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OK, we had
survived Biology, but Chemistry lurked just around the corner. I mean, Biology
was one thing.
There was a clearly defined organization of the animal and plant world; you were
dealing with things
that you could see (and smell) in that dissection dish; in short, you could put
your hands on it.
But Chemistry? ... atoms, molecules, compounds ... electron clouds, valences,
molar and molal solutions
(never could understand the difference), Avogadro's Number ..... it was all too
.... well, too invisible.
You had to take it all on faith. |
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NOTE: Dave's remark concerning grammatical construction refers to the fact that the two of us are among the very few people still alive who blanche at the thought of dangling participles. Dave credits Mrs. Cameron and Mrs. Wright for thorough grounding in sentence diagramming. I credit my parents, grandmother, and a trio of aunts who responded to incorrect grammar as something as serious as moral transgression. - Carol Buckley Harty of NC - 05/10/03 |
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Do you remember Paul Baker ('62) who lived at
the corner of Chestnut Avenue and 18th Street in
Stuart Gardens?
- Craig Miller ('63) of FL - 01/09/04 |
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Unlike Dave and Craig, my memories of Mrs. Baker and her E Period chemistry class my sophomore year - through no fault of hers - belong in the nightmare category. I had no business being there in the first place. I was only there because in the seventh grade at Walter Reed, I was a pet of Mrs. Forbes. That's a wonderfully heady experience, but I had no scientific aptitude, inclinations or skills whatsoever, nor have I acquired any in the last 40 years. Nevertheless, Mrs. Forbes, bless her heart, recommended me for advanced placement in the science program - so there I was. I never caught the vision of chemistry, and had not a clue what was happening. My only salvation was that I could memorize easily, if briefly (would that I still had that gift!). Back in those days, the grading system was much stiffer than our children and grandchildren unfortunately "enjoy" today. But by memorizing almost everything I need to know, I missed an A for the first six weeks by only one point. The next two grading periods I maintained that solid B average. The comprehensive exam was another matter, of course. There was no way my brain could remember that much material, and I certainly didn't know it at all. So I earned a D on the exam, and that reduced my semester average to a C. Tsk, tsk. And then came the second semester. In January of 1963, a variety of unpleasant and unrelated factors converged upon me, and I seemed to have suffered a delayed reaction to my father's death in April of 1960. I went into deep mourning, and refused to do much of anything - including studying or even attending school. My attendance record - or lack thereof - became legendary. Now, I could bluff my way through Mrs. Sturm's English 5-6 and Mr. Wilson's Band 5-6 (though I dropped rather ignominiously and embarrassingly to last chair flute), and even Mrs. Clark's French 3-4, but certainly not Mrs. Baker's chemistry 1-2. It didn't help that my lab partner suddenly decided he hated me, and began treating me very shabbily - to such an extent that the other students took notice and chastised him for it, but to no avail. (Mark that as one of Life's Great Mysteries; I never discovered the reason behind his abrupt change of attitude, as he refused to ever talk to me again.) By this time, I still managed a B every marking period, but was obviously falling deeper and deeper into a large pit. When time came for the comprehensive exam in May, even though my mental health had somewhat improved, I was doomed. I knew nothing of chemistry - absolutely nothing. When she returned the exams, Mrs. Baker announced to the class that it was absolutely the worst exam she had seen in all her years of teaching. With a straight B average, and such a tremendously spectacular F on the exam, she had no choice but to give me a D in the class, for my ignorance of the subject matter was wildly apparent. I was grateful for the D. It meant I didn't have the repeat the awful experience. - Carol Buckley Harty of NC - 01/31/04 |
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...I will have to get in touch with David Spriggs also. I haven't heard from Dave since chemistry class. He has done a lot of research and provided some real good information. I was surprised to read my name as the class clown in his article on Mrs. Baker, our chemistry teacher. I don't remember making the bird calls, but I do remember hooking up one of the girl's Bunsen burners to the water faucet. I'm not sure, but I think it was Harriet Bolden. When she turned it on it became a lawn sprinkler. It was wonderful. Mrs.. Baker, however, didn't think so. Mrs.. Baker never punished me for any of those jokes and pranks. She always treated me with kindness and patience. I think she thought of me as her "Special" student...
- Jim Brinkley of IA - 03/11/04 |
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As a 10th
grader, I had no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. (Did any of us?)
Then came Mrs. Baker's Chemistry class. Her slightly scatter-brained, klutzy way
of doing things
(and that IS meant lovingly) gave those of us who tended to be class clowns
plenty of chances to cut up. However, her obvious enthusiasm for chemistry was infectious, and I fell in love with the subject, ending up with A's. I went on to get a degree in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, and worked in the field full-time until 1987. I still do consulting work in that area. So I am eternally grateful to her for the spark she lit in me. One of the most satisfying moments of my life came a few years back, when I visited someone at Riverside Hospital. I stopped at the front desk to get their room number, and there was Mrs. Baker doing volunteer work, manning the front desk! That was the first I had seen or heard of her since I left NNHS in 1958. I chatted with her a few minutes, and got the chance to personally thank her for what she had done for me. She got rather teary-eyed, and to be honest, so did I. I am so very happy and thankful that I got the chance to do that, for she truly was the one teacher who made the biggest difference in my life. - Ronald T. Miller Class of 1959 (but moved away in 1958) - 06/07/04 WOW! How wonderful - for both of you! Thanks so much, Ron! |
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I also had Mrs.
