My old elementary school on Monroe Street. Our principal was Mrs. Linert (not sure of the spelling) and my favorite teachers were Mrs. Baumgarten, Mrs. Hartiman and Mrs. Washington. I will always remember the pictures on the walls in the main hall... Harry Belefonte,Sidney Poitier, Booker T. Washington, and I think Lena Horne. I would stare at those people and wonder who they were. They just made me so proud...they looked like me. Later, Mrs. Hartiman became principal and I knew that I could be somebody one day. Even though I had teachers who told me that I should focus on home ec and cooking. I remember those people who greeted me every morning on the walls and I determined to go to college. I graduated in 1972 from Buff State with a degree in Elementary Education. God Bless all of my teachers who encouraged me to study and stay in school.
