If you grew up in Nashua, lived on or near Amherst Street and are now in your early 70s, you may be among this mostly-smiling group of first-graders who were lucky enough to have Miss Emma Nicol as their teacher. Younger baby boomers will remember Miss Nicol as the assistant superintendent of schools, who had a habit of showing up in a classroom unannounced, taking a seat near the back of the room and silently observed the goings-on for a little while before moving on to the next classroom. These collages of elementary school classes were created for a number of years by the former Banner Photo Service, as keepsakes for the kids and teachers. While the size of this class -- 34 students -- might seem impossibly large compared to today, it was pretty close to normal for the time.

If you grew up in Nashua, lived on or near Amherst Street and are now in your early 70s, you may be among this mostly-smiling group of first-graders who were lucky enough to have Miss Emma Nicol as their teacher. Younger baby boomers will remember Miss Nicol as the assistant superintendent of schools, who had a habit of showing up in a classroom unannounced, taking a seat near the back of the room and silently observed the goings-on for a little while before moving on to the next classroom. These collages of elementary school classes were created for a number of years by the former Banner Photo Service, as keepsakes for the kids and teachers. While the size of this class – 34 students – might seem impossibly large compared to today, it was pretty close to normal for the time.