Est. March 31, 2000 34,139 Previous Hits January 20, 2002 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Staff Writers : Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
We Are Fami-LEE! |
Est. March 31, 2000 34,139 Previous Hits January 20, 2002 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Staff Writers : Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
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Last Week's Mystery Classmate |
More Pre-Lee Memories - Lincoln School by Woody Beck Class of '65 I'd like to add just a few thoughts about that other elementary school to the discussion we've been having. My family moved from North Carolina to Huntsville in 1956. My father had gone to work with what was known then as the A.B.M.A. (Army Ballistic Missile Agency), later N.A.S.A. We lived in a newly built subdivision, Lakewood, near the intersection of Memorial Parkway and Mastin Lake Rd. Lakewood was one of the numerous relatively middle- class new housing projects to accommodate the expanding growth of Huntsville. I was enrolled in the 6th grade in Lincoln Elementary School. The school building was grimy and the mill kids tough. It seemed that some of them had never visited a dentist and only infrequently made acquaintance with a bath tub. Too many of the kids had sallow skin, tired eyes, and sunken cheeks. I recall one classmate who would come to school about once a week with large red whelps on his face a pissed off father? A few of the textbooks used in the 6th grade were the same ones I had used in the 5th grade in North Carolina. A few of my male classmates would carve their girlfriend's name, or something really clever like "Born to Die", on their arms with a razor blade and then ink-in the cuts with a ball-point pen. Gruesome. I also remember, quite pleasantly, that some of my female classmates seemed to be more "developed" than the girls in my North Carolina school. Sweet. After about a month, a kid named Perry announced to me that he and I were going to fight. I told him that I saw no reason to fight and that I had little interest in doing so. I was scared: Perry was significantly larger than me, had a moon-shaped face with freckles, and hair plastered with axle grease. The next day during recess Perry beat me to a pulp. It was nothing special, just a normal part of life at Lincoln. Being one of the new kids on Perry's and his buddies' turf, we had to earn our rightful place in the Lincoln School food chain, and that meant by physical challenge. After being humiliated by Perry and accepting my status at near the bottom of the pack, the rest of the year passed more or less uneventfully although I don't remember not going to school without "butterflies" in my stomach. The kids from my neighborhood were different and we were invaders. Many were new to Alabama, and hence quite foreign, and our fathers were employed. Most of us were raised in a middle class culture of optimism and modest affluence. Many of the Lincoln School kids, however, were the sons and daughters of impoverished, long-term unemployed mill workers. It was an inevitable clash of cultures and social class exacerbated by the normal predatory inclinations of adolescent males. Occasionally a couple of friends and I would skip out during recess and march to the Tip Top Cafe, about a block from Lincoln School, to get a hamburger and, on a couple of episodes, share a beer yes, we were in the 6th grade but no one seemed concerned. It was at that critical juncture that I learned how a modest amount of ethyl alcohol in the central nervous system can dull the pain of school. After the Lincoln School experience, moving to the newly built Lee [Junior] High School was a treat, although my travails with the likes of Perry were not over. _______________________________________________ What About Lincoln? by Mike Griffith Class of '66 Enjoyed reading about Rison, but I couldn't believe that there were no stories about Lincoln. When I started first grade we lived on Virginia Boulevard, a few blocks from the "castle house" on Kildaire. Lincoln included grades 1-12, with grades 2-12 in the main three-story building (one story half-underground and two stories above ground) and the first grade was located in a standalone house to the front, to the right of the main building. The school was located directly in front of several streets of row mill houses. The school, the mill houses, and other surrounding buildings shared the same color and architecture as the mill itself. The "playground," as it was, was located behind the first grade house and bordered the mill houses all the way back to the railroad tracks. Being a 1-12 school there was the standard pecking order such that the older kids played on the portion of the playground nearest the railroad tracks, and was level and had some grass. We younger kids were relegated to the portion that had formerly been used to store piles of coal. The remainders of the coal piles made nice little hills and valleys that were great for holding water puddles ... wet shoes, etc. were large part of my memory of that time. Across the street from the school was a strange little shop, that was run by a man that I remember as "Bill Connors." It was kind of a snack and soda shop, and my biggest memories are that it had a juke box and a special treat made by Mr. Connors. He made kool-aid type popsicles by freezing them in dixie cups and sold them for a nickel; the thing that made them special was that he randomly put a nickel into some of the popsicles as they froze, and if the purchaser was lucky enough to select the right one then they would get back their purchase price while eating the popsicle. When I was in the third grade we moved to Lakewood and I had to ride the bus to and from Lincoln. The bus was not like the "big cheese" that the kids ride today, but was a city bus. We had to pay to ride and I remember purchasing tokens, one-week punch cards, and various other ways to pay over the years. The bus was very crowded, with standing room only, and you can imagine which grades sat and which grades stood. Like many of the stories about Rison, I remember Lincoln as being a rough school where I learned as much from the other kids (not what you could learn from books) as I did from the teachers. I won't take anymore of this week's space, but maybe there are others that remember Lincoln. __________________________________________ |
