The "The New Guy On The Block: Part III" Story

MJ Brecht as it appears today.

It was an ordinary day.  Snapping photo- graphs of Brecht Elementary School in Mannheim Township which is located on RT. 501 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Beautiful school that first opened its doors on September 4, 1929.  

The original M.J. Brecht looks the same as today.

The school was built due to the overcrowding of four smaller elementary schools - Oreville School, which was near what is now Long's Park on what was known as the Harrisburg Turnpike; Dillerville School, which was at the intersection of Dillerville and Loop Roads; Fruitville School which was little more than a crossroads that took its name from orchards in the area and gave its name to the toll road that went through it on the way to  Mannheim Borough; and Roseville School which was located in a village of the same name along what was then known as the Lancaster-Ephrata Turnpike.  

Jere, my lifelong friend who went to Brecht with me
made an HO scale replica of the school for his train yard. 

M.J. Brecht Elementary School opened the same day that the new Mannheim Township High School in Neffsville, PA opened.  It had to share the spotlight with the high school even though it was noteworthy by itself.  

Mr. Milton J. Brecht

The school was given the name in honor of Milton J. Brecht who was the Superintendent of Lancaster County Schools from 1883 to 1911.  Mr. Brecht began teaching in Rapho township at the age of 16 and attended Millersville Normal School during the Spring semester.  Millersville was at the time a teacher preparatory school and is now part of the PA State University system and is known as Millersville University.  When I was a student at the school it was known as Millersville State Teachers College.  Shortly after gradating from Millersville, Brecht was asked to assume the Principalship of Mannheim Borough Schools. He later taught at Soldiers' Orphan School in Mount Joy as well as serving as the Lancaster County Superintendent.  

Sign on the railroad bridge we had to cross while walking
to school.  We walked to school from age 6 to 12.
 I was a Safety Patrolman at the busy intersection
of Duke and McGoven Ave.

Mr. Brecht loved music and wished that music and art instruction were available in all of the schools in the county.  The architect of the Milton J. Brecht School was Lancaster's own, Henry Y. Shaub.  He designed the school to look like an English Manor house using the English Tudor style of architecture.  It was rectangular in shape with the gymnasium on one end and was designed as a replica of a banquet hall.  It also contained a library which made it the only elementary school library in the county with a library.  

Mrs. Good's 1st grade class.  I am in back row, far left,
while Jere is seated in front row far right.  Another friend,
Bill, who moved to another district after 1st grade, but is
still a good friend living in Texas and who recently made a
visit to my home is seated in front row, third from right.  My
childhood sweetheart, Marilyn is seated dead center front row.
Click on images to enlarge them.

The school didn't have many books when it first opened so students were asked to bring in their favorite books and curios from home to fill the shelves.  One boy was said to have donated a hornet's nest that allegedly was empty.  One day a few hornets appeared, but the custodian disposed of the nest before anyone was stung.  The design of the school had two classrooms of each grade from 1 to 6 with a library, gymnasium with stage and offices.  The cafeteria was in the basement as well as the boiler room.  

This photo is front left of the school and Jere and I
am standing by the door.  Taken a few years ago when
we went back to walk around the school.  Jere was a teacher
and also in charge of grounds at Mannheim Township
 while I was a teacher at the school for over 30 years.

I began school at Brecht Elementary in 1949, twenty years after it opened.  I lived near the Lancaster Train Station and had to walk to school every day for six years.  The trek was a bit over a mile and along busy Route 501 which carried traffic and a walkway over the electrified trains.  I can still remember the "Danger Live Wire Keep Off" sign on the bridge.  We often would take metal cans and toss them over the sign to see if we could see sparks.  

This is the walk on the bridge over the
train tracks as it looks today.  Scary walk
for young children as I remember.

Asking children to walk that distance on a busy highway today would be frowned upon.  A few memories from my time at MJ Brecht would be: (1) My mother inviting the school Principal to supper a few times a year; (2) Having to hold my hands under cold water a few times during the winter due to frost bite from the long walk to school, (3) Receiving my school patrolmen Lieutenant badge at an assembly, (4). Throwing spitballs in 3rd grade and having to stay in at recess until I could fill up the trash can with them which took over a week, (5) Hiding the National Geograpic magazines that had half-naked women in them in the library so I knew where they were located (I wasn't the only one by the way), (6) Taking a peek through the keyhole that connected the girls and boys lockerrooms after gym class when all students, boys and girls, had to shower (again, I wasn't the only one who did this and many a time I would look through and see an eye staring back at me,

View of the beautiful school from the north-east side or front of the school.
The building on the far right was added later and not part of the original school.
The right-front side is where the gym was located or what was known as the banquet hall in
English Manor architecture.

( 7) Watching one of the guys I walked to school with hide behind a tree on the playground and smoke a cigarette during lunch recess, (8) getting my polio shot after standing in line in the hallway, waiting my turn, 

The brick detail with slate roof and wooden beams are part of the English Manor architecture.

(9) Being picked to sit in the office and answer the phone when it rang during times that Mr. Bucher, the principal, was out of the office and (10) Having creamed peas and eggs on toast for lunch a few times a month in the cafeteria.  After I was married it was mandatory for my wife to learn how to make this fantastic meal so I could relive my elementary school years.  An interesting six years at Brecht Elementary in a beautiful building that was one of the best in Lancaster County at the time I was there.  

This is the rear of the school.  All of this has been added to the original school, but has kept the same architecture.  The design and detail is as beautiful as the original building.

The school has been increased in size to almost double the space during a few renovations the past 20 years.  The same style structure was added to match that which was done by architect Henry Y. Shaub.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.