"OUR WOMEN OF SANDWICH"
(2020 Summer Exhibit)
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Mrs. Berry Was My Teacher
When I entered first grade I was the only kid who could not write his own name. Mrs. Berry, in one-room with two classes, was my teacher for the first four years of my schooling. Introducing me to Dick, Jane and Sally and to Joe Manygoats opened the door for my lifelong quest to learn. Mrs. Berry taught me reading, writing and arithmetic; our class trip was to the Indian Head or White Lake State Park. It was a good educational foundation and still would be. I always say, “Mrs. Berry taught me everything I know!” Geoffrey Burrows 
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MARION BERRY
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By Joan Cook (Excerpts from the 2019 Excursion Bulletin)
Marion Josephine Nickles was born March 12, 1911 to Herbert W. Nickles and Etta Maria Noble (a descendant from Noble's Island off Portsmouth, NH) of Candia, New Hampshire. She grew up in Candia, attended the Candia Elementary School and graduated from Raymond High School. Following high school, she went on to Keene Normal School where she earned a diploma in elementary education.
Mrs. Berry received her New Hampshire license to teach elementary school on September 18, 1930. Her first teaching job was at the Harvey Swell School in Colebrook, NH starting the school year on September 8, 1930. She was paid a salary of $850 and boarded with the Edwards family for the school year. She then moved to East Hebron, NH where she taught in the eight-grade school house. It was here where she met Robert (Bob) Berry. They were married the following year. By 1935 they had moved to the home of John Wentworth (now the Garden home) on Diamond Ledge in Sandwich where she took some time off to start a family. During the World War II years, she worked as a clerk at the Center Sandwich Post Office. In 1947 she was offered a contract and began teaching the six grades at the North Sandwich School, which had an average of 14-17 students each year.
The Sandwich Central School was dedicated that summer [1950] and in September students were bused in for the new school year. Mrs. Berry taught grades one and two for two years then moved up to grades three and four where she remained until her retirement. In those days there were no special-education teachers or aides. The only other teachers outside of the four teachers that taught grades one through eight were the music teacher, the physical education teacher and sometimes a handwriting teacher who came each week and moved among the rooms. There was a school nurse who came each week, and the superintendent came occasionally to observe the teacher and classes. Hot lunch was served at this school, which was new, and most pupils enjoyed it. Parties were held in each classroom on special occasions and refreshments were served.
Mrs. Berry enjoyed growing flowers and always had geraniums in her classroom. She challenged her students to learn through a variety of hands-on-activities. She held a wildflower contest each year which helped the children learn to identify New Hampshire wildflowers. Mothers still talk about it today and have said, "Be sure to put that in your story." Finding wildflowers had become a family project for many families.
Mrs. Berry retired in 1973. She and her husband traveled across the United States and Canada several times. They loved the beauty of Alaska and went there twice, driving across the trans-Canadian Highway when it was dirt. Mrs. Berry had Native American blood and visited reservations out west as she continued to expand her own knowledge about their culture. After the long distance travel became too much, they would frequently spend weekends on the lakes in Pittsburg, NH. She passed away on January 14, 1997. There are many people still living in Sandwich who had her as a teacher and hold fond memories about those years in her classroom.
For the rest of story, read the 101st Excursion Bulletin (2019) - available in September 2020; free to members, $10 for non-members.
Marion Josephine Nickles was born March 12, 1911 to Herbert W. Nickles and Etta Maria Noble (a descendant from Noble's Island off Portsmouth, NH) of Candia, New Hampshire. She grew up in Candia, attended the Candia Elementary School and graduated from Raymond High School. Following high school, she went on to Keene Normal School where she earned a diploma in elementary education.
Mrs. Berry received her New Hampshire license to teach elementary school on September 18, 1930. Her first teaching job was at the Harvey Swell School in Colebrook, NH starting the school year on September 8, 1930. She was paid a salary of $850 and boarded with the Edwards family for the school year. She then moved to East Hebron, NH where she taught in the eight-grade school house. It was here where she met Robert (Bob) Berry. They were married the following year. By 1935 they had moved to the home of John Wentworth (now the Garden home) on Diamond Ledge in Sandwich where she took some time off to start a family. During the World War II years, she worked as a clerk at the Center Sandwich Post Office. In 1947 she was offered a contract and began teaching the six grades at the North Sandwich School, which had an average of 14-17 students each year.
The Sandwich Central School was dedicated that summer [1950] and in September students were bused in for the new school year. Mrs. Berry taught grades one and two for two years then moved up to grades three and four where she remained until her retirement. In those days there were no special-education teachers or aides. The only other teachers outside of the four teachers that taught grades one through eight were the music teacher, the physical education teacher and sometimes a handwriting teacher who came each week and moved among the rooms. There was a school nurse who came each week, and the superintendent came occasionally to observe the teacher and classes. Hot lunch was served at this school, which was new, and most pupils enjoyed it. Parties were held in each classroom on special occasions and refreshments were served.
Mrs. Berry enjoyed growing flowers and always had geraniums in her classroom. She challenged her students to learn through a variety of hands-on-activities. She held a wildflower contest each year which helped the children learn to identify New Hampshire wildflowers. Mothers still talk about it today and have said, "Be sure to put that in your story." Finding wildflowers had become a family project for many families.
Mrs. Berry retired in 1973. She and her husband traveled across the United States and Canada several times. They loved the beauty of Alaska and went there twice, driving across the trans-Canadian Highway when it was dirt. Mrs. Berry had Native American blood and visited reservations out west as she continued to expand her own knowledge about their culture. After the long distance travel became too much, they would frequently spend weekends on the lakes in Pittsburg, NH. She passed away on January 14, 1997. There are many people still living in Sandwich who had her as a teacher and hold fond memories about those years in her classroom.
For the rest of story, read the 101st Excursion Bulletin (2019) - available in September 2020; free to members, $10 for non-members.