The Little Neighborhood School that Could

The Little Neighborhood School that Could…..

On Wyncoop Place in Kingston N.Y. sits an old school building. It was built in 1874. It then expanded in 1917, 1961, and 1996.

It was originally called the #5 School. Then, it became the Frank L Meagher Elementary School.

I grew up in the Meagher neighborhood and attended this school from September 1975 to June of 1982. (Kindergarten to 6th Grade.)

There are many fond memories even way before I attended this school. My older 4 siblings attended in earlier years.

To describe the school. It was the epitome of a neighborhood school. Most students walked to Meagher each day.  The nearby homes had large families and many homes had young children. Back in the 70s it was a very safe area.

I recall my mother walking me all the way to school on the first day of kindergarten. On day 2, I recall her walking me half way to school. Then on day 3, I was on my own walking to and from school. It was a common practice for many in this neighborhood.

Meagher had very unique surroundings. It sat midway down a steep hill, directly across the street from a Church. The Church of the Comforter (which was adjacent to a graveyard.) Behind that church is where all the “fist fights” and “first kisses” took place. None of which I was involved, of course. 🙂

Between the Church and the school was a cobblestone road. For some reason that was a historic street and was never paved over. Even to this day. the cobblestone remains untouched.  I can still hear the sound of the cars that drove down that hill. All those cobblestones made the cars bumpidy bump pretty loud.

On the bottom of the hill was a corner store. Mr. and Mrs. Dawkin’s Market.

On the opposite side of Meagher School building was a wooded area that had a path. The students who lived on Schufeldt St., Derenbacher St., Colonial Gardens Apartments, and other nearby streets…… took that path to and from school.

Behind the Meagher building was a large oval shaped playground encompassed by a tall quarry of rocks. Kickball was the popular recess game. If anyone kicked the ball far enough to hit the rocks, it was considered a home run. Word would get around school if someone “kicked the rocks.” It was a big deal.

This playground also created memories of the annual Halloween Parade.
I recall my mom writing a note for me to leave school midday to walk home alone to eat lunch and change into my Halloween costume. Then I would walk back to school to participate in the parade.

Another fond memory at Meagher School playground was watching a teacher, Mr. Ruggieri, pacing the outside of the playground area looking up and down at a paper. He was memorizing his lines. He was a member of Coach House Players and would use the time to study his theatrical lines.

I always got the impression that the teachers at Meagher were a tight group of friends. Many of them stayed in that building for many years. They didn’t hop around to other schools.
They had memorable names like: Mr. Brown, Mr. Kitchen, Mrs. Disch, and Mr. Short.

How can anyone forget the Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kithcart ?

Thinking about the inside of the building. I recall walking past the principal’s office on the bottom floor and hearing Mrs. Madonna’s voice. She was a very good principal. Stern when she had to be. Always the same faces sitting in that office. I remember her secretary, Mrs. Freeman. The only time I ever had to go to that office was to be a courier and to ask the secretary to make “dittos” for my teachers.

I remember the cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium was all one shared room. The milk came from Boice’s Dairy. Cora and Shirley were the lunch monitors. Cora was also the kickball pitcher and often the referee. That woman was amazing and had a ton of energy.

The art and music rooms were in the basement near the boiler room. It was always so hot down there. The art teacher was super cool. Mrs. Costello. She wore leopard print clothes before it was cool.

The library was on the top floor. Mrs. Hopper was the librarian. She was instrumental in bringing technology into the school. She got ahold of VCR’s and played “The Letter People” and “3*2*1 Contact” videos for us during library class. She was good at storytelling and taught us the Dewey Decimal System.

The morning announcements. I recall when the Iran Hostage Crisis was happening,  the announcers would name off what number day the hostage crisis was at.

Some of the familiar family names who attended the school during my days there……. The Sullivans, The McDonoughs, The Boyles, The Brucks, The Laquidaras, The Scheffels, The Schneiders, The Hines’, The Mowrys,  and the McGowans,… Just to name a few.

Anyone remember the candy fundraising salesman who would put on an assembly and did Yo-Yo tricks? The annual marionette performances? Collecting Campbell Soup Labels to raise money for gym supplies? The rectangle pizzas, the pizza boats, and the turkey cubes with gravy they served for lunch?

I was reading information from the “Meagher Memories” Facebook page and learned that the school had a fire in the 50’s. Two classrooms caught fire and created smoke damage in the building. It had happened in June, so the last few weeks of classes were cancelled.

The memory that completely and utterly shocked the school community happened in March of 1981. It was the murder of the beloved 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Carol Bosch. She had been shot by an intruder in her home and barely managed to dial her phone for help. Sadly, she didn’t survive the gunshot. The school was in shock and I could not believe my ears when I heard the sad news the next morning when I walked into school. I had Mrs. Bosch for 4th grade. She died when I was in 5th grade. There were never any arrests. Still unsolved.

Meagher School closed down in 2012. There were many people who worked hard to keep the school from closing since it was originally threatened to close beginning in 1994. The community rallied to save it for 18 years.

Now, in 2020, it is still owned by the Kingston school district and has since been renovated. It is now the central administration building and houses universal Pre-K classes.

Well — Thanks for taking the time to go down memory lane with me. Meagher was a special place for many of us.