Or, as I like to call it…
I grew up in a small town in Northeast Indiana. I went to the same school from first grade through eighth grade. Even though it would have been closer for the kids in my neighborhood to attend schools in town, we rode a bus several miles to get to Columbia Township…home of the Blue Blazers! This color will forever and ever be Blazer Blue to me. Kroger may claim it; the Indianapolis Colts may think they own it. The truth is this bright color is and always will be Blazer Blue!
A little more…
We didn’t have a Kindergarten until I was in second or third grade. There was only one person in my class who attended Kindergarten because his mom taught at a school that had one. He was an amazing artist (in my first grade mind, that is). I always attributed that to his attendance at a school with a Kindergarten. My classroom teacher was also my gym and art class every year through sixth grade. We did have a music teacher who also doubled or tripled as the Home Ec and girls’ gym teacher in sixth through eighth grades. We had three recesses and milk in the afternoon. We also ate in our classrooms. We had these huge plastic totes into which we stacked our trays and silverware. There was also a big bucket we dumped leftovers and milk. Every week, several someones got the unique joy of carrying that to the cafeteria. No one was exempt…not even girls…gasp! I still recall the smell of the refrigerated locker where we would go to count out the milk for lunch and afternoons.
Still more…
I can still recall the names of all of my teachers though sixth through eighth grade is a little fuzzy. We had different teachers then for different subjects. If someone dropped me into that building, I could still find my way around it even though it had been added to in later years. I’m not sure there was a classroom or any room, for that matter, I hadn’t been in. Columbia Township was also the school my kids attended for part of their elementary and junior high days. I taught there for one wonderful year, but I was RIFed at the end of that year. I was devastated, but I went on to get my Master’s Degree in Special Education. I loved being a Resource teacher and met some truly wonderful kiddos during my time as a special ed teacher.
A skosh more…
If I hadn’t lost that first job at good old CT, I’m not sure I would have learned time management. You see, we lived right across the road from Columbia. I would walk home with my kids…seriously, just across the road…have dinner, make sure they did their homework, and go back to school to work for a couple more hours. I would go back home in time to put them in bed. When I left that school corporation, I had to drive 20 minutes each way…not a bad commute…but no going back and forth, either. So, I learned my time after the students left needed to be used efficiently. Well, I sorta learned that! That was also decompression time for me and my co-teachers. And, there may have been just a tiny bit of goofing off! The school had been renovated sometime in the 60s and had two ramps in the front hallway. It wasn’t unusual for us to have chair races down and then back up those ramps! I once told a student we skateboarded in the front hall…he believed me until I couldn’t keep a straight face anymore.
Memories…
Unfortunately, both of those schools are gone now. Columbia Township was one of six township schools along with the “city” schools. The township schools were all configured the same, Kindergarten through eighth grade; the city schools had two buildings. One was for K-3rd grade; the second was 4th-8th grade. Each school had its own colors and team mascots. All schools fed into the high school A few years before my teaching stint at CT, they all consolidated into one school corporation. One of the reasons given was almost all the schools were requesting the same kinds of renovations and asking for tax dollars to complete them. So, the state strongly suggested consolidating and looking closely at the schools. At first, not much happened. Then, the school board voted to start closing schools while adding on to others to accommodate those students who would be displaced. And, then, rumors began to circulate of building a middle school. Soon, those rumors turned to reality, and several schools were closed. Columbia Township was among those closed. The land it was on as well as the surrounding land would be the home of the new middle school. In a few years, that school was built.
More memories…
Columbia sat there for a few years after closing. It looked so sad and abandoned…well, I guess it was. Eventually, the school was torn down. I had a couple of bricks which seem to have disappeared through our moves. Roanoke, the school where I taught had been in bad shape for several years getting patch job after patch job. The custodians worked hard applying bandaids. A few years after I retired, the plans were finalized, and a new school was built. The old school’s space was needed for parking and playgrounds. It was demolished shortly after the new school opened.
My outfit…
Are you all wondering what in the world this has to do with my outfit? Well, J Jill lists this color as Cyan, but it’s really Blazer Blue! With the exception of some try-ons and reviews, I rarely return an item that has appeared on the blog. But, I just couldn’t get this black skirt (seen here) to work for me. It still had the tags on it so I exchanged it for this color because I could also get the top that went with it. I will wear these two pieces separately, but I like the way they are together. When I looked in the mirror, I wasn’t really that keen on the look. After looking at the photos, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I liked it. Are my arms toned and tan? Absolutely not! Would I wear this to an event or restaurant without a completer piece? Maybe…it would depend on the temperature of the place!
