History - Newark

Lincoln Elementary School
By Helen Walker
Courier-Gazette, April 1996

The forerunner of the Lincoln School was a two-room wooden building which stands as a home located at 1140 North Main Street. According to the Newark Courier (1/25/1912), a brick edifice of 8 rooms costing $18,000 was first occupied by 210 grade 1-6 children of the north end of the village on January 15, 1912.

In 1919, the Depot or North Ward School, was officially named Lincoln School; the Lockville, East Ward or East Newark School (1-6) was named Roosevelt; and the Union School and Academy (1-12) named Washington School. The suggestion to do so was made by Mrs. Edith VanTassel, as part of a Colonel William Prescott Chapter Daughters of American Revolution patriotic and educational project. Each school was presented a large 48-star American flag and a framed picture of the respective president.

In 1928, an addition was made to both Lincoln and Roosevelt schools which gave each a gym/auditorium and more classrooms. Perkins School (K-6) opened January 5, 1926.

Elmer J. Cunningham, one of sixteen Class of 1895 Newark Union School graduates, first taught in the Sand Hill rural and East Ward schools, then became principal and grade 6 teacher of the new North Ward School. In the above noted Newark Courier, he was to be granted a renewal contract of $700 (an increase of $25) for the ensuing year.

Cunningham retired in 1938 after 43 years of teaching. His surviving sister, Clara Cunningham, died in 1960 leaving an estate of $80,000 to be established as the E. J. Cunningham Educational Memorial Fund, with the award presented annually to the graduating Newark High School senior who has the highest grade-point-average of those who had attended Lincoln School. Beginning with Priscilla Tierson, NHS Class of 1962, Lincoln School has proudly added the name of each new recipient on a plaque near the school office.

Following Cunnningham as principal, were Francis Stein (1938-45), Raymond Hughes (1945-49), Clifford Pitcher (1949-58). William Springett of Newark started his teaching career in Grade 5 in Lincoln School and shares:

"The school year 1958-59 brought change to the Newark Central School. All sixth grades moved to the then Junior High on West Miller Street with a new principal, Cliff Pitcher for grades 6-9. Richard (Dick) McBride assumed the principalship at Lincoln in the summer of 1958.

"At this time, the Newark School District included the Port Gibson school as a one-room school, grades 1-5. East Palmyra remained as a school, with teaching principal Jack Galbraith (grades 5 and 6.). Combination Grades 1-2 and Grades 3-4 were in one room each. Perkins School (principal Bernard Heise) and Roosevelt (principal Edmund J. Hochbrueckner) each contained grades K-5. In September 1961 Jack Galbraith moved to Roosevelt and I became teaching principal at East Palmyra.

"The years continued to bring change. Sputnik brought on a fever for science, modern math entered, educational TV came over the airways with one TV per elementary school and about one hour programming per week.

"Former Lincoln School fifth graders might remember Saturday all-day field trips to Mt. Morris Dam and fossil hunting near Conesus Outlet on the way home. Who remembers the trip on which the bus tire blew in Canandaigua on the return trip?

"Some more names might jog your memories because school isn't just 'facts' but people. Remember Ruth Werts (K), Doris Boyce (Grade 1), Phyllis James (2), Doris Kneut (K), Blanche Scheer (3), Kathleen Bowker (3), Carol Wellott (Lewis) (5) ] to recall only a few. I'll bet a story or two of early school days have already entered your mind.

"Think about Gary Miller's physical education classes, Nina (Hedden) Rutbell's art, and Mary Lyman's music. Does anyone remember a field trip with Dick McBride who on several weekends took his 6th graders to Niagara Falls, four students at a time in his own car? If your children or grandchildren are now attending Lincoln School set some time aside to share a few of the precious moments from your past.

"In 1967 McBride left to teach in college and I went back to Lincoln School for two years (1967-1969) before becoming principal of the new Kelley Elementary School named for Norman R. Kelley who was Superintendent of Schools from 1947 to 1967. Robert Linehan followed McBride as principal at Lincoln. After 18 years at Kelley, I returned to Lincoln for my last year, 'retiring' in June 1988."

Bill Springett was Adult Education Director from 1988 to June 1995 and is now representative to all districts in Wayne County for preschool children with disabilities (CPSE). Bill's wife, Nancy, retired in 1995 after teaching 24 years in grade 3. Their 8 children attended Newark schools and some of their 18 grandchildren have and are following suit.

