# Field trips in school?



## NancyNGA (Apr 9, 2017)

Did anyone ever take a field trip in school?  Do you remember anything interesting about the trip?

We took one to a Coca Cola bottling company, probably in 3rd or 4th grade.  All I remember was that it was in an old dark dreary building downtown.  We went up some creaky wood stairs, to the top floor, and  watched the bottle capping machine in operation.  It looked something like this (from 1950s), only not quite so big and fancy.


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## Pappy (Apr 9, 2017)

Took one to Howes Caverns in NY state. One to WashingtonDC for, I believe, crossing guard reward. Several small trips to football games when I was in the school band. A couple to local manufacturing plants, and when I was older, went through the Utica brewing company plant. Free beer at the end.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Apr 9, 2017)

Every year we went on field trips. We are close to New York City so many times we went there. All the museums, Statue of Liberty, In the lower grades we went to a dairy farm which I loved. One trip that I remember well was to China town in NYC. We were waiting for the bus to go home right at the border of Chinatown and Little Italy. I guess the bus was late in coming and we got restless and began fooling around a bit to much. An old man who was selling vegetables etc. in Little Italy had just about enough of the rowdy kids in front of his stand. He grabbed a couple of fresh eels and threw them at us and then chased us with them for a good block. We finally all gathered back on the Chinatown side and waited quietly for the bus. Lesson learned. I have no idea where the teacher was through all this,probably to embarrassed to show her face or figured the old man was doing a better job than her controlling us.


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## Knight (Apr 9, 2017)

Our  D E [distributive Education] class took an overnight trip to Pittsburgh Pa. to attend an east coast seminar for the following day on how well D E as an innovative idea was working. The girls in their rooms the boys in their rooms. The chaperon's in their rooms. 


Since we all had jobs we all had money. Finding a wino to buy us booze was not a problem. A pharmacy close by to buy condoms not a problem. Party time. Our class missed the early morning session, and there were no pregnancies. 

Best field trip ever.


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## AprilT (Apr 9, 2017)

I grew up in NY, it was a common occurrence to go on field trips. There's hardly a landmark, museum, park we didn't explore.  There were also out of town explorations as well, places like DC, PA and other areas.  I loved field trips except going to things like the circus whether with the school or my parents, that's just one place I specifically detested and wished I could avoid.


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## NancyNGA (Apr 9, 2017)

Wow!  You guys were so lucky to go to so many different places (or at least on "exciting" trips).   I can only remember one other, in 6th grade. The important thing about that trip was they could only get 3  volunteer drivers, two with station wagons, and my dad with a pickup truck. So the girls got to ride in the back of the truck and sing _99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall._ The boys had to ride in uncool station wagons.    I don't even remember where we went.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Apr 9, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> Wow!  You guys were so lucky to go to so many different places (or at least on "exciting" trips).   I can only remember one other, in 6th grade. The important thing about that trip was they could only get 3  volunteer drivers, two with station wagons, and my dad with a pickup truck. So the girls got to ride in the back of the truck and sing _99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall._ The boys had to ride in uncool station wagons.    I don't even remember where we went.


 Yes Nancy, It wasn't a field trip if you didn't sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. I forgot all about that.


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## AprilT (Apr 9, 2017)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Yes Nancy, It wasn't a field trip if you didn't sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. I forgot all about that.




True and sometimes I still sing, but now, as a way to fall asleep at night.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 9, 2017)

We went on several over the years.

I remember a tour of the Millbrook bread bakery, they gave us each a loaf of bread at the end of the tour.

Class trip to Montreal, the hotel encouraged our chaperones to try one of Montreal's other fine hotels for future trips.

German class trip to an Oktoberfest celebration, our chaperones didn't seem to notice us sampling various German beers.

Each year at the end of school our bus driver would take us all to the local soft ice cream stand and buy us a large cone, out of his own pocket, before he started the route to take us all home.

