Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

Male Bonding

by Don Wynn

Class of '67

That’s what guys do with their friends, they bond. We are bonding all the time. We bond during good times and bad. We never actually finish bonding. We just get tighter and tighter until the line between friend and brother disappears.

Just before Christmas in 1967, Sam Smith (Class of ‘67) came home on leave from the Marine Corps after boot camp. His leave officially started at 12:01 AM so he stayed up, signed himself out of the base at Camp Lejeune just after midnight and then headed to the Greyhound Bus Station where he caught the first Bus home. Adrenaline wouldn’t let him sleep on the ride to Huntsville. There is just no feeling like going home.

He arrived that afternoon and we made plans to hang out that night. Sam borrowed his Dad’s car, a nice Dodge Dart GT. We had used that car to cruise many times during our senior year at Lee. It was familiar to us, almost like a mechanical friend. Sam picked me up then we dropped by Steve Campbell’s (Class of ‘66) house and picked him up. The three of us were ready for some male bonding!

We drove through the parking lot at the north Shoney’s then through Jerry’s then through the south Shoney’s before finding a parking spot. We pulled in, ordered three large Coke’s and started flirting with every girl in sight. Charming would not be the appropriate term to describe us but loud and silly would. After an hour or so, we were able to clear all the girls out of Shoney’s. We weren’t sure where they went but we were sure they were gone. We listened to the radio for a while, told some silly jokes, compared the Army to the Marine Corps. Sam made the comparison, Steve and I just listened.

After a while we decided that the girls weren’t coming back so we decided to drive around looking for them. We were just a bunch of teenaged boys ready to be seduced by some teenaged girls. We used all our hunting skills but couldn’t find even one girl anywhere.

Together we tried to think of something else to do. I am not sure who said ‘Let’s go to Fayetteville.’ As soon as that was said, we were on our way. I don’t think any of us had ever been to Fayetteville before because I am sure we would have thought of somewhere else to go if we had been there.

Sam drove up 431 and we talked all the way. Once we got there, we drove around the square and quickly decided that there was more to do in Huntsville. It doesn’t take long to see everything in Fayetteville.

We stopped at a gas station to answer nature’s call. Steve called ‘shotgun’ so I pulled the seat forward and climbed into the back. I realized that there was room enough in the back to curl up so I did. Steve must have been sleepy too because he rested his head against the side glass and started to doze. Sam forgot where he was and drifted off to sleep too!

The car gradually left the road on the right. As soon as our right wheels left the road, we were all awake, sitting up, paying attention. The car was fine, we were just traveling a little too fast to have one pair of wheels on the road and the other in the grass. Sam had the wheel and was trying to regain control and to slow the car at the same time. Everything was going pretty well but the car was gradually sliding farther into the shallow ditch at the side of 431.

Finally, we slid too far into that little ditch. The right headlight caught in the mud. The car flipped onto its top in a cork screw motion. We were all on the headliner as the car was sliding down that little ditch upside down. The glass was shattered and the sound of metal being smashed was very loud. I can remember holding the dome light in my hands, trying not to allow my body to slide to the side of the car where I could get caught in a shearing action with the ground as it raced by.

After a month-long slide, the front of the car caught in the mud again causing the car to begin to cart wheel. I have no way of knowing how many time we flipped.

Finally, the car stood on its nose and dropped back down onto the wheels. The radio was still on! I was in the back seat just where I had started. I sat up and called to Sam and Steve. Sam was wedged up under the dash and immediately answered. Steve was gone!

Sam and I crawled through the windshield opening and stood on the hood. ‘Steve, Steve’ we yelled. ‘Over here!’ Steve yelled back. He had been flipped out of the car and had landed in a farm field across a barbed wire fence. I’ll bet that is the only time in Steve’s life that he cleared a fence in a single bound!

We flagged down a trucker who called the police for us. The car was totaled but we were fine except for cuts and bruises. Steve wore a neck brace for a while but that was the extent of the damage.

In a few weeks, Sam reported back to the Marine Corp and was sent to Vietnam. He was killed there before reaching his 19th birthday. Sam is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery and is memorialized on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington.

My friend and our classmate

Samuel Thomas Smith

1949-1968

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More Information About Sam Smith

found by Tommy Towery at

http://www.thewall-usa.com

As part of my editorial duties, I was looking for some more facts about things in Don's story. I found a photo of a Dodge Dart and then started looking for what the web had on Sam Smith. I found a website that offered a place for people to leave comments and found the following item submitted by one of Sam's friends about his death. The site does not allow direct links to the entries, so I copied them to share with you.

