Each June as another school year ends, Senior Class members reflect on their high school years.  The Gagashoan they receive illustrates not only their daily lives, but also the history of our country at the time.  This is especially true of the Class of 1944.  This spring, I had the chance to talk with Tom Conners and Nick Verzella, two members of the ER Class of ’44.  I thank them for providing insight into high school life during a time of war.

     As Freshmen in the fall of 1940, the class had over 200 students—the largest class our school had seen up to that time.   During their high school years that number would dwindle with the events of the time.  Their high school building was on East Avenue, and is what is now called the T.L.R. Morgan Middle School.  Mr. Morgan was the ER School District Superintendent from 1932-1944.   During their Sophomore year, their world was turned upside down when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Thus began the students’ part in the war effort on the home front as the United States entered World War II on December 8^th.  News from the battlefront would be a constant for the rest of their high school years as classmates and friends enlisted in the armed forces.  In order to keep the bond between service men and the school as close as possible, an artistic roster was erected on the walls of the main hall in school.  A special bulletin board was set up for photos, letters, news items, and souvenirs from those serving their country.  Home front activities and fundraisers would be part of their daily lives.

     During their Junior year, a number of tea dances were held leading up to the Junior Prom.  War Stamp sales set an example for the school with 100% participation.  Class members also served on committees to salvage paper and tin.  Several athletes excelled, with Art Gebhard and Sam Urzetta making All-County teams, and David Potter winning the sectional singles tennis tournament.  Four members of the class left as Juniors, and graduated in 1943 in order to enlist in the armed forces—Art Engert, Mike Martello, Art Dimassimo, and David Potter.  

     As Seniors, the class had over 100 students.  Students and teachers continued to find ways to support the war effort, and yet still take part in the usual school activities.  Outstanding athletes included:  Eugene Little, Jack Erwin, Bud Parish, Wayne Harris, Art Gebhard, Sam Urzetta, Nick Verzella, Nate Calabrese, John Celentano, and Joe Capriotti.  Outstanding cheerleaders, Lily Jean Howard, Mary Ellen Trescott, and “Red” Speca helped provide much morale to the teams.  The Harvest Ball at the beginning of the year was a big success.  Coronation Day’s activities in the spring revolved around the theme of “tolerance.”  Activities such as band and the school newspaper, The Brown and White, had many members.  War Stamp sales and Red Cross projects were also part of the year’s activities, as were collecting newspapers, books for the camps, and warm clothing for Greek refugees.   The Junior Red Cross made toys and clothing for children, afghans, and hospital supplies for the wounded and sick soldiers.  Most students also had

     For those who are old enough to remember her, Lois Bird was a very special friend.  Born February 8, 1907, she came to East Rochester with her family in 1913 from Phelps, N.Y.  Her father, Louis, was our village high school principal and later district superintendent.  Her mother, Laura, was a teacher.  Lois had four sisters, and her family lived for many years on East Ivy Street, opposite Edmund Lyon Park.

     Lois graduated from high school in 1924 and Keuka college in 1928.   She later received a degree in psychology from Penn State and continued to work on her doctorate there with nationally known reading specialists.  Lois taught second and third grade, and was assistant elementary school principal; but she spent most of her life as a reading specialist often working with students who had come from abroad and needed help learning English.

     Miss Bird was very active in school and village organizations – President of the ER Teachers’ Association, member of the ER Pioneers, numerous Baptist Church committees, College Club, Study Club, ER Youth Recreation Council, and co-captain of the ER Civic Music Association.  She also worked with teachers and helped start the Rochester Chapter of the International Reading Association; and she was an early member of the regional chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma (an international organization for women educators).  During her life Lois received many awards, including:  Rotary Citizen of the Year (1966) and St. Nicholas Society Citizen of the Year (1984).

     Lois loved sports, and kept in close touch with the East Rochester School teams and the football teams at Penn State.  She often wrote letters of encouragement or congratulations to the teams.  The letters were often posted on the teams’ bulletin boards for all the players to see.

     Miss Bird’s most special collection was her valentines.  She began collecting them in the 1920s when her mother gave her a valentine from the Civil War which she had found in an antique shop.  Lois enjoyed sharing the valentines with her students.  Some of her cards are currently on display in our Local History Room, courtesy of the ER Public Library.

     The love Lois felt for everyone was reciprocated often, especially when the elementary school was named in her honor in 1980.  Lois died on January 4, 1996.  She loved learning, and sharing that passion made her the special teacher we all admired and respected.  Her kindness, support, and integrity were always evident.  As we think of Valentine’s Day, Miss Bird remains in our hearts.

     Over the years, our ER Department of Local History has received many donated materials.  This spring we received a major donation – a completely organized history of Forest Hills.  The collection of 13 binders and 2 large folio cases contained hundreds of photographs of homes and special seasonal events, advertising brochures, copies of property deeds, blueprints, maps, news articles, Association By-Laws, descriptions of preservation landscaping upgrades, and historical summaries.  The collection was the idea of former resident, Ken Dodgson.  Ken and his wife, Sally, fell in love with the area and the home at 13 Regency Drive (the only Art Deco home in Forest Hills) the moment they saw it.  After living in India for 24 years, the Dodgson’s resided at 13 Regency Drive for over 30 years.

