"Look at this!" Joe Alameda of Perfect Corner said to me when I stopped by to say hello.
" This is my second grade class at Sacred Hearts. School year 1960-1961. Can you believe how many kids were in one class with only one teacher?"
I took a look at the framed photo on his wall. Indeed, there seemed to be more kids than one adult could handle. But these children looked so incredibly well behaves, sitting at their tables, hands folded, or standing at attention in the back.
Of course, Joe, who grew up in Carroll Gardens, is in the photo. He is the third child from the left in the row of standing boys.
Pointing at the picture, Joe started rattling off the names of his classmates. First and last names. Amazing! Many still live in the neighborhood.
And the name of the teacher? He remembers it well.
But now, let's hear from you, dear Carroll Gardener. If you attended Sacred Hearts during those years and recognize any of the kids, let me know. And for those of you who moved here much later, you will be surprised by some of the names. You may know these people today.
The complete list of names will be posted here in a few days.
*** The Sacred Hearts School was located between DeGraw and Kane on Hicks Street. It is now a condo.***
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12 comments:
Hi Katia,
I didn't attend Sacred Hearts but did attend St. Agnes on Degraw between Hoyt & Bond, and I was in the second grade in 1960. I have a similar photo of my class, too, and our teacher was Sister Helen. I can tell you that at St. Agnes, we had two "classes" in each grade, i.e., 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, all the way up to 8th Grade. We also had a little United Nations of nationalities in our classes...all ethnic & racial groups. As for headcount, each class, especially in the lower grades in the late 50s-early 60s had about 60 children in EACH -- so that would total approx 120 children in the first grade alone. No exaggeration! And despite the numbers, the Sisters of St. Joseph (they were a tough bunch!) had total control and discipline over their classrooms. Any appearance of our principal, Sister Mary Bonaventura, was enough to cause spine-tingling fear in all of us, and yet we turned out just fine!
On another note: I always remembered the Sacred Heart School being located next door to St. Stephen/Sacred Heart Church on Summit Street between Henry & Hicks...unless the Hicks St location you mention was an earlier site for the school.
Hi Maryann,
Love your comment and your memories of
St. Agnes. I am blown away by the size of these classes.
But then, you were all very well behaved little children, I am sure.
If you have access to a scanner, I am sure others would love to see your class picture.
I'll try to find mine from France. I did not have photos from my German school. Don't know why.
Will have to clarify the location of Sacred Hearts with Joe again. Maybe I got it wrong.
Hi Katia,
Yes, I've got lots of fond memories of St. Agnes...like the first time I and another classmate were invited into the convent for some special task that I can't recall (maybe taking a nun's habit to the French dry cleaner?). It was like Dorothy coming out of her house after the twister and marveling at her mysterious but lovely surroundings. Unfortunately, the school, and subsequently the beautiful convent, were converted into condos. So sad. I'll see if I can dig out my photo. I know I have it somewhere.
The Sacred Hearts/St Stepehens elementary school was on hicks street. The church's high school was on summitt street. The elementary school moved to summit street some years after the high school closed.
Yes, yes, yes, Maryann, please do find it. I would love to post it.
what a wonderful pic, i remember go to johnnie's bootery on smith strett with my sisters. he carried the school shoes. and the uniforms, i was just checking out some pic of them. i used to take them and pick them up for years and then, "hey, kid, i know the way'
they told me. i felt so, i don't know, but, my sisters are the terrific family i have today because of what that school taught them. i have an idea, katia, will e-mail
I just found your site - Great Pix!
I attended Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary on the other end of the neighborhood 1964-1972, even though I lived at 331 Degraw Street- less that two long blocks from St Agnes! Across the street from my house between Court and Smith streets was an empty lot, a garbage strewn lot which featured graffiti'd walls with the local gang names- Degraw St Boys, Black Diamonds, Red Hook Lords, etc. Myself and the other younger kids used the lot for miscellaneous mayhem for years. There were tiled floors and pipe fittings visible under the dirt in two diagonal corners of the lot (bathroom remnants) and we were told that the site was once a school which was torn down before I was born (1958). The lot was paved and the walls painted over in the early 1970's, when it became an auxiliary parking lot for the International Longshoreman's Association Clinic on Court and Union Street. ) A picture of the old school would be a real find, if anyone knows anything about it.
Thanks, Joey M.
Hi Tony,
Welcome to PMFA.
What you are describing sure sounds interesting. I'll have to make sure to walk down that block to check out what is on that site now.
It sounds very interesting.
I wonder what kind of school it was.
I'll ask some of my elderly Italian neighbors. Maybe they can remember.
I was a Member of the Degraw st. boys back in the mid sixties. that lot on degraw st. was our hang out we built a club house and the firemen knocked it down. We used to hang out at Tom's pizzeria on court and degraw . there was also Angelo's bar on the corner. We'd go to the movies the lido and paris court. We also played pool in patty's pool hall and hung out by the Chicken delite where my girlfriend worked and managed at 15 years old. Today we are still together and married 37 years. We also used to hang out in Carroll park .The people feared us but for no other reason then we were percieved as trouble makers , but we kept the area safe from other gangs.That was our turf and no outsiders could pass thru without our ok. Great times and bad times. many O'd's from drugs which brought our neighborhood down. Blackie D.S.B
yeah, blackie, were you there in carroll park when hector met his match, the degraw street boys really helped the neighborhood, who was the bow and arrow guy running around the night we all hid out, was he protecting the neighborhood, too.
yeah, blackie, were you there in carroll park when hector met his match, the degraw street boys really helped the neighborhood, who was the bow and arrow guy running around the night we all hid out, was he protecting the neighborhood, too.
Anonymous. I don't know if I was there when Hector met his match. I do remember the Bow and Arrow incident.I think that was Christie,he was a little nuts ,but in all fairness he wasn't with degraw st. He went to St Agnes and was a boyscout , who was looking to join us.I never said we were perfect.But if you remember the years 1965-66 alot people where being attacked by groups from the Gowanous projects, and along Smith st. between douglas and fulton st.A group of kids were robbed at knife point on douglas and smith while hanging outside the candy store, we happened to be coming back from fulton street and intervened we caught two of the thieves and gave them a hometown welcoming.So we weren't all bad. Do you remember J.H.S.6 most of us went there.? The smart ones left Degraw st boys by 1967.Some of us went on to become better people many enlisted in the arm froces and fought in Nam, I went to NYPD Narcotics division,One went to hollywood and was famous, two went on tour with a band, some started a business, others went into ILA.And some stayed and died of drug use.Today we are a lot older and wiser and still remember the old nieghborhood good and bad.
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