My Recollections
By Alison (Ullman) Long - Class of 1960, NRHS
Two younger sisters and I moved with our parents to Eastham in 1953. The last 8th grade Eastham graduation was held that June, a couple weeks before the celebration and we attended.I was in the 4th grade in Eastham Elementary; the 3rd grade shared the classroom and teacher, Mrs. Handel; they had three rows, we had two. There were about 100 kids in the school.
In September, I joined the 6th grade (one of 18, I think), my sister Sarah Jane was in 4th grade and Debbie was in 1st. Mrs Macomber taught 5th grade but was out sick for several months. Otto Nickerson, who was the principal and 6th grade teacher, moved the 5th grade into his classroom. They sat on one side of the room and we sat on the other.
Brenda and Richard Hoffman were both in my class as was David Pinkas, who disappeared at some point after we'd joined you (OHS). Richard was a couple years older than the rest of us and must have stood close to 6 feet tall. Health problems had kept him back. I don't remember what happened to either of the boys.
Brenda graduated with us and attended the 50th reunion, which I missed by a week. She passed away not long after.
So I moved up to Orleans High on the junior high corridor in 1954.
It was dominated by Orleans kids who'd been together since they entered school, but we gradually became part of the student body. In October, my dad (John Ullman or JAU as he was later known) took a job in Pennsylvania and we moved to Plymouth Meeting from October to March. My mom (Eleanor) juggled it all.
From March of '55, I was part of the class through to graduation in 1960. My cousin, Peter Welker, was in 7th grade that year but moved to Brookline by the 8th grade, I'm pretty sure.
I teach English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) -- the middle level -- and Adult Basic Education (English 1 and English 2) to those trying to earn a high school equivalency -- GED or HiSET. Distance learning, so called, is much more difficult to teach (2 to 3 times as much work for the same pay) and is harder for most people to do.
