Hafa adai!
This school, one of the few elementary schools on Guam when I was there in the late 1970s-early 1980s, doesn’t exist anymore — or, at least, the name doesn’t exist on any current school; I checked online.
But that doesn’t mean that alumni from that school — often military kids scattered all over the globe these days — don’t try to find each other to reminisce.
Here are some comments that I received from New Piti Elementary School alums:
From Joanna on January 29, 2008:
Hi Lizardqueen!
I just happened to run across your site while looking for information on my old elementary school(New Piti). What years did you go there? Just curious if maybe we went to school together=)From Duncan W. on February 1, 2008:
I attended New Piti School in 1960-61. Please feel free to Email me. I have many memories of Guam. GUAM IS GOOD!From flip mane on May 8, 2008:
I went to New Piti in 1979-80. I was in 4th grade at that time. I remember living on the Navy Base. But that’s about all I remember about my one year living on that island.From DAVID on February 20, 2009:
I went to Piti in 1964 through 1967. I loved the island. The beach . The naval base. The outside movies.
If you read my post Back to Basics, you’ll see a brief description of my New Piti classes, and you’ll have an inkling of why we far-flung alums are still loyal to an elementary school (and an island) that we haven’t attended nor seen in decades.
lizardqueen
Hi Lizardqueen. I went to New Piti from 79-82, 1st through 4th grades. I really don’t remember teacher’s names…but you may have been in one of my classes!! How exciting is that. I know there was a teachers strike one year. I think Mrs. Ada or something like that was Chamorow teacher. I had a male teacher for math one year. Mrs. Retumbaum and I think Mrs. Perry. I really enjoyed the school. Cathy, Janet, and Rufel were the classmates I remember most. It’s been a long time. Do you remember any of what I mentioned?? O yeh…I remember watching the black and white doughnut movie in recess/lunch.
Hi, Laura,
If this is the Laura that I’m remembering, then you and your family were my next-door neighbors.
the LQ (aka Rufel)
Ha. This is the first response on Google for those who search for “New Piti Elementary”, so you should expect some traffic from fellow New Piti alum.
I attended back in the 80-81 school year when I was in 3rd grade – the year before the public school teacher strike. I don’t remember my teacher’s name, but I seem to remember a heavyset woman with short hair. I also remember someone at the school used to sell cut sugarcane stalks to kids during recess, and the “duck walk” was punishment for the bad kids.
The year of the strike, I was sent to The Cathedral Grade School and my brother to Bishop Baumgartner Junior High School.
I think heavy set teacher you mentioned was Mrs. Clark. I had her for 3rd grade =)
Hi, Jeff!
I was in second grade during that teacher’s strike, and my favorite teacher — I only remember his first name, which was Bruce — was one of the picketers. The sub was this AWFUL young woman who, I’m certain, was barely qualified to teach. She gave us LOTS of vocabulary busy work.
I don’t remember if the teachers won the strike, but Bruce never came back.
Miss Willeford was my first grade teacher, Bruce was my second grade teacher, I don’t remember the name of my third grade teacher (but she was nice!), and Mr. Paulino — who would play Air Supply on the classroom record player during test times — was my fourth grade teacher.
Then we got transferred to Dallas in the summer of 1982.
And I forgot about the sugarcare sellers, but I remember eating the sugarcane!
My father was a U.S. Navy diver and was stationed at the Naval Magazine on Guam. He was part of the Bomb Disposal Team and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team. He and his team traveled around Guam and some of the other islands blowing up bombs that were left over from WWII. We moved to Guam in late 1958 and returned to Texas when he retired in late 1960.
My dad wasn’t big on base housing, so we first lived in Merizo. My brother and I went to the local elementary school (I was eight years old) and we were the only American kids going to the school. I can remember riding water buffaloes, exploring the jungle, camping near Talafofo Falls, sneaking into cock fights, eating bananas and mangoes, and generally having the time of my young life. I have a scar on my thumb where my brother accidentally chopped me with a machete while we were cutting down a banana tree.
I remember going to Cocos Island to watch my dad blow up charges to widen/deepen the channel at the Coast Guard station, and playing in the miniature Japanese sub the was half-buried in the beach at Umatac Bay. We used to go into the jungle and pretend we were looking for the Japanese soldier that was still hiding out because he thought the war was still going on. They actually found the guy many years after we moved back to the states.
My dad and his friends used to get all the kids decked out with canteens and machetes, and then they would takes us out at night to explore Japanese pill boxes from the war. At just the right time, they would take off yelling and scare the hell out of all us kids. When we returned to the states, my dad brought back three Japanese rifles with rusty bayonets, a few boxes of sea shells, a giant clam shell, and numerous fish balls. I still have all that stuff.
