Germantown High School * Philadelphia, PA. * Class of 1957

Iris Madley

Memories of GHS

---I have to confess that my memories of Germantown are more like brief flashbacks rather than sustained recollections. I see snatches of activities like practicing for our performance of "Rodeo" in early morning ballet club (how did I ever end up there?--my friends were doing it)-- studying for history tests by composing and reciting the little rhymes we made up as study aids, especially the one about Attila the Hun, struggling into stupid blue gym suits, going to Bear Mountain, and the undercurrent of competitiveness as we struggled to make honor society or achieve other academic goals. Dr. Wagner’s history class remains vivid in my mind: he epitomized everything a good teacher should be: enthusiastic, knowledgeable, demanding, and concerned about his students. Surely, my decision to major in history took root in his class. ---For me, GHS is really the memories of things I did with friends. Playing first violin in the orchestra was a really important part of my high school life and I remember the camaraderie of working together and learning so much. I still laugh about going to Atlantic City for Marlene Oscar’s 16th birthday party and being chased by a phalanx of pigeons. Linda Kosmin and I spent a lot of time batting tennis balls across a cracked cement court, which probably accounts for my unorthodox backhand, but it was fun. I also remember hanging out at Miriam Brody’s house where we continually debated and dissected the agonizing questions that consumed us about who we were and what we wanted to do. Because I left Philadelphia immediately after college, I didn’t keep up with many high school friends, but Judith Lefkowitz (Hamburger) and I both ended up in the Washington area. We became reunited and Judith and I became perhaps closer friends than we were in high school and I still mourn her death from cancer last year. We, along with Miriam, talked about this reunion and she helped to convince me I should attend. ---My husband and I have differing memories about high school. He remembers his experience as a happy time, one in which he and his friends had a grand time. My recollections are more mixed: I recall good friends, fun and achievements, but also tension, competitiveness, and unhappiness. Certainly, Germantown High played a vital role in forming my character as an adult and I will be forever grateful for the first-rate education I received and for the intellectual curiosity my teachers encouraged.