USO Party: The 40s Return To Newtown

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Relating to parts of history can be difficult, but some Newtown Middle School eighth graders found a way to understand the 1940s and World War II by having USO party to finish up the unit during that time period.

English teacher Georgia Batey thought the USO party would be a great way for her students to finish up a unit about the 1940s, using memorabilia the students brought from family members and having students dress in 1940s style clothing, which is making its way back into the fashion world.

Students wore attire that belonged to their grandparents and great grandparents or even military uniforms they found at yard sales. Classroom C-4 was hopping with 40s music Friday, along with canteen style food of sandwiches, soda, and cookies.

“This is a follow-up to the unit on Anne Frank, World War II, concentration camps,” Mrs Batey said. “I wanted the children to see the positive side of the 1940s – the music, cartoons, fashions.”

Creations of the Statute of Liberty and Uncle Sam hung from the lights, while old pictures of the students’ family members and newspapers from the 1940s surrounded the area where students were being taught how to swing dance by Assistant Principal Virginia King and eighth grade math teacher Nelson Poulter.

“One, two three, two, two three, rock step,” Mrs King said to the students as she moved her feet. “Men start on their left foot It’s their responsibility to lead. Girls start with their right.”

Mrs King explained to the students that the women in the 1940s wore high heels and were going backwards during the swing dancing.

Swing dancing is a hobby for Mr Poulter and Mrs King. Both spend time each week devoted to dancing.

Mr Poulter has been dancing for two years. He nonchalantly mentioned it to his wife, thinking she would not be interested, but it turned out she was. Now they have a group lesson once a week.

“The first time, I hated this. I couldn’t wait until it was over,” Mr Poulter said. “The second time, it went from my head to my feet. I enjoy it now. It’s a lot of fun.”

Mrs King has a dancing floor at her house. She has a three-hour lesson each week and has been dancing for almost seven years.

“Swing dancing is something that has been around for a long time. It is very popular right now on college campuses and at high schools,” Mrs King said. “In the 1940s it was the single swing. Now it is the triple swing. It is a lot more aerobic.” The assistant principal, who was not feeling 100 percent last Friday, said, “I’m excited enough about it that I can teach this while I’m sick.”

The middle schoolers giggled a bit. Some looked a bit nervous to be paired boy/girl to learn the dance that is making a comeback.

“Leave your ego at the door,” Mr Poulter said. “Get ready to laugh at yourself and laugh at your friends. You need to relax.”

The eight graders picked up quickly on the swing dancing style and looked almost expert before the class ended.

Stephen Moulthrop and Sarah Nahabedian paired up and looked quite comfortable with swing dancing.

 “It’s kind of fun actually once you get used to it,” said Stephen. “You can kind of get the feeling of how it was back then.”

This style of dancing was not new to Sarah, but she enjoyed it.

 “It’s a lot of fun,” Sarah said.  “I’ve done this before.”

Being able to experience some of the 1940s era helped some students understand the lesson better.

 “It’s pretty fun because you can tell what it was like during the war,” Matt Benson said.

Katie Fullman wore an apron made by her grandmother in 1942. Although it was a bit faded, the apron added flavor to the history lesson about a time period she would otherwise have only read about in a history book.

“It was nice to see how it was really like instead of just reading about something,” Katie said. “It’s just hard to believe it’s 60 years old. It’s a little faded.”

The swing steps were hard for some, but still gave the students and idea about what life was like in the past.

 “It was fun, but it was hard. It gives an idea of what it was like back then,” said Megan LaFlamme. “Puts you in the position to understand the characters we read about.”

Megan’s dancing partner agreed.

 “The steps were confusing,” Carl Berquist said. “We saw what life was like in the 40s.”

Many of the students took the opportunity to dress up in 1940s styles with clothing they had at home or with actual 1940s memorabilia from family members.

David Haladjian and Michelle Serock looked like dancing naturals. The two picked up swing dancing easily and moved around the classroom smoothly.

“The music kind of helped to keep the beat and the rhythm,” David said. “It was a fun way to end the unit.”

 “It was sort of fun for this period doing it now,” Michelle said. “We can do it when we’re older.”

Allie Hornak wore a fur cape of her grandmother’s. The cape was worn to one of Allie’s grandmother’s first proms.

“It’s good because without dressing up we wouldn’t be able to get into the feeling of it,” Allie said.

Matt Benson purchased army uniforms from his friend’s grandmother who was selling them at a yard sale.

“It’s pretty neat,” Matt said. “It’s not a famous part of history, but something big that happened in history.”

Kendall McChord’s grandparents from both her mother’s side and her father’s side of the family served during the war effort. She brought in pictures of her mother’s father and grandfather and pictures of her father’s father.

“I didn’t know it until we got part way into the lesson,” Kendall said. “That’s when I talked to my mom and she told me all the history.”

One student, Brad Andreasen, brought in cartoons that his father had on film so students could see what the messages were during the time. Saving food and gasoline were big during the war effort and cartoons reflected that.

“My dad had cartoons from this period. There is one with a flea and a dog. The flea wants to infest the dog,” Brad said.  “No more meatless Tuesdays. People had to give up meat for the war effort.”

“There’s one with Daffy Duck being chased,” he said. “Then the cartoon strip stops. There are billboards that say ‘Is this trip really necessary?’ It was about  saving gasoline.”

The USO party gave the students a sense of what living in the 1940s was like. Even though things were not exactly the same the students were able to learn about history in a more direct way than simply reading it from a book.

“It’s been a wonderful day. It’s been fabulous,” Mrs Batey said. “You kids really came through.”

Student Vinny Guilfoil felt the USO party gave great tribute to the 1940s lesson about Anne Frank, World War II, and the concentration camps that many had to experience.

“It’s great to go back into the 40s. It really makes you know what its like,” Vinny said. “Now I know what it feels like.”