Happy Birthday Lobethal

My school - Lobethal Primary School has just celebrated its 150th birthday this last weekend. We have been planning this since late last year and working flat out to get the weekend organised. Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief. It was a great weekend and many memories were revived by many people.
Friday was an Open Day for the school. We teachers conducted classes in the 3Rs and other activities from a bygone era. You may remember things like Friday tests - Spelling and Dictation, Mental and Arithmetic. We had handwriting lessons - copperplate if you don't mind. I really had to brush up on that - geography mapping, handcrafts like potato printing, finger painting, cross stitch on gingham, games like marbles, Ludo, draughts, Chinese Checkers, Snakes and Ladders, Hopscotch and of course Jump Rope. Great fun and the old scholars who visited enjoyed their day back at school. Some of them had attended 70 years ago.



Jump Rope Exhibition Team






On Saturday there was a supper dance for the younger ones. Wonderful supper, just like the old barn dance suppers in the 50s and 60s - plates of sandwiches, pickled onions and gherkins on toothpicks, party pies and pasties, baby frankfurts - little boys - asparagus rolls, fairy cakes, cream puffs, meringues, brandy snaps, lamingtons and so on.

Then on Sunday the Family Picnic and Roll Call. And the oldies turned up in droves with their photos, memorabilia and stories - so many happy memories. A wonderful day and well worth the hours and hours we put into the organisation - but I am glad its over and won't have to be repeated for at least 25 years - and it won't be me doing it then!!

Back then - early fifties











And now














Liz Needle