I shall not call this an infant school, because I do not intend the children to be schooled, but to be allowed under the gentlest treatment to develop freely. -Friedrick Frobell
Very little is known about the kindergarten that was once in the basement of the PNC Bank on Main Street in Mechanicsburg. Most of the people associated with it can recall only bits and pieces of its appearance and history, or have passed on, taking their memories with them. I would like to take the reader back to Mrs. Kelley's kindergarten and share what is remembered by surviving students and parents.
Kindergartens, first opened under that name in Germany in 1837, were established in the United States after mid-century, the first being in Wisconsin. By 1890 most large cities had kindergartens, and soon thereafter, they were to be found in small towns and rural areas. One of the earliest in Mechanicsburg was started by Mrs. Vera DeWalt Hupper in an upstairs room of Murphy's Five and Dime store on Main Street (now a Subway shop). Like other kindergartens, Mrs. Hupper's was a private enterprise, charged tuition, and was not part of the public school system.
In 1939 Mrs. Hupper moved her kindergarten class across Main Street to the second floor of Hauck's Hardware Store. The reason for the move is unknown—perhaps the space above Murphy's was not adequate for the growing enrollment. Hauck's Hardware Store stood where the Ritter parking lot is today. The building was five stories high and had a sunroof on the top-a rare thing in that day. (Jack Ritter believes Hauck's store may once have been the tallest building on the West Shore). Mrs. Hupper retired from teaching in 1941 and turned the school over to Marge Kelley.
Marge McCune Kelley was born on September 12, 1899, in Middle Spring, Franklin County. She taught in the Waynesboro School System for several years before marrying]. Maclay Kelley. After their marriage the Kelleys moved to Mechanicsburg where Mr. Kelley got a job teaching political science and coaching athletic teams in the high school.
When Marge Kelley took over the kindergarten from Mrs. Hupper in 1941, she moved the class to the basement of the First Bank and Trust Company (now PNC Bank). The children would enter the bank building by a staircase off Main Street benveen the bank and the Mechanicsburg Post Office. Classes began at nine o'clock and ran until twelve noon. The school year was the same as that of the public schools, running from September to June. Tuition was $6 per month.
Concerned for the safety of children who had to cross Main Street to the school, Marge Kelley contacted Chief of Police Harry (Gint) Koser. He understood Mrs. Kelley's worry and so took it upon himself to guard the crossing. A burly man who stood more than six feet tall, Chief Koser wore a uniform that consisted of a long-sleeve black shirt with a silver badge pinned to his outside shirt pocket. His black pants were tucked inside black polished leather knee-high boots. Each morning and noon he stood at the corner of Main and Market Streets until the last child had made it safely across.
The pupils learned their ABCs from square alphabet blocks made of light pine. They were taught penmanship from Palmer Method manuals. Finger games consisted of counting and rhyming subject matter. At story time Mrs. Kelley read The Teddy Bears' Picnic, The Little Engine That Could, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Tales of Beatrix Potter. Since she did not think herself qualified to teach music, Mrs. Kelley engaged Mrs. Herman Bowser to teach that subject. Mrs. Bowser remained at the kindergarten for 16 years.
Like other kindergartens and pre-school classes, Mrs. Kelley's pupils enjoyed snack time, when, as Robert Gelwicks remembers, they had cookies and a choice of white or chocolate milk. Snack time was followed by nap time, when each child was wrapped in a blanket brought from home and lay on a mattress the teacher provided. Marge Kelley was not only a skillful and devoted teacher, but she also loved children. When the Kelleys realized that they would have no children of their own, they adopted a boy in 1946. Richard Kelley remembers accompanying his mother to Harrisburg to update her teaching materials and to buy toys and games for the children at Western Auto Supply.
Ernest Raymond Martin was born April 4, 1916, in Pennsylvania along with his twin, Frank, to their parents, Addison C. Martin and Grace May (Klink) Martin. Addison C. Martin was born in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1879, and Grace May Klink was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1882.