Retro Kindergarten Class Photo Session

School bells are ringing. Class is in session. Or half session, if it’s kindergarten. Things in that department are the same as they ever were for at least more than half a century. That’s more than a little snapshot in time.

It’s long been a debated issue in the Fair Haven School District. And it’s, once again, being examined. Times have changed. So have kindergarten classes. Few districts in the state still have morning and afternoon kindergarten. It’s a whole different classroom scene. And, for the first time in Fair Haven schools history, it could change, making part-time teachers full-time and kindergarteners full-day students.

But, for a very long time, classroom time, no matter where the classroom was, amounted to a few hours a day for those usually first-time schoolers. You get the picture. Maybe you were in it. Speaking of …

It’s about that time — class picture time. So, as kids get ready for their class picture (not so) close-ups — hair coiffed courtesy of moms with sometimes unsteady hands and outfits assembled with a need for the fashion police to intervene at times — we take a look back to a classic kindergarten shot.

It’s one of Knollwood School’s kindergarten classes of 1955. Miss Smith was the teacher. But, was this the a.m. or p.m. session? Hmmmm. How much difference does it make? Do you remember which was most preferred by parents? Students?

This snapshot was resurrected by former Fair Havenite Pat Reed Wright. She’s the one in the upper left corner.

Who else do you recognize? There are some loyal Fair Havenites of yesteryear in this photo.

What was the most popular shoe of the day? How about hair style? And why were the Fair Haven kids of the 1950s at Knollwood and not the Youth Center, like the 60s? Anyone?

Class is not dismissed until you answer one of the above. Ring. Stay seated please.