Today many of the things I remember from those trips would have gotten people fired or arrested, it was a great time to be a kid, LOL!!!


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## Pappy (Apr 9, 2017)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Yes Nancy, It wasn't a field trip if you didn't sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. I forgot all about that.




And when we got home from a football game, we always sang, Hail to the bus driver.
Going to a game it was 99 bottles beer on the wall or found a peanut. :sentimental:


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## NancyNGA (Apr 9, 2017)

Pappy said:


> ..Going to a game it was 99 bottles beer on the wall or found a peanut. :sentimental:


_Found a peanut_?   Pappy, I've never heard of that one.  Could you elaborate?  Or maybe you shouldn't? layful:


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## RadishRose (Apr 9, 2017)

Oh geeze, Found a Peanut- hadn't thought of that in many years, LOL!

I did go on a few field trips with the 99 bottles of beer on the wall, too. But Ruth's eels beat even Knight's story!


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## Pappy (Apr 9, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> _Found a peanut_?   Pappy, I've never heard of that one.  Could you elaborate?  Or maybe you shouldn't? layful:



Okay, but you'll be sorry. And, there's a lot more. Didn't copy whole song, in fact, I don't know if it ever ends.

*[SIZE=+2]Found a Peanut[/SIZE]*_
(source: "The World's Best Funny Songs", Esther J. Nelson, 1988; also in "The Worm Song and Other Tasty Tunes", Janet Wilson, 1993, and in "The Kids' Campfire Book", Jane Drake and Ann Love, Kids Can Press, 1996.)_
[SIZE=+1]Found a peanut, found a peanut, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found a peanut last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I found a peanut. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found a peanut last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Broke it open, broke it open, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Broke it open last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I broke it open. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Broke it open last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Found it rotten, found it rotten, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found it rotten last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I found it rotten. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found it rotten last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Ate it anyway, ate it anyway, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Ate it anyway last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I ate it anyway. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Ate it anyway last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Got a tummyache, got a tummyache, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Got a tummyache last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I got a tummyache. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Got a tummyache last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Called the doctor, called the doctor, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Called the doctor last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I called the doctor. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Called the doctor last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Penicillin, penicillin, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Penicillin last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, penicillin. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Penicillin last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Wasn't working, wasn't working, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Wasn't working last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, it wasn't working. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Wasn't working last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Operation, operation, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Operation last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, an operation. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Operation last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Died anyway, died anyway, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Died anyway last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I died anyway. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Died anyway last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Wouldn't take me, wouldn't take me, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Wouldn't take me last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, they wouldn't take me. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Wouldn't take me last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Went the other way, went the other way, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Went the other way last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I went the other way. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Went the other way last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Found it all a dream, found it all a dream, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found it all a dream last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I found it all a dream. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found it all a dream last night.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Found a peanut, found a peanut, [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found a peanut last night. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Last night, I found a peanut. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]Found a peanut last night.[/SIZE]


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## RadishRose (Apr 9, 2017)

We also had "met saint Peter" after we died.


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## NancyNGA (Apr 9, 2017)

:lol: Pappy, how could you remember all those words?


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## NancyNGA (Apr 9, 2017)

RadishRose said:


> We also had "met saint Peter" after we died.


RR, is that an extra line in _Found a Peanut_, or a whole new song?  (should I ask?)


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## RadishRose (Apr 9, 2017)

Nancy, it's an extra line. After the dying part, we actually "went to heaven" (forgot that one), then "met St. Peter" then after _*that*_ (he) "wouldn't take me"..... am I right Pappy?


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## tnthomas (Apr 9, 2017)

In grade school(Los Angeles Unified School District) we went on several really cool field trips:

L.A. Zoo
La Brea tar pits
Natural History Museum .
The Andres Pico Adobe Museum
Chevrolet plant
Helms Bakery in Culver City,Ca.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Apr 9, 2017)

Oh Pappy, that peanut song must have driven the chaperon's crazy. I thought the 99 bottles of beer was a long song.


