Andy and Galoots,

Like many here on the porch, shop class was one of my favorite parts of
3 years spent at Fassett Junior High school in Oregon, Ohio (suburb of
Toledo) from 1967 to 1969. Shop was required for 7th and 8th grade and
an elective 9th through senior year. Because of scheduling conflicts, I
was never able to take shop after 8th grade. Our program consisted of 12
weeks of drafting, wood shop and metal shop both years. I actually have
several of the items that we made including a waste pan and tool tote
that I still use in my shop.

Drafting was probably my least favorite subject, but the one that had
the biggest impact on me. In wood shop, we did some turning on a lathe
and used some of the power tools under the close supervision of the
teacher, but what I remember most is the extensive use of sand paper on
all projects, no planes or scrapers for us, just hours of sanding. Maybe
that is where I developed my strong distaste for it. I never thought too
much about how we finished our projects until my first use of shellac
several years ago, opening the can took me right back to the shop
finishing room in 1967.

My best memory of metal shop was the last day of class in 8th grade. Mr.
Seckel, a crusty old guy, had one hard, fast rule, if you didn't wear
safety glasses, you received a wack(our term for a swat with a long
wooden paddle). The shop teachers usually had the most elaborate paddles
in the school with a nice finish and holes drilled in strategic
locations to cut down on wind resistance. Anyways, on the last day of
class, about 6 or 7 of us decided not to wear our safety glasses and to
take the wack because Mr. Seckel just gave you a sort of easy tap rather
than a serious wack that brought welts like some of the other teachers.
He lined us all up (including one kid that actually forgot to wear his
safety glasses by mistake) and gave us each an easy swat. All of us,
including Mr. Seckel were kind of laughing about it except for the kid
who forgot his glasses, he started to cry. Mr. Seckel told everyone to
go to their seats except the kid who forgot his glasses, he was to stay
put. Mr. Seckel went into the tool room and came out with a set of
bellows which he used to cool Alan's butt down. The rest of the class
broke up with laughter.

Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi.


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