More teachers at 7th and 8th
At one part of our seventh grade year the guys took Home Ec and the girls had woodshop. Our teacher was Mr. Dwight Bowman. He died a few years ago. He was extremely knowlegeable and made an entire model of the schools. Later he would go on to fashion models of ancient voyaging canoes. He had a son to whom he tried to pass on his knowledge, but his son passed away before him. As my brother is a master carver, he had occasion to meet with Mr. Bowman through the years.
Mr. Bowman had more patience than anyone! Our first project was a cutting board in the shape of a pig. He'd guide us along on the band saw. We made wooden spoons and forks for serving salads. I much rather have been in wood shop than at Home Ec. Home Ec was good too, the teacher was a middle aged woman from the south with walnut colored hair and a southern accent to her speech. Mrs. Wilkinson.
The librarian was a bit strange. She was pasty white fair, with her eyebrows shaved, and re-painted in way above the normal line!!!
P.E. was awesome. Mary Jo Freshley was petite but athletic. When we warmed up around the field she would tell us if she lapped us we had some consequences. Later in life we ran into her here on the Mainland and she was with a Korean drum group. Not unlike the Taiko Drummers. We had gymnastics and other of general P.E. activities, including sex education, though I don't remember it being heavy on the Human Reproduction part, more on personal hygiene. Prep School had a Ho'olaulea and I was the gymnast at the ceiling on the ropes with the others below me. There was a competition for the highest fitness and I was up there in percentages for the girls (softball throw, pull ups, situps, sprints and distance runs standing broad jump, etc). Unfortunately, while racing to science class with my coral piece for classification homework I tripped and fell down the stairs to the library wearing my black and white oxfords. Had to go to the school hospital (Hale Ola--with head nurse Miss Mathews, former military nurse) and missed the last part of the P.E. trials due to my first sprained ankle. Crutches are hard to get around with in a school filled with stairs! Susan Adams beat me out for most athletic.
It still bothers me now to think that whatever you are tagged and labeled as in junior high, follows you through high school (Which is why I pushed Jr. High sports with my kids so they could have the JOCK reputation when they hit high school - they were smart enough for other things too, but I didn't want them to be nerds or unpopular). I was fortunate to make the best team in track the following year where we were the girls' state champs. Not that I did so terrific, I was one of few freshman on the team with Coach Mrs. Jan Murchison, who was way prego at the time! The state meet was at Punahou and though I was a sprinter, the team was short a distance runner and I volunteered for the 880 yard run (yes, that was BEFORE things were switched to metrics). I was 3rd to the last of 8 runners in the event. My fastest sprint time was 6.6 seconds for the 50 yard dash. Kealoha Simeona was a great runner--faster than I was in most events!! I cracked a tailbone trying the high jump and just never could get my short legs cleanly over every hurdle! I figured I got a state champ medal and didn't go out for track the following years. One of the senior guys was a good friend of mine and he and his friends would bet on us like horses at the horse races!
Although volleyball was my favorite I was too shy to try out for the team (cheerleading and hula dancing too!) and I played intramural sports instead. Till this day I don't like participating in competitive sports. I get extremely aggressive. I don't like how intense I feel--the heat is amazing-- and there is always a loser. I tried out for gymnastics but we didn't field a team, and I was on the first girls' rifle team. I couldn't even tell you how to take a rifle apart now, but back then, I could!
I think because it was my first stint away from home, my 7th grade memories are more vivid than those of 8th grade. In 8th grade, however, we were the top class on the Prep campus. That means we had attitude. Although I had a few crushes in 7th, I felt too awkward to make my feelings known. I played a lot of physical sports with the guys and was generally considered to be one of them. By 8th grade I had a sort of shy reputation, but I was getting into tiffs with boys.
Take for instance, Edward Ka'ahea. He was a royal pain in the behind. Back then I used to swear a little. I felt it scared off and warded off trouble by talking rough. Picture me, in 7th grade. I was all of the height I have now, 5 feet, 2.5 inches! But, I weighed 89 pounds! In 8th grade I was 98 pounds. Well, that didn't deter me from protecting myself when I saw fit. My hair was really long--down the back to mid 'okole. Edward used to like to tug at my braid. One day he was playing around and I sent out a voice warning for him to knock it off. We were cleaning erasers and I had an olive green "A"-line skirt on. He hit me with the eraser, leaving a chalk mark on the skirt. It was the newer 2 sided extra long eraser. I grabbed it from him and shoved it in his mouth! Of course, in high school he became the quarterback of the football team and later evolved into one member of the comedy team "Boogah Boogah". I also found out he was sorta related--through my dad's first wife's family, the Pa'oa clan.
As to further family notes in regards to Al Ma Mater, my dad graduated from St. Louis High. Apparently after his mother died he was taken in by the priests at St. Louis. His grandchildren attended Punahou (arch rival of Kamehameha--us being the Hawaiians and them being the Haoles). They were attending Punahou around the same years I was at Kamehameha and it wasn't odd to see the Sterling name on the sports pages of the Honolulu newspapers. Wayne Sterling held the state's shotput record, his father, Wayne, Sr. was named All-American out of WSU or UW (I need to get that one straight for the records). Leon Sterling Jr. was of football fame out of Oregon State, and small Leon gained his fame in the Hawaiian Voyaging Society as the steersman for the Hokule'a. My brother is famous for being a master carver, and attached to the BYU voyaging canoe the IOSEPA and me??...I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! Ha!
