This first large group photo depicts older students very nicely dressed I might say and standing on the steps in front of the public school in Stone Harbor, N. J. Having been a teacher of Junior High and High School students over 34 years myself, I am particularly drawn to this image. In a sense I might say this photo speaks to me! What do I mean by this?
Allow me to explain. Look at the faces of each and every one of these young persons as they are about to move on to the next stage of their lives – a rite of passage one might say. When I look at these young students I am reminded of a very popular and even classic 1989 movie that I saw. In fact, I even showed this outstanding film to some of my own senior high school students. The title of that film was “Dead Poets Society”.
I am sure that many of you will remember having seen this very movie starring Robin Williams who played the role of a new English teacher by the name of John Keating teaching in an all-boys preparatory school. In carrying his lessons Mr. Keating used some rather unorthodox methods to reach out to his students. You may even recall the overall message of Carpe Diem or “Seize the Day”. Before I digress any further, I will get to the point I wish to make here.
At one point during the movie, teacher Keating takes a class of his boys to a glass display case in the school hallway that houses sports trophies as well as photos of former young students who attended the prep school many years ago. He asked, even implored his boys to carefully look at each student in one particular photo. He says to them: “If you listen real close boys, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you”. Then Keating pauses for a moment and there is silence. He continues and says to them: “Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it?” It is indeed a powerful moment and hopefully it will be a powerful lesson for these young lads. Teacher Keating, when all the boys are focused and looking intently at the former students in the photo, says to them in a very low and almost haunting whispering voice: “Carpe!” (pause) “Hear it?” (pause again) “Carpe! Carpe diem!” (another pause) “Seize the day, boys! Make your lives extraordinary!” Do you remember this very moment in the movie?
I can only imagine as we today in the year 2025 look upon this marvelous photo of these Stone Harbor boys and girls about to move on with their lives perhaps a hundred or more years ago, we too might repeat the very same words that John Keating uttered to his students. Hopefully you, my readers, can recognize the intended and inherent message that I am trying to convey here. Anyway, in my own defense, I must admit: “Once a teacher, always a teacher!” Perhaps you might have heard that old adage before.
This second image shows a small group of 10 somewhat younger school children seated on the steps at the school in Stone Harbor in the year 1922.
The third image here is what I consider to be an extraordinary photo showing another class of Stone Harbor students from the 1920s. This image is especially nice because it contains the personally penned or individually handwritten name of each of the students depicted. Just might anyone gazing upon this photo happen to recognize someone? By the way, it just so happens the classroom teacher is also pictured and so identified. She is named Miss McCormick and is seated in the back row, second in from the left. If only we could know something about the lives of each of these young boys and girls. I think learning such details would be fascinating.
Our fourth and final image depicts yet another group of students sitting on those all familiar school steps in front of Stone Harbor’s school. All we know is that it shows the Class of 1944. Does anyone have anything to add regarding this particular photograph?