Submitted by

Steven L. Doughty

doughtysteven@sbcglobal.net

Friend/Squad Leader

1717 Jerry Abbott St

El Paso, TX 79936 US

Friend/Squad Leader

When Sam came into country I was his squad leader, 1st. Squad, 1st. Platoon, Lima Company 3rd. Bn. 1st. Marines 1st Marine Div. He was a corker that's for sure. I came into country in Oct. 1967 so I had some time in country and time in grade as a Corporal. It didn't take long to see that Sam was pretty swift and I needed a good squad radio operator not just a point man for the squad so Sam was it. The Platoon commander we had used 1st squad for a lot of shit details. I had a good crew and we knew how to get things done. It wasn't long before he seen that I had a good radio operator (Sam), his wern't all that so he took Sam for a couple of days for an operation. I still had Sam in my squad though the day he was killed. 1st. squad was point for the platoon. There was my point man and the rest of my 1st fire team in the lead, I was with the second fire team with my M-79 man Jerry Hensley from Ashville, NC who lost his legs in the same booby trap explosion (command detonated) Sam was just behind me then Hensley when the thing went off.I just caught some, Sam was badly hit in the throat and Hensley lost his legs. Sam was a friend, we talked of home, his girl friend and family. I had seen a lot of action and this was my second wound in 7 months. I miss Sam to this day. a couple of years ago the Traveling Wall came to the town where I lived. I found Sam's name on the wall. At that moment it was just like I had lost him that day right there all over again. Semper Fi Sam Your Friend MSGT Steven L. Doughty, USMC Ret.

Sunday, June 06, 2004

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Generic '61 Ford Sunliner

A Night to Remember

by Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly

Class of ‘64

It was summer back in ‘62. I was less than six weeks away from my 16th birthday when I had my first “alone-in-the-car-with-a-boy date.” You remember 16, don’t you? You know, the one where you miraculously develop overnight into that mature individual who never uses poor judgment? Apparently that’s what my dad believed, because that was THE age he randomly picked for my dating debut.

I had had my first “car date” as I’ve previously reported with Tony Thompson (Class of ’64) when his dad drove us to the ninth-grade banquet. Of course, Daddy almost died of apoplexy then! He was certain (while peeping out the window) that Mr. Thompson was just another teenager! Now I ask you, would you expect this from the kid who NEVER caused any trouble and who always did well in school? Where do fathers get these weird ideas, anyway? Is it perhaps because THEY WERE BOYS??? Hmmmm.

Ronnie and I had known each other since we were pre-adolescents. Then when I was 13, we moved into the neighborhood where his family would later move. We had some mutual friends, and all of us lived to play softball, volleyball, badminton, etc. There was a big, empty lot across the street from my house, and we all gathered there to play the sport du jour. Then one day in early June, I realized that he was very, very cute, and my heart began to do strange things when he was around. I think he had reached the same conclusion about me at the same time. As the old saying goes, one thing led to another, and he became my boyfriend.

When I said that Daddy wouldn’t let me date, I really meant he wouldn’t let me DATE. Period. That meant that NO boy with ANY driver would pick me up in ANY car and transport me to ANY location. Not since Tony had I been in a car on a date with a boy. We played a lot more sports and talked on the phone for hours. We, along with friends, met at the movies. We held hands. We had cook-out after cook-out around the neighbor-hood. Finally, we shared our first kiss. I think that “Sherry,” by the Four Seasons (Frankie wasn’t given separate billing at that time.) was playing on the radio. But Daddy still wouldn’t let me date. Daddy liked Ronnie, however, and had no problem with him coming over to our house any time. I could even go down to his house. But no car could be involved.

One day my brother, Don, came over to visit. Don was almost 11 years older than I, and he and Daddy went for a little ride. I don’t know what Don said, but Mother told me that Daddy had decided that Ronnie’s mother, Nova, could drive us on dates! Keep in mind that Daddy had known and liked Nova for many, many years. The man defined the word “strict” for all seasons. We started going to the movies with Nova as our chauffeur. This was fine with me. I loved Nova and Ronnie’s grandmother and enjoyed being with them.

