The day this column is published — March 6 — will also be the day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Maurice Hawk School on Clarksville Road in West Windsor. The school’s PTA has arranged a gala to be celebrated at the Mercer Oaks Golf Club from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
When it opened in 1965, the Maurice Hawk School provided classes for kindergarten through fourth grade West Windsor students, although some fifth and sixth graders also went there. After finishing at Hawk everyone went on to the Dutch Neck School, where they completed eighth grade and then went on to Princeton High School.
The other school in West Windsor then was the Penns Neck School near the intersection of Alexander Road and Route 1. It had been built in 1917 at the same time as the Dutch Neck School and was similar in appearance. It served students in kindergarten through third grade. It was torn down after it was no longer needed when the district expanded after regionalization and after the intersection at Route 1 and Alexander Road was rebuilt with an overpass. Before regionalization, the only school in Plainsboro was the Wyckoff School.
Even before the Hawk school was completed and occupied it was obvious that it would not be large enough to accommodate the number of students who would be expected from the new residential development that had started to burgeon in West Windsor as farm after farm came into the hands of developers.
As a result the school board began the process of having an addition designed and built. Since I had two children in the new school I became involved in the planning for the addition, and within a couple of years decided to run for the school board. I felt that the board had not given enough thought to the effects of the new development and the enrollment increase that would result. I also felt that the board was not giving enough attention to the possibility that we would have to leave Princeton High School in the not-too-distant future. It was the reality of that possibility that led to the regionalization of West Windsor and Plainsboro.
Once the Hawk school was completed it was admired by many for the fact that it contained so many — for us — new and modern features. For example the kindergarten area was in an open-space plan, and there was actually a separate room to serve as a library. A separate library in an elementary school was quite unusual at that time. Elementary schools were supposed to have classrooms and a lunchroom. If you were lucky, maybe you would have a gymnasium or auditorium. But that was it.
In its large multi-purpose room, however, the Hawk school had them all — and a library. The library was so nice, in fact, that the school board started to have its meetings there. It was to be a few more years before a real library was added to the Dutch Neck school, though one of the classrooms had been used for that purpose for a few years. Another of the new activities in the schools that got started at the Hawk school was the band. Alma Steedman started it in fourth grade. I don’t remember what happened to it when the kids went on to Dutch Neck, however.
The new Hawk school was attended by an active PTA, and a very popular program for students and parents was started — the Annual PTA Fair. Each spring the parking lot on Clarksville Road next to the building was taken over by the PTA, which set up tables, chairs, tents, and other special equipment to support a variety of activities that were designed to encourage joint participation by parents and students — and even teachers.
There were games of all kinds, baked goods for sale, hands-on art activities for both parents and students, and — best of all — a dunking pool. For this a “victim” was chosen or volunteered to sit in a seat over a large plastic swimming pool full of water. The seat was fitted with a plywood disc that acted as a target and which, if hit by a suitable missile — such as a bean bag — would make the seat tip over and cause the seated victim to fall into the water.
I was talked into volunteering for this “activity” once, and was duly dunked — I don’t remember who it was that hit the target, but it wasn’t so bad. Of course, as a school board member, I had anticipated being a “victim” of this stunt and dressed accordingly.
My other personal activity at the fair was as a cartoonist. At the time the “magic marker” type felt-tip pens were a brand new item on the market, and it wasn’t long before they started to be used to create “tattoo” designs on arms and legs. The kids used to stand in line to get Snoopy and other such characters drawn on their hands, knees, and foreheads.
It was fun for me, but some parents were very concerned about how to remove the cartoons when they got home. I was no expert on the subject so I tried to reassure them that the cartoon wouldn’t last very long. I never heard any complaints later on.
Although it did not involve the Hawk school, another important part of the school program in those days was “outdoor education.” This was a special program for sixth graders, who attended the Dutch Neck school at that time. Each spring, after the weather had become spring-like, the entire sixth grade student body was taken by bus to a large campsite in northern New Jersey. I don’t know how we had the use of the campground, but we used it for many years for two nights each spring.
The students were divided up into groups of about five or six and each group had its own cabin for the night along with an adult counselor. I served as a counselor when my son was finishing up sixth grade in 1972. The cabins were called “hogans” after the cabins used by the Navaho.
I have to admit that my recollection of how meals were prepared and served is very limited so I will have to omit any details. And I’m not sure if all the students had to supply their own sleeping bags. But the whole experience seemed to be very worthwhile, and the students were enthusiastic during the classes conducted by the teachers. Of course, the teaching emphasis was on natural science study dealing with plants, trees, and wildlife.
I cannot discuss the PTA fair or outdoor education without mentioning the outstanding contributions made to both of these school programs by the late Dick Harbourt, the parent of several students and the owner of a trucking company. His efforts were essential. He transported much of the equipment for both programs from his residence, where he kept everything in his garage at home or at the trucking terminal where he kept his vehicles.
We also had the benefit of help from some of his company personnel. At some point, after interest in both activities had lessened, Dick decided to run for the school board. He joined me on the regional board in 1977. Starting in 1979, he served as president for eight years, and was on the board for a total of 13 years. The PTA fair and outdoor education were just two of the benefits his service brought to the school district and the community during that time.
