No trip down Memory Lane would be complete without a stop to the school where I attended Grades 2-6. Staatsburg Elementary School. It now sits alone and deserted. Its halls and classrooms empty of the sound of children. Even the playground swings and jungle gym that were still there seven years ago have now been taken down. Don’t you think it’s a handsome building?

See that room on the basement level on the left side? That’s my fifth grade classroom. I had Mr. Jubar that year. What a stir he made in a school that up until then had employed only older women for teachers! He was fresh, young, exuberant, and we loved him. One of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Here’s our class photo. Can you find me? No, of course you can’t, you don’t know what I look like. Okay, see Mr. Jubar in the middle? Count over two girls to the right and there I am! Second in from the right, second row from the top. My best friend, Debbie Volce is sitting right in front of me. I had a crush on Mark DeLucca (bottom row; first boy on right). I think I pestered that boy silly.

On to sixth grade. My classroom was on the top level, last room on the right. Mrs. Charbonnet’s class. She was a hoot of a teacher. She was convinced that the whole “man landing on the moon” thing was a hoax. She believed that they had filmed the whole thing on a Hollywood film set. No joke, she really did believe that.

There I am again, same spot with my long finger curls. oh boy. There’s that creepy boy (back row, third from left), I think his name was Chris, that rode his bicycle to my house one day. I hid in my room until he went away. There’s Julie Mayer standing next to me on the left. She was glad I left since she got my coveted spot in Ensemble [a special chorus group that got to put on musical revues throughout the year].

I think about them once in a while and wonder how their lives turned out. What they’re doing now, and do any of them remember me? We moved to Florida before the school year was over that year. I didn’t get to perform the HukiLau in my grass skirt. What would my life have been like had we stayed? Would I have finally convinced Mark DeLucca to be my boyfriend?

My life followed a course very different than theirs, and I certainly have no complaints, but it’s only natural to wonder ... what if?

fantastic photos! love old school photos. i should post some of mine. what a shame the school is empty. hope they don’t knock it down! look at little you!!
tee hee
;0)

Your page was one of only two references to Staatsburg Elementary I could find on the web. Here’s the other one:
http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/staatsburgh_elementary_school_in_staatsbugh_ny.htm

I sent the webmaster a comment which I’ll reproduce here, just in case he decides not to post it:

I came across your website due to my long-standing interest in abandoned buildings and similar subjects. Imagine my surprise when I found my old school among the “ghosts” pictured on your New York page! I was a student at Staatsburg Elementary in the early 1970s and also a member of Boy Scout Troop 38(?) of Staatsburg, which held certain functions (e.g., Pinewood Derby) in the school’s auditorium. Although decades have passed, I still have some vivid memories of the place. The exterior of the building seems pretty much as I remember it.

The last time I had occasion to visit the building was in the 1980s. It was no longer a school then, but was being used as administrative offices. The building was deteriorating even back then. I distinctly remember taking a few steps into the auditorium/gymnasium/cafeteria—pictured in the 20th and 21st photos on the webpage—and quickly retreating because the wooden floor groaned and buckled loudly under my feet, seemingly threatening to collapse if I ventured any further.

I always thought it was a handsome old building, and I hope it ends up being preserved and not torn down to make way for condos or some other garbage. Thanks for the photos, and you’ve inspired me to take some photos of my own. As you may know, the mid-Hudson Valley is rich with interesting abandoned sites of various kinds.