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## Capt Lightning (Apr 10, 2017)

At primary school, we used to have what was called an 'educational outing'.  These were quite good with visits to places like the local airport - into the control tower, round the airport fire station etc...  Much better was the ice cream factory where we got free samples.

We didn't have anything so exciting in senior school - except perhaps for the schools' lectures at the university.  I remember one about explosives, rocket etc...  I don't suppose they'd be allowed to give those now.

My children had it somewhat better with European trips.


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## Pappy (Apr 10, 2017)

Nancy, ......Usually we just made up our own version. I forgot to say that you sang it to the tune of, Oh, my darling, Clementine.

Another one just came to mind. The Animal Fair. Want the words?:aargh:


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## NancyNGA (Apr 10, 2017)

Pappy said:


> ....Another one just came to mind. The Animal Fair. Want the words?:aargh:



Of course, Pappy!  .. We're all adults here.  layful:....... :banana::3stooges:


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## Pappy (Apr 10, 2017)

For your singing pleasure, ma'am.
Now that I've totally screwed up the thread, I'll shut up. :sentimental:











[h=1]The Animal Fair | Lyrics[/h]
_The Animal Fair_ is a minstrel song.
[h=3]Lyrics[/h]I went to the animal fair,
The birds and the beasts were there,
The big baboon by the light of the moon
Was combing his auburn hair,
The monkey bumped the skunk,
And sat on the elephant's trunk;
The elephant sneezed and fell to his knees,
And that was the end of the monk,
The monk, the monk, the monk,
The monk, the monk, the monk.

[h=3]Alternate Lyrics[/h]I went to the animal fair,
All the birds and the beasts were there,
The big baboon by the light of the moon
Was combing his auburn hair.
You should have seen the monk,
He sat on the elephant's trunk;
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
And what became of the monk,
The monk, the monk, the monk,
The monk, the monk, the monk?
and...
I went to the Animal Fair.
The birds and the bees were there,
The big baboon by the light of the moon,
Was combing his aubern hair.
The monkey fell out of his bunk.
Slid down the elephants trunk;
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
And what became of the monkey,
Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey.

The first group then carries on while the second group sings the verse again.


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## Deucemoi (Apr 10, 2017)

yes, field trip in grade school to some caverns and we had a little ditty also,,,
it starts out
that's tough
what's tough
lifes tough
what's life
its a magazine
where do you get it
at the drugstore
how much
10 cents
i only have 5 cents
and repeat from the beginning


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## Pappy (Apr 10, 2017)

Deucemoi said:


> yes, field trip in grade school to some caverns and we had a little ditty also,,,
> it starts out
> that's tough
> what's tough
> ...



I remember that little ditty. Looooonnnngggg time ago.


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## NancyNGA (Apr 10, 2017)

I remember that one, too, Deucemoi.


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## NancyNGA (Apr 10, 2017)

Pappy said:


> For your singing pleasure, ma'am.
> Now that I've totally screwed up the thread, I'll shut up. :sentimental:



But I'm the one who first mentioned 99 Bottles. Maybe I'll post the lyrics. 
Not screwed up at all.  I like it.  :hatlaugh:


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## AprilT (Apr 10, 2017)

I need to correct my mention of the dream count down sequence and the bottles of bear; I erred, I just count down from 99, or is it 100?  No mention of beer, guess I got my songs mixed up.  :turnaround:


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## Lon (Apr 10, 2017)

I can still smell the bread from the WONDER BREAD factory field trip that I took in the first or second grade in Newark, NEW jERSEY.


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## Butterfly (Apr 11, 2017)

I wonder how many times I sang 99 bottles of beer on the wall as a kid.  About a zillion, probably.


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## Pappy (Apr 12, 2017)

RadishRose said:


> Nancy, it's an extra line. After the dying part, we actually "went to heaven" (forgot that one), then "met St. Peter" then after _*that*_ (he) "wouldn't take me"..... am I right Pappy?