I may have the answer to the mystery classmate. I believe it is Glenda Gail Anders. She was always very smart and made great grades so I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she is the classmate in the picture. Sherry Adcock White Class of '64 __________________________________ Our Mystery Classmate who once wrote speeches for Dr. Von Braun is none other than Glenda Gail Anders! A very intellectual young lady as I remember. Johnny J. Sharp Class of '64 ______________________________________ Here's my identification of the Mystery Classmate. It's Glenda Gail Anders, class of '64 (identified without skulduggery, Tommy). I knew last week, but forgot to send in the paperwork. I think she and I had some classes together (maybe a homeroom), but I can't come up with any amusing or interesting anecdotes about her. I am impressed that she wrote speeches for Wernher von Braun and would love to hear more about that. Pssst, Glenda, submit something to the cyberpaper. Rainer Klauss Class of '64 _________________________________ |
___________________________ Early School Days Trivia Back in our early school days,we could sometimes buy pencils and paper at school. There were a couple of brands of school supplies, but there was one brand that included a color and an animal in its name. What was the brand of school supplies we are referring to? _____________________________________ |
- Photos by Lynn and Fred Sanders |
The 2003 Lee's Traveller Readership Survey The Traveller staff needs your input. We have put together a simple 10 question survey to get your opinion on what kind of job we are doing each week with Lee's Traveller. It should take you less than two minutes to complete it. Please click on the link below to get to the survey and share with us your feelings about the job we are doing. You do not have to give a name when you answer the questions. |
I want to start off this issue by thanking those that continue to send in their Pre-Lee stories. Part of our heritage is that we did not all come from the same background, and yet we all ended up together at Lee. Some of us graduated together and some of the weekly readers moved off or changed schools or for some other reason did not graduate with the classmates with which they shared so many years. I want those to know right now, it does not matter if you graduated with us or not, we still want to hear from you and we love hearing your memories too. So, just because you were not a member of the "graduating" class of '64, '65, or '66 does not mean that you cannot participate with us. Speaking of participating, we hope all of you will participate in the first official Lee's Traveller Readership Survey to help us better understand what you expect and what you get out of the weekly issue of your web paper. All you have to do is click a few buttons with your mouse and send it in, and you can remain anonymous if you like. I once again let you know that the editor will be in South Carolina for the next few weeks and will have to rely on a dial-up connection to get the Traveller put together, so it might not have as many features as normal, but I promise I'll do my best to give you a quality product. Remember, the Atlanta-area mini- reunion has been postponed until a later date. The Mullins breakfast is on January 25th, starting at 8am. T. Tommy ________________________________ |
Gail Anders Ralls, who retired Aug. 30, 2002, was an executive support assistant for Marshall Center Director Art Stephenson. Gail has received many awards, including Launch Honoree and a Director's Commendation. She sings in the choir at Whitesburg Baptist Church, has two sons and a new grand- daughter. __________________________________ |
From Our Mailbox Thanks for the memories. It is great to see how some of my classmates have grown. Do you have any idea how to reach Vickie Morris? She was my number one friend. I didn't graduate from Lee as my father's company transfered him but it was still great to see those old faces. Thanks again for bringing back some memories. Angela Tyson Houser (Would have been Class of '66) Birmingham, AL ahouser2@bellsouth.net _________________________________ Another observation for your TAO Of Skating: "The number of falls is directly proportional to the number of young ladies you are trying to impress." This is another one of Newton's Laws (John Newton, a guy I attended Junior High School with). Jim Bannister Class of '66 _______________________________________ The monthly breakfast get-together at Mullins is Saturday, January 25th. Some early birds arrive as early as 8:00, while some prefer to come later. Hope to see you there! Judy Fedrowisch Kinkaid Class of '66 __________________________________ |
Still Rison by Dianna May Stephenson Class of '64 My memories of Rison School are a bit different from most of the others. I started in Rison in 1st grade and went through the 6th. Lee Junior High was opened my 5th grade year. Rison was 1st through 12th grades for most of my years there. It was a my most enjoyable time in school. When I started to Lee, my troubles began. I had always had no trouble with grades through Rison, but I wasn't ready for all the changes junior high school brought. I don't remember Rison ever being a junior high school and I lived only 5 blocks away. I always walked to shcool to Rison and to Lee until Carol Barker and Linda Beal moved next door and across the street (respectively) from me. Then Carol's mother would drive us. There were a lot of times I would walk home from Lee with J.R. Brooks, Dwight Kephart, Neal Neauman and some girls (I can't remember who) but that seems like another world and another lifetime ago. I'm sure none of them would remember. I remember Rison as where I met and became friends with Dale and Gale Thompson, Pat Mullins, Adonna Johnson, Linda Isbel, Sonny Turner, Mike Smith and I'm sure many others, but they are the ones that stand out in my mind. I don't know why,but I just felt like I had to write, I just don't seem to remember things the way I read them on the Website. Anyway, the mystery classmate for last week is Gail Anders. Thanks for jogging my memory about long forgotten things, friends and places. ________________________________________ |
The above chart shows the statistics for Lincoln School today. They serve approximately 259 students. _______________________________________________ |
Another Trivia Question: For whom was Lincoln School named? __________________________________________________ |
Lincoln School |
<<<<<<======= What do you know about this place? |
