Friday (Oct. 12) marked the 60th anniversary of the dedication of West Amwell Township Consolidated School (Elementary School), according to Betsy Lombardi Vaughn, now a resident of Fort Myers, Florida.
In a message last week, she said:
”My class was the charter kindergarten class at the new school. Through the years, we averaged 30 students, a core of whom were together at West Amwell School for eight years. During the 1959-60 school year (seventh grade), we became part of the new South Hunterdon Regional. Since the building was still under construction, our core classes were at West Amwell, but several times a week we were bused to Lambertville High for classes, such as art, home economics, and shop.
”A couple years ago I made contact with a few ‘long-lost friends’ from my elementary school days on Facebook. As we shared memories of those special eight years, the idea of a reunion emerged. We settled on a date — Oct. 20, 2012 — and the task of finding all of our classmates began.
”Facebook and mutual friends who had not lost touch yielded some results, but Roger Heinnemann became the super-sleuth of our group. We have managed to ‘find’ all but a couple of our group of friends.
”On Oct. 20, about 15 of us are meeting for a reunion dinner at Erini’s. Earlier in the day, we have scheduled a township ‘tour’ in a hired van. A route that follows the old school bus routes has been mapped out so we can reminisce about our childhood homes and compare the township of the 21st century with that of the mid-20th century.
”Two of us are traveling to New Jersey from southwest Florida. Others are coming from Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Delaware.
”Most of the teachers who were at West Amwell Elementary in its opening year were still teaching at the school eight years later. Days began with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the reading of a few verses from Psalms, and a patriotic song — usually America, America the Beautiful or the Star Spangled Banner — accompanied by our teacher on the piano.
”In the classroom we read Dick and Jane primers, drilled on the multiplication tables, and practiced penmanship. For recess we dodged red rubber balls, jumped rope, and played on wooden swings and seesaws. The play area was gravel. I don’t remember any serious injuries. On rainy days, recess was games like 7-Up or eraser relay as well as group dancing. With desks pushed back against the walls, the classroom was our gym.
Ms. Vaughn’s father and the father of one of her classmates were on the original Board of Education. Another classmate’s father was one of the school’s architects.

