There has been discussion recently about hours for high school students and students riding public buses. I would like to offer some thoughts from a historical perspective.

I was a freshman at Portland High School in the school year of 1941-’42. School started at 7:45 a.m. and ended at 1:05 p.m. I do not remember that students had any difficulty with this schedule.

Of course, we did not have the many distractions and the inducements to stay up late that students have today. We had only AM radio and movies, and we read newspapers, comic books and books. We did not have television, computers, cellphones or video games; I suppose we had primitive lives.

There were student discount tickets to ride the public buses. I and several other students got the bus at West and Vaughan streets, got off on Congress Street near City Hall and entered through the rear entrance to the high school. We usually walked home after school; sometimes we stopped at the Capitol Theater and watched a movie for 11 cents.

My family moved to South Portland for my sophomore year and then to Scarborough for my junior and senior years.

In Scarborough, we lived about five miles from the high school. Several students in the neighborhood rode the public bus to and from school; it was a regular route between Old Orchard Beach and Portland.

I do not remember the hours at Scarborough exactly, but I think it was probably 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Again, I do not remember students having a problem with the schedule.

This is a small sample of student life from a long time ago.

David W. Knudsen

Gray