Debbie Bosak: Field trip high jinks recalled

• Reprints

Updated: September 28, 2011 5:54PM

Last week, on a particularly beautiful fall day, I drove by an apple orchard and noted all the school buses in the parking lot. Fall and spring are prime time for field trips.

I’m not sure how much the economy and budget cuts have affected the practice, but I remember field trips as a time-honored tradition in my school.

One end-of-the year tradition while I was at St. Luke in Gary was a trip to an amusement park in Porter County. Compared to today’s megaparks, this one would be laughable, but we were set free, and I remember it being great fun.

That is, until the unfortunate incident on the Tilt-o-Whirl. One of my classmates seemingly had a weak stomach. That, combined with a couple hours consuming junk food — well, you can imagine.

It wasn’t pretty.

I recall being grateful that, (A) it wasn’t me, and (B) I wasn’t on that ride at the time.

Here are a few more fond field-trip memories from your neighbors.

Bob Saunders, East Chicago: “It was our eighth-grade field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We thought we were big, tough guys and, hey, this was the big city, so we made a break for it.

“Back then, teachers weren’t so cautious about keeping track of the kids, so we basically were just left to roam here and there. We decided to walk downtown, not realizing it was a considerable hike. Yes, we got lost and didn’t make it back by the time we were supposed to leave.

“By the time the police found us wandering the streets, we had held up the bus for at least a couple hours. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant ride home.”

Katherine Szycheski, Gary: “In the early 1940s, I was a young teen, and our teacher took the girls to a local hospital to learn about nurses. In those days, nursing was a women-only profession.

“I remember it all being very confusing and a little scary, but, as we were moving around the floor, I noticed one young nurse. She really stood out because she was not being very efficient, but she also showed such obvious care and compassion. I knew then I wanted to be a nurse and I was, for more than 40 years.”

Dale Pepich, Cedar Lake: “I guess it was more than a field trip, but my eighth-grade class took a trip to Washington, D.C. Part of the tour included climbing the Washington Monument; I think there were close to 900 stairs.

“Anyway, most of our class made the climb, but, on the way down, my buddy said, ‘Let’s do it again.’ So we did.

“It just about killed us, but we did it. Naturally, it took much longer than the first time, and we didn’t give a thought about holding up everyone else waiting at the bottom.

“Several years later, I did the climb again with my son.”