Schools: Mt. Lebanon & Clearwater

The Sanford kids may have been lucky enough to go to private kindergarten, Pittsburgh's Winchester school (it became the Winchester Thurston School in 1935), by chauffeur driven car. The school was on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Clyde (across the street from WQED and Central Catholic today). But after kindergarten they went to public school just like all the neighborhood kids. Every September Jeanne, her brother Bob, and her sister Marre, attended classes in the one-room, public Scott Township schoolhouse. Because they were within a short walking distance of the school, Bob often got to ring the school bell, which he loved to do, and they were able to walk home for lunch. There was one teacher who taught all the grades, an outhouse, and it's only source of heat was a woodstove. Most of the kids were neighbor children from the farm. (This old school was closed in the late 1930's. It was converted into a country club for awhile before it was torn down.)

Around Christmas, however, the whole family headed south to Florida. A week later the kids were resuming their education. At first, they wintered at the Belleview Biltmore Hotel and had their lessons taught by a tutor. After they owned their own house in 1925, they attended a private Clearwater school, called "English Classical" where they remained until spring. Unlike the Scott Township school, most of these kids were from prestigious families from the Harbor Oaks Residential District in Clearwater.(It was an historic development with unusual features for the period: 1914-1937.) (In the school, one child's father invented carbon paper, and another supplied the black paint to the Ford Motor Company.) Jeanne especially enjoyed dividing her time in the two environments: north on the farm and south at the beach. This exposure was part of her education, which later proved to be invaluable reference material in the design field.

Jeanne's parents decided that when she was ready to enter (the new) Mt. Lebanon High School she ought to remain on the "Charter Oak" farm all year. (Her brother Bob could then work in the Carnegie Coal Company store too. He had a job carrying sales charge slips to the bookkeeper. He did this until he went into the Navy in 1936, when he was 19.)

When Jeanne graduated Mount Lebanon High School in 1937, in the high school yearbook, the "Lebanon Log", was a poem printed by her picture. A classmate spelled out her name, accurately describing Jeanne in rhyme. It read:
"J is for Joy--She'll bring it your way.
E is for Ermine--She'll wear it some day.
A is for Artist--And also allure.
N is for Nonchalance--Her poise will endure.
N is for a Natural--She'll win like seven-'leven.
E is for Eyes--Al thinks they are heaven.
SANFORD pronounced SOPHISTICATED." By Jo Anne Healey.

She was given a special graduation gift from her mother--a singer sewing machine--black with scrollwork (with table). In later years, Jeanne's friends claimed that she kept a sewing machine beside her bed, so when she dreamt new ideas, she could jump up to stitch them down! If this was true, this Singer pictured on the right was the very one. Jeanne used that basic machine throughout most of her life.