Betty Howlett recalls her long association with "Lincoln," first as a parent, then monitor, a teacher aide and presently a reading teacher assistant:

"My first memory of Lincoln School is the meeting of principal Richard McBride upon entering our older son, Brent, in Phyllis James' second grade as a transfer student from Perkins School in 1963. Also, Brent played the emperor in 'The Emperor's New Clothes.' He came home and asked if I could get him some long underwear for the play. Brent can name each of his teachers, including Sally Bechtel for art.

"Our younger son, Bart, experienced difficulty adjusting to first grade. His teacher, Ruth Schoenthaler said for me to just go home and relax. That everything would be all right. Sure enough she was right. In 2nd grade Bart remembers being Peter in 'Peter Rabbit.' The boys recall the fun Halloween parties especially when Brent was Uncle Fester and Bart was Cousin IT from the TV Addams Family show.

"Living close to Lincoln, our boys spent many hours at the school playground. In later school years, they each worked as an assistant custodian at Lincoln School.

"We were involved in Lincoln Open House, PTA spaghetti dinners and we did a 'This is Your Life, Mr. McBride.'

"I first worked as substitute for monitor Carolyn Montana in the Lincoln cafeteria. In the spring of 1967 I began working at Roosevelt School and was transferred to Lincoln when Roosevelt closed in 1976. Robert Linehan continued to be my principal.

"In 1979 Christine Mizro joined the Lincoln School 'family' as reading teacher/supervisor and we worked togeher many after-school hours in our Reading Room, planning and preparing for our students. I presently work with Karen Meuser who is the compensatory Reading Teacher.

"I will forever remember the children who have touched my life with their compliments, hugs and their eager wishes to be the one to read to me when I visited their classroom. The teachers and support staff are most caring and deeply concerned about the children's education.

"The reason for building Lincoln School 85 years ago was to benefit the children, without whose presence, generation by generation, our lives would be incomplete. Over my 33-year involvement with Lincoln School, the many teachers have made a difference in the lives of their students. Happy Birthday Lincoln School."

(Betty's husband, Ronald, became a 6th grade teacher at the Newark Junior High School in 1958 and retired in 1994. Two of the Howlett's three grandchildren started school in a Lincoln School in Ypsilanti, MI.)

Four Generations

My family has a long history with Lincoln School. Not only did I attend, but also my four siblings (Randall, Linda, Beverly, Sheldon), my husband, our children, grandchildren and both my parents.

FIRST GENERATION: My father, Herbert Downey, started 1st grade at Lincoln (there was no kindergarten) in 1920. Mr. Elmer (E.J.) Cunningham was the principal and also taught 6th grade. Dad remembers vividly how the boys deliberately led him astray with questions not related to the subject at hand. Mr. Cunningham's favorite posture when fully involved, was to stand with thumbs under his suspenders, showing no awareness that he had been duped. His storytelling was peppered with the expression "That remains to be seen."

My father recalls an incident in 5th grade in which he bought 30 sticks of gum for 10 cents from Minonno's neighborhood store. He passed them out to classmates and landed in trouble with Mr. Cunningham who administered the rubber tube to my father's bottom. My Dad found the first four series of whacks amusing which earned him additional whacks. The laughter soon ended. The final word is that Mr. Cunningham was really a mild man and was sensitive, in that he took Dad out into the hallway to minimize embarrassment.

There was no gymnasium. A small classroom served the purpose in the winter. Otherwise the playground was the site for physical activity.

My mother, Anne (Rosier) Downey, moved to Newark in 1932 and entered 5th grade at Lincoln. Attending a "large school" was very intimidating. Mother says, "My sister and I were so bashful. We had never been to a big school. We lived in the country and had to walk about three miles carrying our books and lunch boxes. We got pretty cold in the winter time. The only ones who could eat in the lunchroom were the kids that lived in the country.

"Mr. DuPoint was the school custodian and he paid my sister and me each a penny a day for cleaning the lunchroom tables and sweeping the floor. On Fridays we each spent our five pennies at Mrs. Jackson's store which was right next to the playground. In those days, five cents bought quite a lot of candy and of course we ate it all on the way home. There have been many changes since I went to Lincoln School and now we have great-grandchildren going to that same school."

SECOND GENERATION: I remember my experiences at Lincoln as being pleasant. Kindergarten seemed like a playworld designed for children with all the games, toys and sandbox. It was a fun time for me ] much different from the academic years that followed.

