This Park Is Closed

Photo series accompanied by childhood memories

Lots of places are closed right now due to the coronavirus, school being one of them. 

Each school is its own little micro-world, where Mac’nCheese Mondays and assemblies ruled supreme. Where wood-chips became lava and monkey bars could land you in the Amazon. Where there was a black market for Goldfish and Gushers that existed for a brief twenty minutes during lunch.

For school to close for a snow day was a rarity, for school to close for more than a month is an unprecedented disruption. Schools represent educational stability in a young person’s life as well as stability in the ecosystem of a community. 

I’ve collected several memories from individuals describing a titular moment from their elementary school days to accompany photos of closed-off elementary school playgrounds near me: Virginia Lake, Jane Addams, and Sanborn.

Some memories could do us some good. They’re a little happy, a little sad, and some are simply hilarious.

“One of my favorite memories was our assistant principal in elementary school. He had a nickname for every kid. Mine was Emeneezer Pumpkin Tweezer.” - Alum of Croninger Elementary School, Fort Wayne IN

“One of my best friend’s family were migrant workers, and so for the winter she would move back to Florida/Mexico. I remember being in first grade writing letters back and forth. I might even still have a couple of them somewhere.” - Alum of Old Mission Peninsula School, Traverse City MI

“Our principal would always sing a song to us when we wore new shoes. It would go:

‘New shoes, new shoes,

I can’t believe my eyes,

Betsi has new shoes on,

oh what a big surprise’

It was so nice to feel noticed even if sometimes you just wanted to be quiet. But it also taught me to enjoy the little things in life.” - Alum of Calvin Christian Elementary School, Wyoming MI

“Ok so a memory: I went to Immanuel Lutheran in Batavia, Illinois and a memory I have was I asked the lead pastor if dogs go to heaven or not. He didn’t even flinch when he said no. I was so disappointed.” - Alum of Immanuel Lutheran, Batavia IL

“I started a brand new school in second grade and I was so reluctant to go. I didn’t know any of my new teachers, I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t know where the bathrooms were, etc. By the end of the school year, I was sobbing because I had to leave school three days early for summer break. We were going back to Guatemala to visit family, but I didn’t want to say goodbye to my new friends and teachers!” - Alum of Breton Downs Elementary, East Grand Rapids MI

“What I remember most about elementary school was the relationships I made with my teachers. I really looked up all of them!” - Alum of Grace Christian School, MI

“My mom had always been pretty strict about giving my siblings and I healthy snacks and lunches to bring with us to school. Carrots, grapes, etc. My 1st grade teacher had us all make sure we had a small snack to have for story time.

My classmate, Rimi, always had the same snack everyday, too. Hers was a strawberry granola/yogurt bar. It looked heavenly compared to my grapes. Fortunately, Rimi got the hint (I was not a shy kid). She offered to trade snacks one day when I had the most boring snack, but I immediately accepted. The problem was, the cheesecake bar was far too delicious for my own good. I ended up asking Rimi to trade a few more times after that; she always happily said yes. I just really appreciated her kindness to me.” - Gower West Elementary School, IL

“I was never a very popular child, so I tended to be a little socially starved. One day in second grade I ended up playing with a bunch of kids at recess (this was big for me) and was having a blast. At one point, I felt the urge to go to the bathroom, but ignored my body’s warning call because I was having so much fun. 

“At a certain point you can’t ignore Mother Nature and I decided that it was time to seek out a bathroom. I went to the underclass doors but was told by the hall monitor that I couldn’t enter through these doors and that I had to use the other entrance, way on the other side of the playground. I waddled my way over uncomfortably. Once inside, I sprinted for the bathroom. I tried to open the stall, but the door seemed to be locked. I checked underneath the stall door and couldn’t see anyone in there, so I assumed the door was jammed. Desperate at this point, I decided to crawl under the stall door to get in. As I slid on my tummy I could feel something slide down my jeans. I just crapped my pants.

“As I sat on the toilet, I heard a couple of older kids enter the bathroom to shout out ‘someone shit in the bathroom.’ I hid in the stall until the coast was clear. Then I sauntered back outside and pretended like nothing had happened.

“When I got back inside my teacher, Mrs. Kosta, noticed a distinct smell and that it was coming from my pants. Absolutely mortified with a whole classroom of eyes on me, I had to think on my feet. So I blurted out a lie, ‘I stepped in dog poop at recess!’ Luckily Mrs. Kosta sent me down the nurses office to get a new pair of pants. One of my classmates said he thought that it looked like human poo and I told him to keep his goddamn opinions to himself.

“To this day, I’ve never told another soul. I literally thought I was going to take this story with me to the grave, so you’re welcome.” - Alum of Paddock Elementary School, IL