Finally the day came when Mother told me that Daddy had decided that Ronnie and I could go out alone and I wasn’t even 16 yet! Wonder of wonders! I was close to getting my driver’s license, but Ronnie was younger than I. I don’t remember how it even came to be, but Nova decided that Ronnie could drive the car. It was a red Ford Sunliner convertible. I think it was either a ’61 or ‘62 Fairlane or Galaxie, but I don’t remember. What I DO remember is that, even though we had been “dating” for a few weeks, I was so nervous that the proverbial butterflies were threatening to fly out of my mouth at any moment. I had borrowed a really cute pair of pedal pushers from my sister-in-law. They were brown-and-beige plaid Thermajacks, and I had a really cute little sleeveless blouse that matched. I changed my hair a couple of times, and brushed my teeth at least three times, while playing “Sherry” on my record player, over and over again.The wait was agonizing.

Finally, the moment arrived. I will never forget that it was 6:30 PM on the dot! Why do I remember the time so explicitly? Because another of Daddy’s quirks was that it didn’t look proper for a young lady to leave the house with a date at a LATE hour! (Another date’s car broke down one day, and he had to replace the brakes. He couldn’t get to my house until the indecently late hour of 8:00 PM. Daddy was doing the “livid” dance by that time. Thank goodness, Mother was able to calm him down.) Mind you, I had no curfew. They trusted me to come in at a decent hour, which I always did, with one minor exception. There was a really boring movie showing at the drive-in, and we both went to sleep. Really. That’s all there was to it. I wasn’t very late. Not late enough for Mother to awaken Daddy, so that should speak volumes. Did I mention that she ALWAYS waited up for me? Well, she usually went to sleep on the couch, but it was by the front door. I don’t think she got much quality sleep until her baby arrived safely home.

Ronnie had put the top down and had washed and waxed the car until it shone like one of Miss Monroe’s apples. That night, we went to Mullins’. I remember that Ronnie ordered a milkshake. Because he was very picky about food and very slender, his mother told me to always get an egg added to his milkshakes when he wasn’t listening. That was often a challenge, but egg he got! It was many years before I told him about the egg caper. We went to the Lyric (I was so much in love that night that I couldn’t even tell you what was playing.) after Mullins’ and then just rode around for a while. That car was just the icing on the cake. Not long after that, I got my driver’s license, and just to be on the safe side, I got to drive the car. What a ride!

My first love really was my first love. In retrospect, I know that it wasn’t just a crush. I did love him. We actually remained friends after we broke up and Ed and I have even double-dated with him! When we were married, Ronnie, his mother, and his stepfather were at our wedding, and they made an eight-millimeter movie of the wedding. He later told me that that was the prettiest he’d ever seen me. How cool was that for an ex?

You know how you sometimes hope that, at best, you don’t just recoil in disgust at the mention of an ex’s name? Well, for a long time after we broke up, I couldn’t even think about him without my heart turning over. He had played a big role in my life for almost a year. We spoke about other “loves” to each other as well as other problems. We even dated each other’s best friends! I knew that if I ever needed any kind of help I could call him, and he would be there.

Somewhere along the way, we became just friends. We lost touch for a number of years, but have spoken off and on for the last few. I still wish only the best for him.

I am pleased to report that my first “alone-in-a-car” date was as equally memorable as my first “driven-by-a-father-who-looked like-a-teenager” date. I don’t think The Four Seasons would mind my ending with a line from one of their songs, even if it did refer to the year 1963. After all, their music indirectly contributed to the success of my first great romance:

“What a very special time for me. As I remember, what a night!”

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Subject:Other Classes

Jerry Dorriety

Class of '70

jdorriety@alltel.net

Macon, Georgia

Howdy to all! Really enjoying visiting the site and remembering the great times and people. It is a good thing to stay in touch with where we came from. The class of '70 was a great group of people and I'd love to reconnect with some of them.

Thanks for the hard work you and the staff do to keep this great website going. My routine every Monday morning is to pour a cup of coffee, get something to munch on, then visit the past and present through the website. Even though I was a member of the class of ’70, many of the names ring a bell with me. Some because they were friends of my brother’s, who was four years older, many because they were the people I either looked up to or feared when I started as a freshman. Those three or four years of age difference were an entire world away when I was 14 years old! I patterned my behavior and desires through watching you and your friends. How’s that for a scary thought?

(Editor's Note: Several times I have made offers to members of other classes besides 64-65-66 to assit in helping them get their own website going or link with us in a way. Every time those offers have been ignored. A member of the Class of '68 started a website, then let it decay into a stagnant state. I would be willing to work with anyone who is also willing to put their own money and time (especially time) into a site.)

