In 1978, two bright-eyed kindergarteners pushed through the doors of East School, clutching Incredible Hulk and Muppet Show lunch boxes. The building was shiny and new, a mere two years after its grand opening.
This year, East School has closed its doors at the end of a school year for the last time.
The Torrington Board of Education has deemed it old, decrepit, and beyond repair. As Fox 61 reported, “This aging architecture is showing its wrinkles.”
Year of construction: 1976. Year I was born: 1973.
Remind me not to send a Christmas card to Fox 61 or the Torrington Board of Ed this year.
Some memorabilia on displayThe ramp leading to the music roomThe library looks exactly the same, minus Ms. Murphy.The door to Mr. Connell’s 6th grade classroom, where the year of abuse between me and Doug unfolded.To the right of Mr. Connell’s door is a computer room, which Doug immediately recognized as the former TAG room. The door was locked, and Doug was pissed that he was denied entrance once again.An outside view of our kindergarten class, where the magic began amidst dinosaur models and orange peanut butter crackers.They now have a playscape on the upper playground!Main office, minus Mrs. GrossoAbsolutely nothing changed about the gym. Felt just like being in gym class all over again. I was just waiting for a white-haired Janet Beck to appear with a whistle around her neck!The kids were not feeling as nostalgic as we were. They were too fixated on the ice cream vendor in the playground.Sixth grade…the class of ’85 (I am in front row, far right; Doug is row 4, third to the left. LOL? We could only find one stump left that wasn’t too rotted to sit on. Good-bye, East School! Lots of beautiful memories, forever.
