulated a grand plan to attend Muhlenberg College and, inspired by high school German teacher, Fraulein Elaine Miller, obtain a teaching degree as a German language instructor.  As I remember, Fraulein Miller had student taught for Herr Roney during our sophomore year, and was later hired as his replacement when he left the district.  Anyway, my mother had been a Lehigh Township one-room school teacher (having earned a Normal School degree) and I thought I might have acquired some of her love for the field.  As it turned out, even four years of the language in high school did not prepare me very well for the rigorous college requirements, so in my junior year at ‘Berg I switched my major to psychology.  I recall having encountered Fraulein Miller, also a ‘Berg graduate, soon after making the switch.  She seemed rather disappointed by my ‘strategic’ move, but I was well aware of my limitations with the language.

Eine deutsches Hootenany?

Unfortunately, (or maybe not) at that time the ‘Berg Psychology Department was undergoing major changes, and my two year late entrance prohibited me from meeting the new requirements such as for Clinical Psychology, etc.  Luckily, the department head let me proceed under the old program guidelines.  However, under those guidelines teaching was no longer an option, and the major became pretty much a generic formula for practically nothing more than the granting of a liberal arts degree.

Fast forward two years, and other than having at least been the first in my family to graduate from a four-year college, nothing else appeared to be certain in an uncertain future.  The Vietnam War was in full swing and even several applications in the retail business field were not fruitful.  Then, in July after graduation I learned of the need for special education teachers for a nearby county school board.  I had also heard that only a college degree was necessary, and that certification in the field could be earned by taking credits while on the job.  I scheduled an interview, and I recall vividly that the first words spoken by the interviewing supervisor were “What - you’re not certified?”  I’m sure my face turned white as a sheet, but right after saying those words he burst into a loud roar of laughter.  That’s the way it was in the‘60s.  There was such a lack of interest to teach students classified as ‘mentally retarded’ that few certified teaching candidates could be found.  Many hirees earned their certification while on the job from the few institutions that offered those programs at the time.

The remainder of the interview went well, and I was hired to teach a class of about a dozen nine and ten year-old children labeled as ‘mentally retarded.’  The class consisted mostly of boys, who had been removed from regular school often due to disruptive behavior, but who also scored low on intelligence quotient tests.  I perceived them to be very “street smart” and not too concerned about success in school.  Mostly they wanted to fight with each other, and tried to do so at every opportunity.  To get this out of their system and by using a number of wrestling mats, I was able to turn an empty classroom into a sort of padded cell where they could ‘unleash their fury at each other!’  I only had two rules – one on one, and wrestling moves only - no punching, kicking or biting!  After a few episodes they appeared to get the desire out of their systems which allowed them to focus on learning instead.  (Most likely today such a policy would be severely frowned upon, but it sure worked well back then!) 

During the school year I introduced several other innovative (as I later discovered) programs such as a reward system where the students earned tokens that could be used to buy small toys and school supplies, and holiday celebrations involving skits and plays (yes, even a religious themed one at Christmas – after all, it WAS the ‘60s!).  Evidently, the county supervisory staff was impressed with my efforts, because at the end of the school year I was offered a position in a newly initiated elementary level ‘gifted’ education program.  So, in one short year I pulled off a 180 degree educational twist from teaching students with IQs in the 70s to those of 130+ (which did not sit well with a few district superintendents).  Similarly, I recall Ed Pany questioning me at length at our five year high school reunion as to how this extreme switch could have been possible.  I finally could only reply, “I guess I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

Luckily (again), Lehigh University had recently begun a teaching internship program whereby one could earn certification in conjunction with a Master’s Degree in El. Ed. for 36 credits (and no thesis requirement!).  After a few years of program success my co-teacher retired and another young teacher, who had also previously worked in the county special education system, was hired for the gifted program.  She was assigned to team teach with me and shortly thereafter also became my wife.  My supervisors often joked that they were “finally able to hire a wife” as well as a great teacher!  Working together in the classroom had its rewards and pitfalls.  Collaboration on projects such as film-making, the stock market, astronomy and computer programming became much easier, but Cheryl and I soon discovered what it would be like when we later had kids of our own.  For example, when the students didn’t get the answer they wanted from one of us, they would go ask the other.  In addition, we wisely learned to leave marriage disagreements at the classroom door!

After we married, Cheryl and I acquired and began remodeling a farmhouse that had been in the family since 1855.  A few years later we were raising our three children and serving as caregivers to an aged parent.  We even operated the family farm for a period of time.  Somehow we successfully muddled through all of that.  Our kids also attended Northampton School District, so each September’s ‘Meet the Teacher’ night served as sort of a homecoming, although by then not very many faculty members from our era were still on board.  Instead, a few classmates such as Linda (Reimer) Gerber, John Erdosy and Karen (Kochenash) Seremula were now the teachers.  Currently, we’re both in good health and enjoying retirement.  Cheryl still sews and does embroidery, and we both enjoy our backyard garden railroading hobby. 

Backyard garden railroading – best hobby EVER!

Of course, we also look forward to the visits of our children. The aspect of “being at the right place at the right time” appears to have been experienced by them, as well.  After graduating from Penn State the December after 9/11 (just when businesses were scaling back on their hiring practices) our oldest son, Stephen, wound up living at home until mid-April.  With our persistence he reluctantly arranged an interview with a communications company based in Virginia.  On the way there he decided to stop by State College one last time.  While sitting in a local bar, he happened to meet up with a former acquaintance, a supervisor at a national weather service headquartered in the town.  Upon Steve relating where he was headed, the supervisor, who had been impressed with Steve’s work ethic and tech knowledge during a university center internship, urged him to stay one more day so the supervisor could talk to the owner of the weather service about possible employment.  Long story short, Steve got a job with the weather service and later also met his future wife, a meteorologist employed there.

Similarly, during his junior year at Penn State our younger son, Michael, decided to attend a university business fair and while there just happened to fill out an application for an internship offered by a large corporation with offices in the area.  He eventually was one of two individuals selected from thirty-three applicants.  After graduation Mike was hired by the company and later met his future wife, an employee of the company and also a Penn State alumnus.

Our “Penn State Proud” house and farm buildings, hand-painted by us!

Our daughter, Rachel, a health and human services major (at Penn State, of course!), also needed a semester internship to complete her degree.  Instead of remaining on campus and finding one in Center County like most of her classmates, she opted to apply in the Lehigh Valley.  She not only found an internship, but got a job after graduation and now serves as Eastern Regional Director for the company.  While living here, Rachel reconnected with an NHS/Penn State graduate and married him as well.

The Mummey crew – 6/12/16 – Cape May, NJ

I don’t yet know if “being at the right place at the right time” will apply to our children’s offspring, but I’ll close with a lyric of a popular song from the ‘50s by Jimmie Rodgers:

“They all got married and they wouldn't hesitate,
I was, whups, oh Lord, the grandfather of eight, (all of them still under 6, including two sets of twins!)
Because she had kisses sweeter than wine,
She had, uh-oh, kisses sweeter than wine . . . uh-oh, uh-oh!”

If anyone had told me back in high school that these events would comprise my life, I’d surely have replied “No way!” especially regarding the two sets of twin grandchildren (uh-oh, uh-oh!)

Christmas at Gram and Grandad’s - 12/25/16