A new school year has begun. Middle school students have plenty of opportunities to learn and grow.
But shop class is not one of them.
For many years, Westport boys took wood shop, metal shop and mechanical drawing. Girls studied home economics (cooking and sewing).
Classes went coed in the 1970s. Ninth graders moved to Staples High School in 1983; middle schools replaced junior highs, and shop and home ec fell out of favor.
This Saturday Evening Post cover — drawn by Stevan Dohanos — is one reminder of those days.
The Westport artist used local boys — and Bedford Junior High (now Saugatuck Elementary School) — as models.
(Illustration courtesy of Anthony Dohanos)