I remember a field trip in 6th grade to the Shrine Circus in Rochester. It was during the winter and when we got off the bus to walk back home, I slipped on the ice, fell and broke my arm. I carried the signatures of all my classmates on a hard cast for six weeks.

As with kids today, my favorite subjects were lunch, gym class and recess. On the playground we played games, jumped rope and rode the swings and teeter-totters. We rollerskated to and from school when weather permitted.

My husband James was the first generation Prinzi to attend Lincoln School. Our six children (Mark, James, Michelle, Stephen, Christopher and Jason) and, to date, six of our grandchildren (Joshua, Jamie and Brandon Prinzi; John, Matthew and Janna Santell) have attended Lincoln School with two more (Derek and Bryan Prinzi) on their way to entering Lincoln.

In kindergarten, our son Mark won a coloring contest. The prize was a certificate for a free sundae from Margrove's Dairy. The whole family proudly accompanied him. In 2nd grade he received the citizenship award.

My husband James remembers, "I started kindergarten at Lincoln in 1937 with teacher Miss Ruth Espenmiller, who later married NHS commercial teacher Franklin Werts. Our classroom was in the northeast corner near the gymnasium. We had to bring a rug to school and take a 15-minute nap after which we had a half-pint of milk and one graham cracker.

"Any time a student got into a fight or defied a teacher he had to go in front of the principal, hold out his hand with palm up, while whacks with a wooden ruler were administered. Mr. Francis Stein seemed a very large man!

"Before school, when weather permitted, we used a stick to scratch circles on the all-dirt school driveway for playing marbles. Each player put an equal number of marbles within the pot and, by turns, shot his agate and claimed any marble he knocked out of the circle.

"A favorite trick was to go down on the teeter-totter and jump off. Most of us had just a penny at a time to spend at Mrs. Jackson's store. Usually we tried our luck at the gum machine. A penny was inserted in the slot, the handle pulled sideways and, if lucky, a speckled gum ball won five cents.

"In 1942 or 1943 a Cessna Bobcat twin-engined trainer crashed at the Newark Airport which is now the Newark Wayne Community Hospital area. The pilot circled the town with his landing lights on around 8 p.m. one spring night. My father and I watched the plane circle the field. Someone must have helped guide the pilot down, but he hit a ditch at the end of the field and turned over. The next day our class went over to see the plane which was made of wood and fabric construction. I salvaged a piece of plywood from the smashed tail and kept it as a memento for many years.

"We had to walk to school and back home (on Ford Street) twice a day. Only children from the country areas could stay for lunch. There were no hot lunches served.

"While walking to school some mornings we saw the milkman with his horse-drawn cart delivering on North Main Street which was all brick ] no blacktop. The delivery man carried his load of glass bottles, walked from house to house while the horse stopped strategically for the milkman to refill his bottle rack. Sometimes if we kids had a disagreement, we darted into the street, grabbed a round piece of frozen horse residue from previous days and threw it at our opponents across the street. Really tame by today's standards."

When our son Stephen married in 1986, I saw Mr. Stein and talked with him about my unforgettable Lincoln School years.

THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATIONS: Our daughter Michelle who attended grades K-4 at Lincoln 1967-72 shares her thoughts:

"I, too, have many vivid recollections of our Lincoln School. Most of all, I remember the time spent on the playground. We played hopscotch and hula hoops while the boys played tag and chased us girls. There was a landfill behind the school and it was fun to watch the dump trucks and other equipment moving the rubbish around.

"My husband, Juan, I, and also our first son, had Mrs. Doris Kneut for kindergarten. She played the piano and led us in song. Having seen two generations through their first school days she recently retired. Our good neighbor, Mrs. Carolyn Montana, who was for years lunch monitor and teacher's aide at Lincoln often, eased our fears of threatening new school experiences.

"I remember being tested on my colors, counting to ten and learning to tie shoelaces on a wooden model of a shoe. Who can forget the first use of school paste and having your very own pair of scissors with which to cut?

"Our children have also had a very positive experiences at Lincoln. There is a strong 'family atmosphere' due in a large part to the efforts of principal Mrs. Christine Mizro who had made the 'Farewell Friday' assembly a weekly event. The entire K-2 student body and staff gather in the gym.

"This is a time during which problems are discussed and good values are instilled in the children. The children are encouraged to show their talents and do gain poise in front of an audience by reading stories or performing. Our boys have played their musical instruments (violin and banjo) and our daughter had done public reading. Our nephew, Brandon Prinzi, had a speaking part in a 2nd grade play and also won a prize for guessing closest to the number of fish in a bowl."