     While the Forest Hills Development is actually in the Town of Perinton, it is in East Rochester’s school district, fire district, and postal zip code.  The area was created by East Rochester resident, Harold Dygert, whose home was located at 101 Park Drive.  Harold Dygert was born in May 1889, in a small town in northern New York.  He was a young child when his family moved to East Rochester.  Harold graduated from our high school, and studied architecture through a correspondence course with Columbia University.  Evidence of his work can be found throughout East Rochester and in Pittsford, Brighton, and Rochester.  His efforts in our community began when he encouraged Harry Eyer to build a movie theater, the Rialto, in 1919.  Later, called the Capri, it was converted into an apartment building by Mr. Dygert in 1966.  While Harold designed several homes throughout East Rochester, the Forest Hills Development was his favorite.  The 75 homes he designed there were built from 1932-1942.

     According to Ken Dodgson’s research, “the earliest known plans for the development of the area known as Forest Hills are penciled overlays superimposed on a site survey by John Abner Stuart done for Harold Dygert and completed on December 17, 1927.”  Probably because of the Depression, construction of actual homes did not begin for several years.  Plots began to be sold in 1932, with the earliest homes in the development being built on Lake Crescent Drive, with the home at 6 Lake Crescent Drive being the first.  Homes on Westwood, Ridgeview, Fair Oaks, and Regency Drives came afterwards.  Harold personally collaborated with each homeowner, thus making each home unique.  A variety of styles were used – Tudor Revival, English Cottage, French Eclectic, Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, French Regency, and one Art Deco.  The homes were built in the natural surroundings of woods, hills, and ponds.  Harold worked with his brother, Lawrence, who supervised construction and served as business manager.  During the New York World’s Fair (1939-1940) photographs of several of the homes were part of Kodak’s CAVALCADE OF COLOR which projected Kodachrome slides enlarged 50,000 times.

     I had the pleasure of meeting and thanking Ken Dodgson this month when he visited the Local History room.  He came with Tom Hamilton who had assisted with some of the archives and Colleen and Mike Robinson who helped deliver the archives to us.  The pleasure and pride Ken felt about his former home was clearly evident. 

     As mentioned in my most recent article, THE CLASS OF ’44, the effects of World War II were deeply felt here at home.  By 1944, most of the women in East Rochester were employed.  Local industries were making products for the war.  For example, at the Piano Works, aircraft bodies and wings for the Canadian Air Force were being made, and steel landing mats, pontoons, and tank treads were being made at the Carshops, as well as coal tenders for the Russian railroad.

     Our village’s Child Care Committee saw a great need for a public child care center.  Committee members included:  Daniel Malone (Justice and longtime ER activist), Mayor George Schreib, E. D. Seward (Pittsford Town Supervisor), Theodore Morgan (outgoing School Superintendent), Lewis C. Obourn (Elementary School Principal/incoming School Superintendent), H. L. Brainerd (Trustee, ER Village Board), Rev. Earl Winters (Pastor, Parkside Methodist Church), and Mrs. William Greeley.  Rooms on the second floor of the Parkside Methodist Church’s addition were selected as the appropriate location.  Mrs. Mark B. Furman, a trustee of the Church, was chosen as Chairman of the Center.  The Church was the perfect spot since it was next to the school buildings on East Avenue and bordered Edmund Lyon Park.

     Funding for the Day Care Center was provided by the federal and state governments.  Parents contributed to the cost of feeding the children.  The Lanham Act of 1940 authorized funds for child care facilities for children whose mothers were working in defense and defense-related industries.  Funding was authorized through Title II of the National Defense Housing Act.  The purpose of the Law was to assist communities with water, sewer, housing, schools, and other local facilities’ needs related to the war and war industry.  In 1943, the U.S. Senate passed the first national child care program “to provide for public care of children whose mothers were employed for the duration of World War II.   The federal government offered grants for child care services to authorize community groups that could demonstrate a war-related need for the service.  The program was justified as a war expedient necessary to allow mothers to enter the labor force and increase war production.”  The centers helped families of all incomes, and so addressed the needs of both children and parents. The New York State War Council also realized the need for child care programs.  And in 1942, organized the Committee on Child Care, Development, and Protection.

     Articles in the spring and summer editions of the East Rochester Herald newspaper describe the planning and opening of East Rochester’s Child Care Center.   The village Center was the first in Monroe County, outside of the city of Rochester.  It opened on August 14, 1944.  Government funding paid for the cost of renovating the two large playrooms and providing equipment.  A sick bay and office area were also configured, with the church kitchen to be used for serving meals.  In selecting a director for the Center, Mrs.  Furman suggested Miriam Senzel, a young woman who lived in Rochester, and had graduated in 1942 from the University of Rochester with Mrs. Furman’s daughter, Justine.  Miriam, “Mimi,” had gone on to maste

Several weeks ago, I decided to write my April article about what was happening in East Rochester during the last solar eclipse here in January 1925.  I searched through photographs, interviews, newspaper articles, files, and advertisements.  Sadly, I was able to find nothing about activity here in our village to celebrate the event.  So, I decided instead to write about what daily life was like in East Rochester ninety-nine years ago.