Baker for chemistry.
My memory of chemistry class is that I sat in front of Willard Robbins ('62) and was
in love with him the entire year!
He would pull my hair or tickle me or do something to get a reaction and then I
would get in trouble
with Mrs. Baker...she never seemed to catch on that he was the instigator...
but once or twice she would call on him and start by saying something like,
"Mr. Robbins, if you can kindly take your attention away from the lady in front
of you..."
and of course he did not know the answer so I was gleeful. - Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 07/21/04 Giggles! Thanks, Jean! |
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Wayyyyy back on 11 March 2004,
Jim Brinkley replied to my entry of 9 May 2003 concerning our subliminal
bird call plot against Mrs. Baker's sanity. He wrote, in part: "I was surprised to read my name as the class clown in his article on Mrs. Baker, our chemistry teacher. I don't remember making the bird calls ......" His amnesia about this has always gnawed at me for some reason, and now I know why. While looking through my 1963 Anchor at the written entries on final page, I came across this: |
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C'mom, Jim. 'Fess up. The statute
of limitations on this has long expired.
- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 05/19/07 |
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And it gets even better. I now have confirmation that our cohort in crime was none other than James Smith '65. |
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And .... it gets even better than that. Mr. Brinkley had THIS to say in my 1964 Anchor: |
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BTW, the "Scrouch/Scrooch" in
Brinkley's entries refer to a sort of "gang" identity word which we used.
The use of that word tells me that Jay Bluxome ('64) was somehow involved in
all this. Now, as for the "Woodchucks", even my recollection is
foggy, but I believe that it was the informal group name for the "Make Baker
Crazy Club" in her Chemistry class. Anyway, Mr. Brinkley's memory of this affair was so vivid that he mentioned it in not one, but two Anchors ... the last a full two years after the event.
- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 05/20/07 |
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And to complete the page, here
is her obit from the DP:
- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 05/20/07 |
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Mrs. Virginia Baker was the
mother of my childhood friend Paul ('62). Her husband, Lloyd, was an owner
of Tidewater Hardware. In the summer following my 15th birthday, after I had my driver license, I took a summer job at Tidewater Hardware as a delivery boy and all around helper. They had a 1930 something Dodge stake body truck and a new Plymouth station wagon. I never worked harder in my life except in Marine boot camp at Parris Island, which was a whole other level of hard. But it was a very good summer; my first summer of adulthood, I think. Science was one of my favorite subjects and I enjoyed it. Do we do well in things we enjoy or do we enjoy the things we do well. It's a "chicken and egg" question but, whichever it is, I did well in her Science and Chemistry classes. She was a good teacher and a kind person who suffered tragedy in her life and overcame it. -
Mark Van Noy ('62) of TX - 06/16/16 |
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Love Potion Number Nine
(The Clovers)
I
took my
troubles
down to
Madame
Rue
You
know
that
gypsy
with
the
gold-capped
tooth
She's
got a
pad
down on
Thirty-Fourth
and
Vine
Sellin'
little
bottles of
Love
Potion
Number
Nine
I
told
her
that I
was a
flop
with
chicks
I've
been
this
way
since
1956
She
looked at my
palm
and
she
made a
magic
sign
She
said "What
you
need is
Love
Potion
Number
Nine"
She
bent
down
and
turned
around
and
gave me a
wink
She
said "I'm
gonna
make it up
right
here in
the
sink"
It
smelled
like
turpentine, it
looked
like
Indian
ink
I
held my
nose, I
closed my
eyes, I
took a
drink
I
didn't
know if it
was
day or
night
I
started
kissin'
everything in
sight
But
when I
kissed a
cop
down on
Thirty-Fourth
and
Vine
He
broke my
little
bottle of
Love
Potion
Number
Nine
I
held my
nose, I
closed my
eyes, I
took a
drink
I
didn't
know if it
was
day or
night
I
started
kissin'
everything in
sight
I
had so
much
fun
that I'm
goin
back
again
I
wonder
what'll
happen
with "Love
Potion #10"
Love
Potion
Number
Nine
Love
Potion
Number
Nine
Love
Potion
Number
Nine
"There are three principal means of acquiring
knowledge . . . observation of nature, reflection, and
experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection
combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that
combination."
-- Denis Diderot, editor of the first modern Encyclopedia
(This quotation courtesy of
Kevin Eikenberry
of
http://www.
powerquotesplus.net
- 02/17/04.
Thanks, Kevin!)
"Love
Potion Number Nine"
midi courtesy of
http://www.bedhippie.nl/midi-eng/DTHmenu3.htm
at the suggestion of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 06/18/04
Thanks, Dave!
"Love
Potion Number Nine"
lyrics courtesy of http://www.lyricalcontent.com/htmlit.php?q=1125&artist=The+Clovers&title=Love+Potion+%239,
also
at the suggestion of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 06/18/04
Thanks again, Dave!
Laboratory clip art courtesy of http://www.fg-a.com/clipart_science.shtml - 12/04/03
Birth and Death
Dates courtesy of the Social Security Death Index via Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA -
11/02/03
Thanks, Dave!
Divider Line clip art courtesy of http://www.bravenet.com - 03/12/04