Michelle concludes, "Lincoln School has a wonderful and special sense of history for me and my family. I hope the next generations will have the same warm feelings when they send their children off to school.

"There are many changes that a generation in time can make. Yet through it all, Lincoln School has remained a solid and constant fixture that has connected our generations as well as the generations of many other families that have walked the halls of Lincoln School."

Lincoln School Today

Lincoln School became a kindergarten through second grade school in 1985. The third grade classes were moved to Kelley School to accommodate additional classroom space needs at Lincoln School.

Presently, Lincoln houses four half-day kindergartens, one pre-first, two first grades, two second grades, two combined classes of grades 1-2 (one of which "includes" special education students), and one primary special education class. The Lincoln School "family" includes approximately 275 children plus their parents, along with 33 staff members (some full-time, some part-time).

Looking in the past, Lincoln School said good-bye to William Springett in June 1988. Henry Hann was welcomed as the new principal. He remained "head" of the Lincoln School family until June 1991 when he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Newark. The search for a new principal once again began and in October of that year I was appointed Lincoln School Principal. I had been a reading teacher and supervisor in the district since 1979.

The 70's, 80's and 90's brought still more changes to education and Lincoln School. VCR's, video cameras and most recently, computers with CD ROMs are among the tools used by the children in their classrooms. Our children are now immersed in the age of technology. Computers have become an integral part of the curriculum beginning in kindergarten. I'm sure Francis Stein would be pleasantly surprised at the new look of the library he began during his principalship from 1938 to 1945. The library is now equipped with its own small reading loft, a TV and VCR as well as a computer with a CD ROM and printer for the children to use.

Today, Lincoln School takes pride in the family atmosphere that exists among staff, parents and children. As families work and live together, at Lincoln School we also learn to work cooperatively and, most importantly, show RESPECT. Sparkle Bear, our school mascot, shares an important message with our children and staff:

• Show respect to everyone.
• Show them that you care.
• Show respect to everyone.
• Be like Sparkle Bear!
  (Sung to the tune of "Old McDonald")

Just as families have regular times that they gather together at home, the Lincoln School family also has a special time to gather and celebrate. "Farewell Fridays" are weekly assemblies when the Lincoln School family meets in the gym. Several parents with preschoolers attend.

During these assemblies, we salute our country with a pledge and a song to our flag, recognize birthdays for the week (dates during vacations are accommodated) and have children share special books, stories they've written or special talent (dancing, tumbling, playing the piano, singing, etc.). Children are honored for showing respect to one another and their names are proudly recorded on a variety of shapes that decorate the walls as they encircle our gym.

Sparkle Bear visits us periodically to share any new ideas regarding respect, conflict resolution and solving problems appropriately.

The curriculum areas still remain the same. Our children are learning the 3R'S ] reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. We've just added an important R. The R that signifies a need for our present day... the R representing RESPECT!

It will be interesting in the year 2020 to learn what adventures and experiences await the newest generation of the Lincoln family. Where will Sparkle Bear be? What new technology and classrooms await the children of the future?

One thing for sure, the need for respect will always be important for all children to know, understand and show! Some things never change!

Its a sure bet that IF the present-day children of Lincoln School are interviewed in the future their memories will include their experiences with: the Farewell Friday assemblies and the famous Lincoln School mascot, Sparkle Bear, who could not speak but always managed to get an important message across; Mez Chilcotts famous (or for some of us who have yet to master it, infamous) obstacle course; winter carnivals; field days; David Honness' annual Christmas play; neighborhood Christmas caroling, Senior Citizen breakfast; Karen Meuser's Buddy Bookworm program; the annual Bookworm Bash; the many PTA sponsored events including a Halloween party featuring a haunted house; the Family Fun Nights including Karaoke, arts and crafts; and of course the yearly Family Picnic.

But, most of all as our children become adults and pause to look back at their primary years I think their fondest memory will be of the loving, caring, family atmosphere that surrounds them at Lincoln School. Come, see for yourself. You are invited to attend the Farewell Friday assemblies at 9:15 a.m. and/or join the volunteers who in many ways help us educate each child. For information phone 331-1464.

(Christine Mizro and husband Michael who works for Kodak, have two sons, Shawn in the 5th grade at Kelley School and Daniel in 2nd grade at Lincoln.)

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