The Chimney

There was a hot metal door at the base of the tall chimney at the back of the school, between the 4th and 5th Grade playgrounds that you could spit on and it would sizzle. Or on occasion, perhaps pee and make it stink.

To the North, there was the entrance the milk man and maintenance people used exclusively, and a little further North, steps going below ground to some doors no one ever used to enter the building, but we played on the steps. This was just East of the monkey bars (the kind you hang from while you cross to the other side, swinging from bar to bar). North of that were the steps going up into the building at which the 4th Graders lined up.

In addition to Hot Wheels, home-made spool tanks were popular on the playground that year. The kind you make from a thread spool, rubber band and stick, and you wind it up and it goes.

I'm not sure whether it was 4th or 5th Grade in which we were introduced to volleyball. We assembled at the net on the West side, just inside the 5th Grade playground area, near the tetherball poles. The teacher had us play regular volleyball except that we caught the ball and threw it instead of it bouncing off our hands.