The Lewk!
I decided I liked the idea of pearls for this lewk but I wanted to add some color, too. I’m wearing an old multi strand necklace from Stella & Dot, two bracelets from Lagos (here, here), an old pearl bracelet from Macy’s, and these cushion cut blue topaz Lagos studs. Keeping with the silver theme, I grabbed my old Jack Rodgers wedges. They’re cute but not the easiest to walk in.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
It’s funny when I think about the schools in which I taught or subbed…almost all of them have now closed. Columbia and Roanoke (where I taught) are the only ones that are gone. Oh, I forgot…my high school was closed and replaced a few years ago, too! It’s just memories as well! I find it ironic that we had to consolidate all those country schools in order to not spend money on renovations. Yet, in the years to come, two elementaries, the middle school, and the high school were built. Sometimes, I think people just like to see their names on plaques. So, can we talk? Do you associate certain colors with certain places or events? Did your school have colors or a mascot? Have any of the schools you attended disappeared? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can!
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What a fun trip down memory lane! I love your pretty outfit too. Our school colors where blue and white and our mascot was a clipper ship (yep, I realize that’s a pretty weird mascot). The schools I attended are all still open and in the same places they were then too (though both of them have undergone some large renovations and editions). The only school that has closed was the private, catholic school I attended for pre-k-2; it’s the same school my older two boys were in when they closed unexpectedly a week before we were due to open. Lack of funding and lack of diocese support was the cause… and sadly two other catholic schools in nearby towns have since closed as well.
Blue and white are good school colors! Yeah, a clipper ship is a little unusual, but it’s fun! That’s wonderful all of your former schools (except for the Catholic one) are still open. I really think people on school boards like to have their names on plaques so they’re immortalized in some way. The Catholic school in this town is quite large, but many of the students go to public school for high school because the Catholic ones are a bit of a drive.
Thanks, Joanne, for coming by!
Oh Marsha, this cyan color is so gorgeous on you! I really like the blue skirt much more than the black one on you. And the matching top is so good with it. I thought it was dress! I really enjoyed reading all about the history of your schools, but I am wondering how the heck you can remember all those details! I can only remember tiny little fuzzy fragments of things from my school days (or perhaps they more like school daze)!
Shelbee
Thank you, Shelbee! I wasn’t sure about this color until I saw the photos…then, I knew! I just loved school so much (guess that’s why I became a teacher)! And, I could probably draw a map of it today and be 99% accurate. I wouldn’t be quite as accurate with the school I taught in because I wasn’t in a lot of those rooms for long periods of time. It’s weird, but I dream about one or the other every week.
Marsha – blazer blue is YOUR color! This is magical on you. Forget cyan, blazer blue it is!
You are such a good storyteller, and always so entertaining – thank you!
Also- I think you should do a hair tutorial, it always looks so good!
xo,
Kellyann
Thanks so much, Kellyann! When I bought this outfit, I wasn’t thinking Blazer Blue. I soon changed my mind! Oh, my hair is the bane of my existence! You would honestly not believe how long it takes me to do it! And, I never ever know what it will turn out like. It has a mind of its own!
I’m glad you like to read my stories. I am just not good at just showing what I’m wearing. I think that’s all those years of teaching writing!
What a stunning color on you Marsha! This is one of my favorite looks on you. Go Blazer Blues! Thanks for sharing the history of your education and teaching. Most of my schools are still standing and still open amazingly.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thank you so much, Kathrine! It’s funny how we shy away from a certain color only to discover it works for you! It’s sad when a part of your childhood and career disappear. I’m so glad your schools are still open.
I absolutely LOVE this shade of somewhat warm blue that I call “azure blue” and 100% think you could walk into an event/restaurant in this outfit and own the place. There have been a few changes in the schools I attended. When I was a kid, there were schools on the north side of the river and the south side of the river in grades 1-9, then they joined up for one high school. But they have done some reconfiguring of grade levels so there are no longer two junior high schools but one 6th grade school, one 7-8th grade school, one 9th grade school, and one 10-12 high school (which is unchanged from my time). They have also changed a few of the elementary schools into special interest programs (arts, STEM, etc.). My grade 1-3 elementary school, home of the Dragons, is no more!
Thanks so much, Sally! I don’t know that I have ever worn this color in a solid piece of clothing. I really didn’t like it in the mirror, but the photos told a different story.
It’s so strange how schools vary across the state let alone the country! My two oldest grands attend middle schools…well, one of them starts high school in the fall. My youngest is in a different school system not 25 miles away. She is currently in a building with two wings. One end is for fifth and sixth and is called the intermediate school. The other end is the junior high and has seventh and eighth grades. In the large city close to where I grew up (Fort Wayne, IN), they had magnet schools. These were to not only provide special interest education but also to deal with desegregation. That was a while ago so they may have completely changed by now.
