I have lived across the street from Eliot School in St. Louis Park since 1958 and have known most of the great teachers who taught there. My three grandchildren graduated from Eliot School. Now the school is completely vacant, and the school board has decided that the school is too old and may have to be torn down.
We all have great memories of Eliot School -- one teacher in particular is Patricia Connors, who taught the children in the kindergarten class.
My daughter, Susan, could hardly wait to start school, and every day she watched from the window to see all the students and the buses bringing them to school. Finally, the day came for her to start, and her first teacher was Patricia Connors.
Susan was so happy, and each day she would come home and tell us exactly what happened, what they learned, and, of course, my mother-in-law who lived with us and was a teacher in Japan before she came to America was so excited, she wanted to meet Ms. Connors.
And thus the friendship began.
Ms. Connors invited my mother-in-law to school and wanted her to teach the children songs about our celebrations. As my mother-in-law couldn't speak English, I accompanied her as interpreter.
The first holiday was March 3, Girls Day in Japan, and Grandma would take all the dolls she made and show them to the children. The children dressed in their make-believe kimonos and took their shoes off before entering the room, and they learned Japanese songs. The response was so great and their enthusiasm was such that after school, some of them would come to the door and say, "Hi Grandma," which thrilled Grandma so much.
Then on May 5, it was Boys Day in Japan. They made paper fish that looked like carp, as this denoted that carp was a very strong fish and boys should grow up like them, and each fish was raised on the flagpole outside and it was quite a celebration. Grandma brought the boys Japanese candy for a small gift.
We opened an exhibit in our basement showing all the dolls that Grandma made and other things that we had in the house, and pretty soon everyone in the neighborhood plus other schools sent their children to visit. It was quite busy, but we loved every minute of it.
Susan always wanted to be a teacher like Ms. Connors, and she did become one. And when I visited her class, she was teaching her students songs and paper crafts (origami), and when I met the parents, they expressed how happy they were to have a teacher who taught their children other things besides their book lessons.
Unfortunately, Susan became ill and passed away in 1980. Ms. Connors had kept in touch with Susan all those years, and our family is still in contact with her. She certainly was a great teacher, but to our family, she is our good friend.
I am sure there are many children out there who have grown up and still think of Ms. Connors and their great kindergarten year at Eliot School. The building may eventually be gone, but memories of the good years at Eliot School will never be forgotten.
Helen Tsuchiya is a St. Louis Park resident.
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