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Subject: State Line Beer Run

George Lehman Williams

Class of '64

While I'm on a roll, How many classmates besides Harold Tuck, Lynn Baeder, Gary Kinkle, Dwight Tuck and myself, would drive to the Tennessee state line on a Friday before school started, buy quarts of

beer, ice them down, drink a few on the way back singing chug-a-lug,

chug-a-lug, and then go out to the parking lot during breaks and lunch

and chug a few to get a head start on Friday night parties? And what

about cutting a hole in an orange, squeezing half the juice out and

replacing it with Vodka using a hyperdermic needle so you could suck on

it in the library during studyhall?

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Subject: Lynn Teague and Others

Barbara Still Cunningham

Class Year Other

I am not sure why I went to the web site today (1/12/05), but to my sadness I saw where Lynn Teague had passed. She and I were best friends all the way thru school and for what ever reason lost touch about two years after we graduated in 1967. I have thought of her often through out the years and likr most of us was going to try and locate her. Now it is to late. You would think by now I would know most of the time tomorrow is to late. Thanks to Marc for putting this on the web site. I know I will go to it more often than I use to. For the record I am in Huntsville and my e mail address at work is bcunningham@southbank.com and at home is barbskip96@comcast.net - for those who know my brother Ben Still his e-mail address is docsgolfgallery@verizon.net.

Thanks to Tommy and everyone who puts this web site together.

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Subject: Patsy Smith

Linda Kinkle Cianci

Class of '66

Is there anyone out there who can tell me anything about Patsy Smith, Class of '66 before her death? I didn't know she had passed away until reading the January 3rd Traveller. Patsy and I were good friends in high school, choir, and church youth group. We double-dated to our senior prom - I ran across the photos back during the summer and vowed to try to find her, but never got around to it. We kept in touch for a few years, then, as so many do, just stopped corresponding. Back in those days, everyone had to write letters to keep in touch. I loved Patsy - she was beautiful inside and out. She had a beautiful alto voice, always had a bubbly smile, and loved the Lord. One of our favorite hymns back then, to which we would often harmonize on the bus, was "Ivory Palaces." The last verse reads, "In garments glorious He will come, To open wide the door; And I shall enter my heav'nly home, To dwell forevermore." Amen.

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Subject: Next Reunion Meeting

Alice Gullion Preston

Class of '64

Just a reminder to mark your calendars for our next meeting--February 7 at 5:15 here at the office. Hopefully, a lot of contacts will have been made and a lot of addresses will have been confirmed.

Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne P.C.

200 West Side Square

Suite 5000

Huntsville, AL 35801

256-535-1100

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Curb Feelers And Car Dates

by Linda Kinkle Cianci

Class of '66

How anyone remembers back to their first car date is beyond me, but I do have a story on boys meeting the dad... in my case, the worse fate was meeting either or both of the older brothers!

First though, let me tell you that I wish my dad's car had had those curb feelers the first time I took my driver's test; perhaps then I wouldn't have run right over that curb and hit that telephone pole at the end of the test. The officer administering the test, with a look of amusement, asked, "Well, do you think I should give you a driver's license?" I think I whispered something intelligent like, "I don't know." I'm sure you all know the answer to his question. I remember Daddy standing there shaking his head and asking why I did that. To that, I very specifically remember telling him he'd taught me to parallel park, on a hill, but not how to just pull up to a curb and park (I was not required to parallel park during the test). I think that was when my dad's ulcers started forming.

As for dates meeting my older brothers. I remember one specific incident when I had a date that night but went to a friend's house that afternoon after school to let her pierce my ears. She deadened the earlobes with ice cubes, then the needle got stuck and she had to go to her aunt's house to search for some "tool" to assist her, and to ask her aunt's advice - left me there with the sewing needle stuck halfway through my earlobe, during which time the deadening disappeared.

I was quite late arriving home, my parents were angry, and the "big brother" had arrived home from college for the weekend. I'm not sure I ever knew exactly what transpired in my absence, but apparently more than one boy showed up at the door that evening. I think one was actually there to pickup my other brother; but when my date arrived, "college boy" invited him in, had great fun "interrogating" him, and asked, "Oh, are you also here to pickup Linda?" Pointing to the other one, "He is too." Both left before I got home, and I arrived to my brother laughing and my parents boiling. I don't know if my parents were more mad about my getting my ears pierced, thinking I had made a date with two different boys and stood-up both, or at my brothers for laughing through the whole incident.

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