Larkshire Elementary School – Farmington Hills, Michigan
Few places hold a more powerful grip on the memory than the elementary school that you attended. For me that was Larkshire Elementary School in Farmington Hills, Michigan from Kindergarten through 5th grade.
The architecture was unique with these arched portals at the location of each classroom. This created a sense of visual interest from outside – both on the parking lot side and the playground side which were nearly identical.
The inside was typical of many school buildings. One easily forgets how small the space actually was, for as a young child everything appears bigger.
This is the view that I would see approaching the school each day, usually by bike. To the left was a fenced in area for bike parking. Perhaps this was to keep the bikes more secure. I always found the experience of accessing the bike racks as volunteering to walk into a cage. The experience never was a pleasant one.
Another challenging part of arriving to school was passing through this pedestrian alley between private residences. It always felt narrow and constricted. Often there was crowding. Dodging all the people and getting through was challenging.
The bike ride to school each day was through a little trafficked residential suburban neighborhood. There were wide streets and very few cars. I remember keeping to the sidewalk most of the time. There were no major streets to cross ensuring safety.
Finally, this is the home on Ashley St where I lived throughout elementary school. During the time we lived here there was a large evergreen in the front yard along the property line opposite the driveway. A red maple in the backyard was fun to climb and have a swing.
The Principal of Larkshire Elementary School was James A. Lanigan. He served as principal the entire time I was there. I will always remember him has a kindly person who had a heartfelt interest in every person he met. Often he would inquire how I was doing. He took a particularly keen interest in my rise through the ranks with Boy Scouts of America and participation in Olympics of the Mind. A few years after I graduated in 1991, Mr. Lanigan retired and they named the school after him – a fitting tribute.