Mr. Bowman had more patience than anyone! Our first project was a cutting board in the shape of a pig. He'd guide us along on the band saw. We made wooden spoons and forks for serving salads. I much rather have been in wood shop than at Home Ec. Home Ec was good too, the teacher was a middle aged woman from the south with walnut colored hair and a southern accent to her speech. Mrs. Wilkinson.
The librarian was a bit strange. She was pasty white fair, with her eyebrows shaved, and re-painted in way above the normal line!!!
P.E. was awesome. Mary Jo Freshley was petite but athletic. When we warmed up around the field she would tell us if she lapped us we had some consequences. Later in life we ran into her here on the Mainland and she was with a Korean drum group. Not unlike the Taiko Drummers. We had gymnastics and other of general P.E. activities, including sex education, though I don't remember it being heavy on the Human Reproduction part, more on personal hygiene. Prep School had a Ho'olaulea and I was the gymnast at the ceiling on the ropes with the others below me. There was a competition for the highest fitness and I was up there in percentages for the girls (softball throw, pull ups, situps, sprints and distance runs standing broad jump, etc). Unfortunately, while racing to science class with my coral piece for classification homework I tripped and fell down the stairs to the library wearing my black and white oxfords. Had to go to the school hospital (Hale Ola--with head nurse Miss Mathews, former military nurse) and missed the last part of the P.E. trials due to my first sprained ankle. Crutches are hard to get around with in a school filled with stairs! Susan Adams beat me out for most athletic.
It still bothers me now to think that whatever you are tagged and labeled as in junior high, follows you through high school (Which is why I pushed Jr. High sports with my kids so they could have the JOCK reputation when they hit high school - they were smart enough for other things too, but I didn't want them to be nerds or unpopular). I was fortunate to make the best team in track the following year where we were the girls' state champs. Not that I did so terrific, I was one of few freshman on the team with Coach Mrs. Jan Murchison, who was way prego at the time! The state meet was at Punahou and though I was a sprinter, the team was short a distance runner and I volunteered for the 880 yard run (yes, that was BEFORE things were switched to metrics). I was 3rd to the last of 8 runners in the event. My fastest sprint time was 6.6 seconds for the 50 yard dash. Kealoha Simeona was a great runner--faster than I was in most events!! I cracked a tailbone trying the high jump and just never could get my short legs cleanly over every hurdle! I figured I got a state champ medal and didn't go out for track the following years. One of the senior guys was a good friend of mine and he and his friends would bet on us like horses at the horse races!
Although volleyball was my favorite I was too shy to try out for the team (cheerleading and hula dancing too!) and I played intramural sports instead. Till this day I don't like participating in competitive sports. I get extremely aggressive. I don't like how intense I feel--the heat is amazing-- and there is always a loser. I tried out for gymnastics but we didn't field a team, and I was on the first girls' rifle team. I couldn't even tell you how to take a rifle apart now, but back then, I could!
I think because it was my first stint away from home, my 7th grade memories are more vivid than those of 8th grade. In 8th grade, however, we were the top class on the Prep campus. That means we had attitude. Although I had a few crushes in 7th, I felt too awkward to make my feelings known. I played a lot of physical sports with the guys and was generally considered to be one of them. By 8th grade I had a sort of shy reputation, but I was getting into tiffs with boys.
Take for instance, Edward Ka'ahea. He was a royal pain in the behind. Back then I used to swear a little. I felt it scared off and warded off trouble by talking rough. Picture me, in 7th grade. I was all of the height I have now, 5 feet, 2.5 inches! But, I weighed 89 pounds! In 8th grade I was 98 pounds. Well, that didn't deter me from protecting myself when I saw fit. My hair was really long--down the back to mid 'okole. Edward used to like to tug at my braid. One day he was playing around and I sent out a voice warning for him to knock it off. We were cleaning erasers and I had an olive green "A"-line skirt on. He hit me with the eraser, leaving a chalk mark on the skirt. It was the newer 2 sided extra long eraser. I grabbed it from him and shoved it in his mouth! Of course, in high school he became the quarterback of the football team and later evolved into one member of the comedy team "Boogah Boogah". I also found out he was sorta related--through my dad's first wife's family, the Pa'oa clan.
As to further family notes in regards to Al Ma Mater, my dad graduated from St. Louis High. Apparently after his mother died he was taken in by the priests at St. Louis. His grandchildren attended Punahou (arch rival of Kamehameha--us being the Hawaiians and them being the Haoles). They were attending Punahou around the same years I was at Kamehameha and it wasn't odd to see the Sterling name on the sports pages of the Honolulu newspapers. Wayne Sterling held the state's shotput record, his father, Wayne, Sr. was named All-American out of WSU or UW (I need to get that one straight for the records). Leon Sterling Jr. was of football fame out of Oregon State, and small Leon gained his fame in the Hawaiian Voyaging Society as the steersman for the Hokule'a. My brother is famous for being a master carver, and attached to the BYU voyaging canoe the IOSEPA and me??...I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! Ha!
posted by leona at 11:15 AM
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