I love that your mascot was a Dragon! Did you have special colors?
We actually voted for the mascot based on student ideas when I was in first grade. Dragon was not my idea but did get my vote! Our colors were blue and gold. I had a blue t-shirt with the gold dragon on it from the school that I loved.
I love the idea of a dragon as a mascot, especially as the students came up with the idea. Blue and gold are perfect colors for a school, and your t-shirt sounds cool!
I think this is the perfect example of how color is the first thing you notice. It’s so uplifting and creates an instant happy mood.
You have quite the memories Marsha, and it’s so impressive.
OXOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Thanks, Jodie! When this set first came out, I automatically went for the black. Old habits, right? I am not kidding you when I tell you I honestly could walk through that building (if it still existed) and know every little nook and cranny! But, I’m a bit of a school nerd…I just loved learning and being in school!
What lovely outfit! Really gorgeous and looks so good on you! You know, at first I thought it was a dress, but do wear it together it’s really great.
It was so interesting to read your memories of various schools. Our system is very different to yours and I for my sins (as it took me years to recover from it) went to private paying schools. That’s what parents of my ilk just did automatically. Interestingly I don’t wear much blue as i) I was told by my mother to always wear blue because of my red hair – she was always saying oh you can’t wear red, yellow or orange which are now my favourite colours, and ii) my school uniform was blue, so I’d rather not remind myself of school!
Love your accessories too, and at long last we can also wear sandals as the weather has well and truly warmed up.
Thank you so much, Penny! I will probably wear it together most of the time. It’s just a bit different from what I usually wear. I may experiment with tucking the top in and figuring out how to make that work.
It is so interesting to read about others’ experiences in school. I knew there were two different systems in the UK (as there are here). Isn’t it something how we remember those little comments and they inform our lives so very much? I can’t imagine you not in yellow! When I think of you, I always think yellow for some reason!
Oh, the weather here is dreadful. We are not quite 800 miles (1278 km) from Ontario where the wildfires are burning. The past two days look to be overcast and foggy, but it’s actually the smoke from the fires. We’ve had two days of air quality alerts and have tried to stay inside as much as possible. That’s unfortunate because the temperatures have been quite mild for this time of year. We just need rain so badly. I fear this is the way it will be.
This color is so flattering on you Marsha! I’m glad you were able to get the top and skirt in this shade. What an interesting story about your school days! That does sound like quite a small school. My dad went to a small rural school for a while-one room schoolhouse until they shut it down and started bussing him to a ‘larger’ one. So many hats teachers must wear! It’s amazing they make it all work. They never get enough credit!
Thanks, Laura! I really wanted the black until I tried the blue, and it was just meant to be.
My school wasn’t necessarily small. We had two or three sections of each class, but it was just set up to be a K-8 building. Now, schools have so many more sections in each grade level. And, for most of the last few years I taught, I had 28-30 kids. That makes a huge difference. I may have had one class under 20 so I know all about the hats teachers wear. I do think they’ve added a few more since I retired. It’s sad because I know there are people who are not going into education because it’s just too much for not enough money. And, kids are losing out because of it.
Such a beautiful dress Marsha, and the colour is divine. Reminds me of cornflowers. Have a lovely week my friend. Jacqui x
Thank you so very much, Jacqui! That means a lot coming from another who loves dresses!
You look absolutely stunning in this gorgeous blue outfit! Your hair looks so pretty! My old high school was demolished and rebuilt on the same site. It was an ugly old 70s building and it was quite a rough school too, I hated it! I don’t know if it’s any better now but it definitely looks better than it did!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Thanks so much, Emma! I don’t think I’ve ever tried this color…at least, not since grade school! My high school was torn down, but they built the new one very close to where we used to live. It is amazing and very high tech!
This is an awesome color on you! Love that you can wear it like a dress or as separates. They are building a school in our neighborhood, prek through 3rd so my youngest will get to walk to school (with me of course walking him). They are finally working on the landscaping which is good since they cut down so many trees to build it. It was woods before. I went to school in 3 countries: France for preschool through 10th and then Mexico. US was college. Great memories!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Thanks so much, Mireille! It’s not a color I normally would choose! Wow, you have quite the international education. I would love it if you’d write a blog post about how all that happened! Or, if you have, would you send me the link?
They are building a brand new school down the street from us. It will open in August. I can’t wait to hear the sounds of kids out at recess again!