We Miss You Burnt Umber

Somewhere in this country are a row of massive warehouses that are color coded. They are the seasonal warehouses that store all of the stuff that miraculously appears in stores each season and then disappears for a year.  The bright green warehouse is full of the nation’s St. Patrick’s Day promotional items such as leprechaun hats and inflatable beer steins.  The orange one, of course, stores all of the needed Halloween costumes and candy corn. Then there’s the pink one full of unsold Valentine’s Day candy and the green Christmas warehouse full of – well – Christmas stuff.

   This thought came to me as I wandered through the back to school aisle at our local Target.  “Where did all of this come from?” I thought. Last week there were beach balls and sunscreen. Now the aroma of crayons can be detected four rows away.

   I suppose they come from the school bus yellow warehouse that hold school supplies for millions of students.

  The ongoing pandemic has thrown a curve to parents and children alike, but school is now in session (in the kitchen or the classroom) and some fresh supplies can start the year with a positive attitude.

   I know it always helped me forget about the nee d of the summer. I don’t recall school supply shopping being such an event when I was a little rascal but I sure remember new school supplies.

  The big ticket item for me was always the book bag.  The name has long been replaced by backpack but there was a time when students looked as though they were heading to a bowling alley instead of a mountain hike.  Little kids carried handled vinyl bags with Fred Flintstone or Barbie while high school bag were two-tone with the school logo and colors on the side.

   Maybe what made school supplies so exciting was how good they looked compared to last year’s supplies.  Erasers and glue were not attractive by the end of school.  We had used or eaten most of the non-toxic paste and the Elmer’s Glue was permanently sealed at the nozzle. Stick erasers were either broken in half or covered with a slick coating of dirt and grease from the bottom of the book bag.

   The yellow #2 Ticonderga pencil and clear Bic pens were standard issue on the 1960’s supply list.  Marble composition notebooks, stacks of 3-ring binder paper and theme tablets also topped the list.

   One special pen that we all received in grammar school supposedly taught us “The Palmer Method” of handwriting.  The long slender pen was also perfect for gnawing on as we practiced rounding out our cursive letters. I am sure that my handwriting would be more graceful if I hadn’t chewed my pens down to the refill each year.

   The king of all school supplies was the new box of Crayola Crayons. Whether it was a set of eight or 64 (sharpener included), the yellow and green box of perfectly formed crayons meant school was about to start.  By the school year’s end, they were banished to the teacher’s crayon bucket of lost (crayon) souls.

   Many school supply items have changed through the years but a crayon is still a crayon.   No matter what color they are, crayons have a distinctive feel and smell that can instantly transport adults back to their childhood.

   According to Crayola’s official history, Edwin Binney and Harold Smith invented crayons in 1903.  The line was expanded from 8 to 48 colors in the 1940’s and again to 64 colors in 1958.  Along the way colors such as Prussian Blue, Indian Red and Flesh were dropped. Others like Orange-Red, Blue-Grey and Burnt Umber were “retired” and added to the Crayola Hall of Fame – seriously.  

   There is a sense of optimism and hope when you crack open those school supplies in August. You might sharpen your favorite pencil and imagine the blank notebook page as a metaphor for the new school year. Then again maybe it’s just writer’s block.

   Either way, have a great school year kids and remember - don’t chew your pens.