• We are interested in posting stories from former Franklin students to show the history of the school. We are especially interested in stories from the 1980s and earlier. If you would like to contribute a story telling your memories about Franklin, please click on the link at the bottom of the page or send us your story at franklin@ahschools.us. Stories will be reviewed for content and edited, if needed, before posting.

    Story #1 Hi Franklin students, I found the website for our school because I learned today that some of my co-workers also attended Franklin school in Anoka. When I started school for kindergarten, our class had to walk to Franklin to catch a school bus to attend kindergarten in an old house that was next to Sandberg Middle School (at that time it was the Anoka High School). Then for first grade, a bus came to my house to take me to Washington School, across the river, because there were not enough class rooms in Franklin for all the children to attend first grade. And 2nd grade was full too. For six months, I attend 2nd grade for 1/2 days only as the new addition was not completed. I remember how excited we all were to sit in our new desks in the new classrooms. About that same time, the school hot lunch program started when the kitchen was finished. In the 40's and 50's the students would walk home for lunch and then walk back to school for the afternoon. The school you have now is very different from the school I attended. Some of my teachers were Miss Gorham for 4th grade, Mrs. Smith for 5th grade, and Miss Lyslo for 2nd grade. Mr. Cleveland was our principal. I am very impressed with this web site and plan to visit often. Thanks for a walk back in time. Sue Meyer Erickson 1951-1956

    Story #2 Hello Fellow Franklin school friends, I ran across your web site by accident and could not help but send you a note. My mom, Francis Hilliard, taught in the Franklin school from around the mid 1920's until she go married in 1933. She would often substitute through out the 30's and 40's and then after my father died she went back to full time teaching in 1948 and retired in in the early 70's. I attended the Franklin school from kindergarten in 1942, through the 5th grade in 1947 and then was brought back in mid year for the 6th grade in 1948. My teachers were: Kindergarten - Miss Sunt, 1st grade - Miss Peterson, 2nd grade - Miss James, 3rd grade - Miss Burnett, 4th grade - Miss Lumglad, 5th grade - Miss Squires. My mom started teaching the 5th grade when I got into the 6th grade in 1948 and 6th grade was then taught by Miss Squires. Miss Squires was also the school Principal. Our janitor was Mr. Orton. We had a big inside jungle gym in the room in the southwest corner of the building that we could play on when it was too cold to go outside. We did have a hot lunch program with a full time cook. Many of the moms would volunteer and help cook and serve once or twice a week. The 5th and 6th graders were the school patrol and the students would put on an orange belt and take the flags down to Main Street, (which was Highway 10 at that time,) and stop traffic while the students would come across in the morning and afternoons. Had many good memories of Franklin school. Thanks for the opportunity to share them. Tom Hilliard

    Story #3 -  My name is John Sorkness. I lived at 2215 Wingfield Ave., Anoka, Minnesota from 1969 -1975. I attended kindergarten with Miss Murphy. That was in the kindergarten class on the left as you enter the Wingfield Ave entrance. I have great memories. In 1st grade I had Miss Thom. Both of these teachers, which I mentioned had great impacts on me as a little guy. I remember Miss McClarin, Miss Free, Mr Sirono, Mr Olivanti, 6th grade teachers, and a bearded teacher (Mr Simenko), 5th grade? I remember the gym, where there was a big old stage for plays and presentations. I remember the old lunchroom where it sunk low into the basement and we could look out the windows as we ate our lunches. 35 cents was what it cost for a hot lunch. My favorite was pizza days, because you could always get seconds if you ate up your lunch quick enough. I have fond memories of open gym on Saturdays, where us poor kids could come into the gym and play warball from 10 a.m. until noon. That gym was also used for movie shows, with the old projectors and a lot of Disney movies were shown. I remember going on the best field trips; The state Capital, snowshoeing, fossil searching near the river, collecting Maple syrup, tapping maple trees, and a lot of nature outings. I remember going to Franklin school back then and it was like a family to me. John Sorkness  Added 11/22/2004

    Story #4 - My name is Colleen Zellmer Michels. I attended Franklin Elementary School from grades K-6 between 1972-1979. I absolutely loved “my” school! I have such happy memories of my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Darlene Johnson. She was always so caring and helpful. She made me feel like I was so important and I’m sure everyone felt that way. I remember the way our room smelled like new crayons!

    Story #5 - I lived just across the street at 2126 Branch Avenue and at the end of the school year my sister, friends and myself would take some of the old workbooks out of the garbage dumpster to play school with… I guess we were not into recycling back then.
    I remember when we got a new fort on the playground and we’d pretend it was our big ship. If memory serves me correctly, it was painted a light green.
    Mrs. Thom and Mr. Dilley were also two of my favorite teachers. Mrs. Thom always stressed the importance of working neatly. Mr. Dilley took our class to Long Lake where we stayed in cabins and even went canoeing. We felt so grown up! I will always remember Franklin for the special place it was and, I’m sure, continues to be.
     
    Story #6 - Greetings, fellow former Franklin kids! I attended Franklin Elementary in the school year of 1963-64 (in the 3rd grade) and have two distinct memories of that memorable year in Anoka - and the world. I recall the morning when the announcement came over the PA system reporting that President Kennedy had been shot. I do not recall the reaction from our teacher or the third grade kids, but I vividly remember a short time later when another announcement reported that the President had died. Our teacher put her head on the desk and sobbed in front of an absolutely silent and stunned group of kids. That was an unforgettable moment for everyone, of course. My other memory of that year at Franklin was a couple months later when the older kids on the school bus were all talking about some music group they saw on television the night before. "They look like girls," was one of the comments, and it was something about their hair. I wonder what became of them? :-). Thank you for letting me share a story from so many years ago.  Randy Oftedahl (Now residing on Prince Edward Island, Canada) November 23, 2016