Nostalgia certainly has a way of distorting memory, but, with that said, my recollection of a particular aspect of my long-ago high school experience stands out as clear as an un-muddied lake: The cafeteria.
The old East Tech High School (which stood across from and slightly south on E. 55th Street from the current school) had some of the best food in the world. Ask anyone who attended the school — or ate there — until the changeover was made to centralized food distribution for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD).
Back in the day everything in the lunchroom was lovingly made from scratch by women who lived in the neighborhood; the aroma of the yeast rolls and the cherry pies wafted throughout the building, all the way up to the third floor. I got over my dislike for spinach because of the way the cooks prepared it, along with other healthy veggies. And on Fridays there was always fresh-caught perch on the menu… not some little squares of tasteless mystery seafood. And if you didn’t know how to eat a balanced diet these mothers and grandmothers on the serving line didn’t bite their tongues… they’d admonish you in regards to your eating habits on a regular basis… until you got the message.
Indeed, former students and others from the community routinely found their way back to East Tech around lunchtime, and the herd of students walking as fast as they could without running (which was a no-no) to get in line before all of the cherry pie was gone is forever etched in my memory. Indeed, food is, or can be, core to many of life’s experiences.
But, alas, some pencil-necked bureaucrat from the downtown headquarters showed how a few bucks could be saved by cooking what essentially turned out to be cardboard-like substances and soggy vegetables and distributing them from a centralized location. At lunchtime students began exiting the building in droves for the local greasy spoons… and who could blame them?
The fact that school administrators were so dense they either didn’t realize (or didn’t care) that a large part of the culture and character of East Tech was being destroyed by their being penny wise and pound foolish taught me a life lesson at a very young age. To this day I still view some bureaucrats as fools or worse, and their decisions short-sighted and in some cases downright mean-spirited.
But, as the CMSD contemplates moving its headquarters from downtown to the currently shuttered East High School, a great opportunity could present itself. Knowing that one of the main complaints of district employees will be the dearth of restaurants in the area, the school’s cafeteria could be brought back on line to solve the problem.
Why not establish a culinary program in the building for students and teach these young people how to professionally prepare and serve food? The “customers” will already be there, and if the program is well-run it should really take off. Be prepared for people from the surrounding neighborhoods to start stopping past in droves to sample the fare on a regular basis.
What’s wrong with this idea? One thing: It probably makes too much sense, but then, maybe things really are changing at the CMSD.
Movie Review
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
If you’re over 40, not particularly fond of films that feature robots, zombies, vampires or vamps, and giant insects that devour entire cities, then you might enjoy this great little movie about real people making real transitions in their lives. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel stars Dame Judi Dench and a host of other fine British actors doing what they do best.
The 2012 comedy-drama, directed by John Madden and written by Ol Parker, is based on the 2004 novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. A group of British pensioners move to a retirement hotel in India that’s not quite as plush as the brochure portrays it to be. In fact, it’s decrepit.
But with typical British stiff-upper-lip-nish all but one of the disparate group travelers work through their issues regarding family, race, class, aging, loss and eventually learn to adjust to their new environment. First they become fascinated by it, and then, in fact, they actually come to love it. If you don’t see but one film this summer, make it this one.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.