After a tour of the new Manchester Essex Regional High and Middle School, 91-year-old Mary Helming proclaimed she wishes she could be a student all over again.

"I think it is simply marvelous," she said of the $49 million new school that opened in September. "It's just wonderful."

Although Helming grew up in Manchester, she never went to a regional high school — she was one of 22 students in the class of 1936 from the Story High School which served as the town's high school from 1874 until 1953, according to John Huss, curator at the Manchester Historical Society.

Life was much different back then and she wanted to see how the educational facilities have changed in town. But after she was unable to attend the school's open house in mid-October, she called Superintendent Marcia O'Neil — who couldn't resist giving her a private tour of the facilities on Thursday afternoon.

The tour took Helming, along with Manchester residents Russ and Dee Aldrich and Joe Aiello, throughout the building, from the dining hall to the auditorium, classrooms and the gymnasium. Seniors Tyler Weihs and Tim Surette of the school's "green team" provided the tour group with information on the school's eco-friendly efforts.

"I would think students would get lost," Helming told O'Neil, coming out of the auditorium and heading for the dining hall on the tour.

"We decided to call it the dining hall instead of a cafeteria (in hopes of) better behavior during lunch," O'Neil told Helming, who now lives at the Herrick House assisted living residence in Beverly.

The tour prompted Helming to reminisce about her high school days more than 70 years ago.

"There is no comparison," said Helming, who worked as a longtime professor of nursing at the University of Massachusetts. "The Story High School was just a small building on the hill."

It was located on the top of the hill on Bennett Street, Huss said. The building was opened as a school in 1874, but served other purposes before it became the high school. It was named after Asa Story, a long-time school committee member.

Helming said she recalled that the classrooms were small, and she mentioned she had the same art teacher from kindergarten into high school. There were obviously no computers — but "we had typewriters," she said.

Helming said there was also no gymnasium at the old Story High School, but there was a small room for exercising on the third floor. On the tour Helming told the group that she played field hockey, which prompted O'Neil to mention how well the current field hockey team is doing at the school. The Hornets play tomorrow in the North Sectional finals.

"We had a good team, too," said Helming, a 1940 graduate of the Mass. General School of Nursing. She also later obtained a master's degree from Simmons College.

The school expanded several times before the structure was torn down in 1953, Huss said. There is now a residence there.

But after all these years, and after moving back to Manchester nine years ago, Helming said she just wanted to stay connected to the town's school system — and newest high school.

"Having grown up in Manchester, I thought I would come out and contrast how it is different from when I was in high school," she said.

Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 978-283-1000, x3447, or via e-mail at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.