Before the free school

Did you go to East Hill before it became a free school in 1969? This page is for you to post your memories.

Published by Karen Carr

Dr. Karen Carr is Associate Professor Emerita, Department of History, Portland State University. She holds a doctorate in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, or buy her book, Vandals to Visigoths.

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  1. Hi All, I remember: learning to use a printing press; hiking (we found mint & made tea); learning about trains; did we go to the baseball hall of fame??; printing for a dance (“sock hop?”); the loft; making up the game called Triple Step; Fort Ticondaturtle and snowball wars; our coed basketball team (that our Dad, Rudy West coached) that won the boys league until they ended up calling it a tie (apparently we cheated by beating the boy’s teams); learning sign language; sing-alongs and music; the cartoon we made of Rufus the invincible invisible alligator from Mars (I’m missing at least 1 word or added some); camp (Blake kept saying “tinkle” and everyone kept cracking up the whole trip; listening to each other; reading Anne Frank and getting to meet a local woman who knew her or of her; a trip to NYC; learning and playing lots of new games [bridge, Buck-Buck, Killer, capture the flag, war; kickball, spades]; coming back from camp and seeing a green ghost on top of the loft and running because it jumped down; holding a sit in strike (can’t remember why); math, Math, MATH and being able to learn the subjects I was most interested in, at my own pace.

    Great kids & teachers and staff and volunteers (no list because I’ll forget some but everyone was very GREAT) and we all learned a lot from each other ?. East Hill was ABSOLUTELY the best learning experience of my life ???!!

  2. Think I am oldest one on site…attended East Hill Elementary from 1st through 5th grade…think it was 1951-1955….then Trumansburg for 6th…then to Calif. For 7th in 1957. Only names I remember…. Dianne Lyon….had crush….Bobby Ackerman….buddy.Miss Lamb 1st grade, Miss Nelson 4th, Mrs. Avery 5th….only names I remember….name change in 4th grade (was Goodman)

    1. I had Mrs Lamb for 1st grade! In 1965. My family owned Zincks Restaurant for Cornell. We left in 1967. Had Ms. Sayet for 2nd grade and can’t remember 3rd grade.such a cool school!

  3. It was horrible prior to Free School days! I had a teacher who pulled kids around by their lips! I was far too shy to bother the teacher enough to have my lips pulled, but it was traumatic watching it happen. She also shamed kids who wrote on themselves with marker. Also traumatic for me to watch. I was so shy and so terrified to be seen that I feared bringing anything to school in a paper bag, as folding it up would make noise.