Yes Rose...it goes on and on. I didn't copy the whole song. We even made up our own version.


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## NancyNGA (Apr 17, 2017)




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## RadishRose (Apr 17, 2017)

Pappy said:


> Yes Rose...it goes on and on. I didn't copy the whole song. We even made up our own version.



LOL, I'd love to hear that! (I think)


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## jujube (Apr 17, 2017)

The whole school took a full-day train trip when I was in elementary school.  I remember very little about it except we got bag lunches and ice cream cups and we were all fascinated about the fact that you could look right down through the toilets and see the railroad ties whizzing by.  I couldn't bring myself to sit on the toilet for just that reason.   The kid who always threw up at school didn't disappoint us and the porter was pissed off.  

My freshman year in high school, our "personal civics" class (sort of replaced what used to be "health class") went on a trip to the prison.  Yep, a real prison.  It was part of the "Scared Straight" program that was brand new and someone at the school thought it would be great for us to do that.  Yep, a bunch of 14-year-olds getting yelled at by prisoners.  I remember all the girls and most of the boys were crying at one point or the other.  There were several parents storming the principal's office the next day.  That was one field trip that was never repeated as far as I know.

Other than that, I know we went to the newspaper and tv station and our journalism society went to several conferences at universities.  

It wasn't a field trip, but we did have to watch a horrible movie called "Death on the Highway" in that same Personal Civics class.  Today it would be X-rated for "extreme gore and gratuitous body parts strewn across the highway" and would be considered highly unsuitable for anyone under 40.  Everyone was pretty green after it was over.


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## Giantsfan1954 (May 3, 2017)

My 8th grade Catholic school field trip to Washington DC.was cut short by Martin Luther Kings assassination. Boy did we clear out of there fast.
We also went to an,amusement park somewhere near Rye,NY,same class.
My grandma took all her grands to the Statue of Liberty every year,she was an immigrant from Scotland.
We also went to the Christmas show at Radio City...a 
In case you haven't figured it out,I'm from NYC.
Went to a Mets game in 6th grade too,zzzzzzzzz


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## Falcon (May 3, 2017)

My Ladyfriend  told me that when she was in 6th grade, her teacher  took  the class on a field trip

to a  slaughter house !  With no pre parental approval !!   What do you think of THAT ?


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## JaniceM (May 19, 2017)

Pappy said:


> Took one to Howes Caverns in NY state. One to WashingtonDC for, I believe, crossing guard reward. Several small trips to football games when I was in the school band. A couple to local manufacturing plants, and when I was older, went through the Utica brewing company plant. Free beer at the end.



My 6th-grade class trip was to Howe Caverns


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## Pappy (May 20, 2017)

JaniceM said:


> My 6th-grade class trip was to Howe Caverns



My first trip there was about the same grade. I remember how I felt getting on the elevator going down. A little scary at first. Fun time though.


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## jujube (May 20, 2017)

My late husband told me that his senior class trip was to a religious retreat in Atlantic City (oh, man, what a HIGHLY APPROPRIATE place for a religious retreat, huh?), where they all got to confess to Bishop Fulton Sheen.

I mean, how're ya gonna hold 'em down on the farm, after they've seen the lights of ..... uh.....St. Aloyisius the Shoeless and Selfless Repentant's Retreat Center?


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## Furryanimal (Oct 14, 2018)

Just seen this.British school trips-our primary school took us to Barry Island -a seaside resort that we all went to many times in our childhood.Cheddar caves and Weston-Super-Mare-another seaside resort -and Bristol Zoo were also visited once they built a bridge across the Bristol Channel.I remember us all getting excited about going over the Severn Bridge for the first time.These were end of year trips and no one was bothered if they were educational.
In secondary school i remember going to London where we were all left outside the Tower and then left to our own devices.Everyone made it back for the bus home.I took myself on a trip down the Thames to Greenwich.
As a teacher took kids to explore the Roman remains in Caerleon and got to go to Longleat on a steaming hot day.


