Page 34 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

CHAPTER 08 - Good Schools our Stability

My first school in Florida was Ortega Elementary on Baltic Avenue. At first, they
thought I should enter the fourth grade because when we left New Jersey in April
without finishing that school year.

ORTEGA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

But my mother, having been an elementary school teacher in New Jersey, convinced
them to place me in Mrs. Floyd’s fifth-grade class. There she taught me a love of poetry
by introducing me to “The Village Blacksmith.” The next year I transferred to newly
constructed Venetia Elementary. It was only seven blocks from home. There were a
few occasions where I misjudged the walking time and was sent to the Principal’s
Office for being tardy. I got to know Mrs. Mott quite well. One of my favorite subjects
was Social Studies. I enjoyed it so much that I finished reading the book long before
my teacher, Mrs. Overstreet, had covered the first three chapters. I remember her also
for her admonition, “There’s a time and a place for everything.” As I served on the
School Boy Patrol, I would walk to the middle of Timuquana Road and hold up my
Stop Sign so students could safely cross the road. In November, Patrol Boys from
different parts of the city gathered downtown to join and march in the Armistice
parade.

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