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 The name has long been replaced by backpack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.
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