Ardenwald Elementary

I went to Ardenwald from 1992 to 1998. I went there when it was kindergarten through sixth grade.

A teacher who I will never forget was Mr. Orr. I had him for fourth grade. He was pretty strict and orderly, and I loved learning math and history from him. He gave everybody a nickname by the end of the school year.

I didn’t really have a favorite lunch. School pizza is always pretty memorable dipping it in ranch sauce.

During recess, I played football and soccer a lot. We had two baseball diamonds, and sometimes we would play kickball when it was nice out. 

I remember joining Milwaukee high school‘s band and we would do a parade all throughout Milwaukie.  They would shut down the streets and kids got to ride their bikes behind the marching band. It was so cool to see all your neighbors when you would walk by. After that, we would meet at Ardenwald  in the big front yard and have Popsicles or ice cream. It was just like a fun social event for the neighborhood. 

1. What years did you attend Ardenwald Elementary? 

I went to school at Arendwald from 4th-6th 1989-93

2. What was the name of a teacher or staff member who you'll never forget? What made them so special?

Mr. Oliver my 4th grade teacher was wonderful! Mr. Z our PE teacher Mr Saunders taught 6th grade but not mine. Our teachers switched classes during math.

I remember Mrs Cope!

Mrs Devillin the recess lady

And many others I've forgotten names to but we're wonderful.

3. What was your favorite lunch at Ardenwald?

Chicken a-la-king

And the BBQ at the end of the year

4. What do you remember doing during recess? Did you have a favorite game? Tetherball and 4 square

Mr Oliver would sometimes come out and push us really high on the swings, that was special.

We had a long metal slide....so it got piping hot.

Our old logo was a bomb in the school mailbox.  Apparently, before my time, there was a bomb threat and after huddling inside the gym for a long time. Mr Oliver went outside and saw that it was a hoax. I kind of want that old tshirt logo!

I grew up on 36th Ave two houses from Roswell. I went to Ardenwald from Kindergarten through sixth grade from 1976 to 1983. My favorite teacher by far was Mrs. King, I had her for Kindergarten and 2nd grade. She was a sweet lady and you could tell she really cared about her students. Mrs. King made us all laugh when she’d have trouble getting the reel-to-reel tape to work on the projector. I never ate the school lunch, I took mine everyday in the old metal lunch box, Six Million Dollar Man or something similar. Daily recess was like a scene from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, definitely a survival of the fittest situation. We played on the multi-story metal monkey bars and swing sets, red rover red rover, there was a sandbox on the back of the property, kickball and anything and everything else on the blacktop, playshed and grass field. I think the best thing about going to Ardenwald Elementary was the variety of opportunities for kids to get involved. We had school sports teams, band, after school fairs, the library, plays, cooking, etc… Also, my 6th grade year we buried a time capsule but I’m not sure what happened to it after we left.

The mural outside the kindergarten classroom in the annex with Mrs. King was new when I started school. I always loved her warm smile. 

My sixth grade class with Mrs. Hanthorn was in the same room. I tend to think of that space as bookends for my years there.  I can boast that I had perfect attendance and was presented with an Ardenwald All Stars t-shirt on the last day of school. Yes, I still have it. 

I think my strongest memory of Mrs. Hanthorn’s class was doing a bit of hand work, like card weaving or stitching or knitting, while she read to us in the afternoons. My Side of the Mountain was one title and another was Owls in the Family. As an avid reader, I remember connecting with her about the author of Owls, Farley Mowat, persuading her to read us a chapter or two of The Dog who Wouldn’t Be.  I remember how utterly pleased I was when she thanked me, for reminding her how much she enjoyed it.  

Although we didn’t have an art specialist in the building we did a lot of arts related activities both inside and outside of the classroom. The district Art center, across from the high school, was a destination for  field trips and for workshops with visiting artists. I have a poetry book compiled from student work after a poet came to work with us around 1976. My mom, Pat Rainhold, started working occasionally as a classroom volunteer (“helping out,” as she would say) when I started school. Later, as a young adult I could stop by Mrs. Howe’s room most afternoons to find Pat curled up on the couch with Tyson the dog at her feet as she helped a young person with their math. 

Mrs. Howe, ever a pillar of support, kept in touch with me for many years, even after I moved to New York. I still have a reference letter she wrote for me, describing me as a creative and diligent student. I was thrilled when Mrs. Klaus, our librarian, made it possible for me to meet Beverly Cleary at a special event downtown. 

Lunch? I thought Sloppy Joe’s were delicious but the real treat was getting chocolate milk once a month.  I spilled chili down the front of my shirt the first time I ate in the cafeteria, but lucky me it was the 1970s so the polyester knit lived to see another day. I still have my metal lunchbox (The Waltons) as well as my brother’s (the Six Million Dollar Man). When I think of recess I think of the play shed and Ms. Hunt trying to herd us inside when the spring storms rolled through. I decorated my bike for the Ardenwald Kids Parade a handful of times. On my last day of sixth grade my brother Karl and I rode a tandem bike to school. The Ardenwald community has such a rich history. I’m proud to be an All-Star.