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There's still an alumni association. It's one of the few public schools that has one. Even though the school has been torn down, there are still people who come back every year, people who graduated in 1905 and '06, to a meeting where we reminisce and scream with laughter. It was a great school. They don't have public schools like that anymore.

Why was it great?

The principal was a man named Dr. Birkens, whom everybody adored. The teachers there included one man named Abe Greenberg. He was the coach of the athletic team. He was so good that P.S. 10 won the inter-scholastic championship year after year after year.

Were you ever on any of the teams?

I was on the relay team, the relay race team.

How about baseball?

I was always near-sighted. But I could run and I was on the relay team. P.S. 10 always won. There was another school, P.S. 86, which was the only other real rival we had.

Then there was a fellow named Mr. Birch who taught science. Now, as I look back, I think he must have been a little crazy. He was the butt of all the humor of the school.