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## hearlady (Oct 15, 2018)

We went to the Boston Museum of Science several times. I loved the Planetarium.
In high school I went to France for a week as part of Culinary Arts class.
Salem, Ma. to see House of the Seven Gables, etc.
I don't remember any others


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## dkay (Oct 15, 2018)

I was in the history club in eighth grade and we took a trip to Higbee valley, picketwire canyon , pinon canyon in SE Colorado. We saw an old stone structure shaped like a cross that was used by the Pentitentes, a Hispanic religious group that was once popular in the area. Our history teacher talked about all the legends and lore for that group. Then we climbed up some high mesas where we got to see some Native American Petroglyphs. That was followed by a visit to some dinosaur tracks. It was a great trip and very educational.


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## Trade (Oct 15, 2018)

In elementary school we went to the Clearwater Marina which was about 3 miles from the school. It looks like a pretty cool place in the Movie Dolphin Tale with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, but back in the 50's it was just a room with some stuffed fish on the wall. 

Then in junior high they took us over to Florida Southern College in Lakeland to see the science fair stuff that was on display there. I remember the teacher made a big deal out of the fact that a lot of the college's  buildings had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I didn't see what the big deal was. I thought they were butt ugly. I later found out that Frank Lloyd Wright was pretty much an arrogant butthole in real life, so up his nose with a rubber hose. 

Then in high school biology class we walked over to the little pond in the patch of woods next to the school to look for biology things like frogs and whatnot. I don't know if you would call that a field trip. The thing I remember about that pond is that one of our football players dove in and hit a submerged log and messed his neck up bad. He was out of school for a long time and then came back wearing a neck brace. He never played football again. Every time I think about diving or jumping into water I think about Roddy Dear. The lesson is always make sure that where you are diving is clear of stuff that could hurt you. I guess Roddy recovered eventually. But I see on our reunion site that he passed away in 2009 from cancer.  That would have made him 62 when he died. That sucks. 

That's another thing that will make you feel old. Seeing obituaries of people that were your peers back in the day.


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## Butterfly (Oct 15, 2018)

I don't think we had any field trips when I was in school back in the dark ages.


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## Trade (Oct 20, 2018)

I just remembered another one. Actually I did not go on it. Our High School Spanish class had a field trip where they went to Las Novedades Restaurant in Ybor City for Dinner.  

http://www.tampapix.com/lasnovedades.htm

The class was supposed to go the whole evening speaking only Spanish. Solamente Espanol. The cost of the field trip was 10 bucks and in 1965 that was a big chuck of dough, so I opted out. Our Spanish teacher was Old Lady Munson. My buddy Larry who was also in that class once drew a caricature of her on the cover of his Spanish notebook with the caption "Old Lady Munson is a tough old bird". One day Old Lady Munson saw it and she wasn't too pleased with it. But she was a tough old bird. She had moved down to Florida from New York City and you know what those New Yorkers are like. Old Lady Munson was probably only about 38 years old. Here's her picture from our yearbook: 



But 38 is older than dirt to a High School student. But I digress. 


  As I said I didn't go on the trip. As I have said before my mom was a single mom with an 8th grade education waiting tables at greasy spoons for nickel and dime tips. I did not want to ask her for 10 bucks so I could go eat at the fanciest restaurant in Ybor  City. But one thing I do remember is that some of the kids that went on the field trip stole silverware as souvenirs. But they got caught. When the restaurant people complained about the missing silverware Old  Lady Munson, tough old bird that she was, got the guilty parties to fess up.


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## Olivia (Oct 20, 2018)

I understand about the money thing. In my sewing class when I was about thirteen at Tacoma, we were supposed to buy fabric to sew a blouse. But knowing about money problems (my dad being in the military at the time) I wasn't about to ask for that and I got in trouble with the teacher. I think I finally got the fabric although I don't remember how.


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