What counts as cats and how long do we keep them? What we haven’t taken out for years, don’t we use every day? How long do we store these? Who knows? It is optional for everyone. Over time, we forget some things or we are used to the fact that one corner of the attic is only filled with old “stuff”. When we stumble upon it, we don’t even look there anymore. At some point, we just go to the pile. What is this? – we ask the question. Well, this is where we usually get on the nostalgia train, which is hard to get off. Suddenly, we no longer feel that the things we found are funny, as they become tangible evidence of our fond memories. Treasure it! It is enough to find half a pair of the child’s gloves among the crushed little clothes. “Oh, that outlaw kid” – we laugh to ourselves as we remember when we sewed his little gloves into the sleeves of his coat, because he left them eight times out of seven days – “in the end, only half of them remained.
Source: Gábor Fehér/FMH
It was no different at the Fülemüle Kindergarten in Füle, when the teachers of the institution unexpectedly found real treasures. The small kindergarten considered its existence this year 70th anniversary. Furniture, toys and accessories have certainly changed over the course of 70 years. During this time, many small children became school-age within the walls of the institution, of whom many beautiful pictures were taken. Among the found sand, they found some real curiosities, of which an exhibition was also arranged for the festive occasion.
Source: Gábor Fehér/FMH
Such was, for example, the 60-year-old, three-wheeled small bicycle. You don’t see this everywhere anymore. Its front, large wheel is stiffened by spokes, the two rear wheels are much smaller and compact. Rubber tires once surrounded the metal wheels, but they have been lost to time. A real leather saddle was installed on the small bike. Its helm is as curved as its frame. We can almost see it with our mind’s eye, how the little kindergarteners used to play with it in the kindergarten yard in the sixties. In addition to the toy, they also found a lot of furniture in the building, including the characteristic suitability for quiet rest: cots from the sixties and seventies.
Source: Gábor Fehér/FMH
Oh, and those naps after lunch, they were never my favorite during the preschool years, but now, I would like to bring back this good habit. I remember never being able to fall asleep on command. Our dear kindergarten teacher – or rather our nanny – read a story to the excited company every time, in order to calm us down and put us to sleep. I, on the other hand, was so interested in the story that I watched rather than doze off, I got bored by the end of the story. By the time doing nothing finally overwhelmed me, I had to get up. Somehow the rhythm never came together. But the invention prevailed. Whenever possible, I put my bed next to the game shelf, so while the others were sleeping, I hung off the folding bed and played in my sleep.
When I saw the canvas bed of my preschool years attached to a metal frame among the exhibited items, I was most surprised by its size. Even now, I have more depth than height, but when I saw the tiny little bed, it immediately occurred to me that there was a time when I could fit in a bed that big, REALLY! I was always afraid that the huge metal frame would bury me under me when putting it in and out.
Source: Gábor Fehér/FMH
Among the furniture from long ago, they also found small chairs, coat hangers, construction toys, story books, a sandbox set, carved wooden toys, notes, and old group diaries. Next to the cot, the slide projector, a popular entertainment device from the 1970s, still evokes unforgettable memories. When I was a child, the slide projector was even more of a sensation than storybooks. I remembered the afternoons spent in the darkened room, the movies projected on the sheet fixed to the closet door. From Sleeping Beauty to Winnetou, dozens of reels of film entertained us.
We put so much emphasis on graduation and getting a diploma, while our preschool and elementary school years have the greatest impact on us. I remember all my teachers with respect and love, but even after all these years, I have to say: my former kindergarten teacher, my elementary school teachers, and the time I spent with them are not only my memories, but also pieces of my soul.
