(Author’s Note: Rachel McAninch is an eighth grader at Bellaire Middle School, and I am great friends with her parents. Rachel will begin a new radio show with me on River Talk-Wheeling/Steubenville (100.1 & 100.9 FM and AM 1290 and AM 1430) Tuesday afternoon from 3:30-5 p.m – the show, “Novotney Now” is from 3-6 p.m. – so I’ve decided to streamline some thoughts in traditional “column” form as a preview for each week.)
I remember knowing what a boiler was and that it was for steam heat and that those haunting noises that came from the radiators was nothing to be scared about. It’s those bangs and squeals from those bedroom-corner coils that come to mind first when storytelling about those grade school years at St. Mike’s in Wheeling.
Those clangs and sizzles from the furnace woke me up soon after my mother turned the heat on for the day, and that meant it was time to get fresh and dressed for the school day. I doubt my co-host experiences anything close to the old-school ritual, and that’s just one example why this week’s back-and-forth between “old guy me” and “young lady her” will provoke nostalgia (as well as hope for the future).
“School is different now. We had satchels, chalk, and paper report cards, and students these days carry backpacks loaded with the latest technology.“
School is different now. We had satchels, chalk, and paper report cards, and students these days carry backpacks loaded with the latest technology. My “Conduct” was graded, passing notes was a thing, and lunch was a cheese and mayo sandwich and not the five food groups. We used those Britannica Encyclopedias out in the hallway for book reports, wall calendars marked important dates, and field trips demanded in-person attendance instead of a virtual arrival.
We single-file evacuated school to practice fire alarms, and the only bomb threat we ever knew about was Terry Bradshaw-to-Lynn Swann. Computers were as big as buildings so we memorized our times tables, and the chord on the kitchen telephone was stretched for privacy.
There are constants, too; some of the sames, ya know, like pep rallies and bonfires and Honor Rolls and Homecomings, and there were those variety shows, parent-teacher conferences, and recess whiffle ball, too. And, since kids are always kids, peer pressures, popularity contests, and the rumor mill survived since my Dark-Age education, and so have classmate crushes, stolen smiles, and mischievous smirks.
My school had boys’ and girls’ restrooms and our classmates had mommies and daddies, and males wore pants and females wore skirts. Rachel is being raised in a world less stereotypical where they dream of the future instead of yearning for the past.
Join us for the “Rachel & Steve Show” at 4 p.m. Stream: https://us7.maindigitalstream.com/4411/