We bought a Quonset hut right on the beach in Agat in 1959 (imagine what that would be worth today!), and I attended New Piti Elementary School. Oddly, the only thing I can remember about the school was playing tether ball.
I have three books that must have been my books from either the school in Merizo or New Piti: Guam — Past and Present Part I, Part II and Part III. Written especially for children, and all done on a manual typewriter with a stapled binding. Inside it says: Government of Guam, Department of Education, 1951. The Quonset hut was destroyed in a Typhoon a few years after we sold it returned to the states.
At nine years old, I got my first job at a gas station across the street from where we lived in Agat– 50 cents a day, and 50 cents for every flat I fixed. There was a bar right next door to us, too, and the drunks used to sneak over and peep through the windows at my mother. I remember my dad running after drunk, peeping Toms on more than one occasion with his .45 in hand!
We owned an outrigger canoe while in Agat. And my friend taught me how to skim a hook across the water to catch fish with no bait, and then pull the fish off the hook and eat it raw. I can recall digging up rusty .45 ammunition and rusty hand grenades right on the beach where we lived. I even found a 5″/38 projectile stuck in the reef behind our house and my dad had to pull it out and take it to the base.
I have found many official Navy pictures of my dad and his team on Woleai and a few from Guam, but cannot find a single picture of my family while we were living there. Can you imagine that, all that adventure for an eight/nine year old kid and not a single picture.
Sorry this was so long, but it sure was nice remembering all that stuff!!
Hi, George,
No worries — thanks for sharing those good ol’ Guam memories! They are always appreciated.
I went to Piti elementary from 77 to around 81, for 1st-4th grade. We lived on base, too, as my dad was in the Navy at the time. Last time I was in Guam was in 92, when I was in the Navy.
Hi, Jon,
I have a co-worker who was stationed at Guam when he was in the Air Force — at Anderson AFB — from 1986-1990. Even back then he told me Guam was starting to change.
Often my younger sister and I think about visiting Guam again, but we both know our memories of the late 1970s-early 1980s are likely nothing like the Guam of 2010… so it’s been more of a “what-if” than a real “to-do” thing.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing!
I went to Piti Elementary in ’77-78 for my 5th grade year while my step-dad was stationed at the naval base. My teacher was John Taylor, who had come to Guam from Kentucky as part of the VISTA program. Living here was the highlight of my childhood! Reading all your posts, my mind is flooded with memories of nibbling 10-cents worth of tongue-searing pickled papaya at recess, attending Tahitian dance lessons during PE, and, yes, getting my butt kicked at tether-ball. Classmates that I remember fondly were Cathy, John, Michelle Padua (don’t ask me how I remember her whole name), and my best friend on base, Monica Youngblood. Monica’s dad, Joe, took us on boonie-stomping adventures all over the island. Our favorite day-trip was snorkeling at Spanish Steps, and going up to the cliff to look at Glass Breakwater. Wow, thanks for the chance to reminisce. My prayers are with those now on Guam during the tsunami warning. Hope all is well there. Trish
Hello! Wow, just reading these posts have definetely taken me far back into wonderful memories…I lived in Guam..I believe 1980 -1983 5&6 grade attending Harry S Truman elementary, then moving over to New Piti Middle school..(i think) so then we lived in naval housing OFF base..oh so much fun. I also swam for the dolphin swim team..my coaches, husband and wife, lived right on the ocean, we went to a bar-b-que at their little home and we all swam out in the ocean with dolphins!! I had a guamanian boyfriend in elementary named Edward, big beefy chamorro and in middle school one name Fred..silly memories..and I remember a girl name Florina Flores…so I miss the food, pickled papaya, pancit, sugar cane, & all the bananas..and I remember eating at a restaraunt called the onion ring house…I think, anyways, soon as you sat down, they immediately brought onion rings, a huge plate full…So many memories, hope someone remembers me! If so, please contact me!
My brothers and I lived on the Naval base in 1979-1980. I was in 3rd grade at New Piti. I remember alot about the base but not the address of our base house. I remember eating ramen noodles and when went back to the states they didn’t get it there until many years later. I recall the fresh fruit was over abundance. Going to Gab-gab beach, and having large barbecues with other families. getting ice cream at Baskin Robins, and going to the local swimming pool.
I was at New Piti Elementary from 70′ to 73′ ( looks like I am OLD compared to most of you folks)
I lived in Lockwood Terrace, #3 Anderson St, across from the old abandoned air strip. WOW what a place , Gab-Gab Beach,Tallaffofo falls, Mt Lam-Lam,, I would love to chat about the old days back on Guam if anyone one is interested,,
Tony – what years did you live at 3 Anderson St? That my address from ’72-75!
If any New Piti alumni is on Facebook, there’s a New Piti Elementary Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/104642247736/
I’ve joined it, and there are lots of reminiscing and “remember when” going on — including OLD school pictures!