Adivsory Board: Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, George Lehman Williams, Patsy Hughes Oldroyd
Contributors: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 and Others
MEMPHIS, TN - I am thinking of trying to organize a little get together in late August or early September. I am thinking about trying to rent the pavillion up on Monte Sano and have a very informal get together some Saturday afternoon/evening. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I know that football season will be underway, but that may be the only time to do it.
Please include your class year with your e-mails.
T. Tommy
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Past
Mystery Photos
From Our
Mailbox
This Week's
Mystery Photo
When Play Wasn't A Button?
by Tommy Towery
Class of '64
Each day as I drive to work, I pass the billboard in the photo above. There I am, headed to put in another day of work, and I am forced to think about when life wasn't about work but about play. When I went to the online dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/play) it said there were 34 results for the word play. In fact, there were 94 examples of the meaning of the word. Each morning when I drive by I think about the message and I come up with personal thoughts about play.
I really didn’t need a dictionary to understand the meaning of “play.” Yes, I do remember when “play” was more than just a button. When I think of play, my first thoughts go back to my childhood, when I “played” with all my friends. I remember a phrase we always used was "let's play like" which we said instead "let's pretend." First thoughts seem to always take me back to my East Clinton neighborhood, and how each summer we went to the East Clinton Elementary School playground for the summer activities they had there. I played chess and checkers on the picnic tables, played marbles, played horseshoes, played catch, played tag, and played softball with Connie Mullins and others. I played in the water fountain and we played hide and seek. I played on all the playground equipment – the sand box, merry-go-round, monkey bars, see-saws, and swings. In the summertime we played in the kiddie pool at the Big Springs Swimming Pool. I remember playing pool at the downtown YMCA.
Oh, yea, over the years “play” has meant lots more than a play button. We played with frogs. We played Cowboys and Indians when it was not politically incorrect to do so. I played with toy soldiers and model airplanes and electric trains. Let you mind wander and think back about playing house, playing doctor, playing war, playing dead, playing hard to get, playing the field, playing it smart, playing dumb, and getting played for a fool? Now, go back and look at the previous sentence and think about each section. I bet you can come up with a time in your life and a couple of names of old friends that go with each of those usages. Not only did you play with others, some were even accused of playing with themselves. Oh, and then you had playing football, playing fair, playing kissing games like spin the bottle, playing strip poker, or playing for keeps. Do you remember someone who played with you in those things? At Lee High School we played on a team, or played in the band. Some of us even played hookie. I remember a photo of J.R. Brooks in a straw hat and overalls when he was in a school play at Lee.
Remember we played the radio (way too loud according to Sarajane’s dad), we played records, and played around? Jerry Brewer played drums in a band, and Jim McBride played the guitar. I know we can all think of someone who played around on us. We played "Putt-Putt" but we didn't "play" skating or bowling. We just skated and bowled, but didn't just Putt-Putt - we "played" Putt-Putt. As the Carters played music for us to skate to at Carter's Skateland, my friends and I played the Baseball machine in the back room. Funny. I was in college before I ever played real golf, and in a way that was the start of a different kind of “play”. Later in life we played bridge, played video games, and played the slot machines and blackjack. As we get older, the play becomes less athletic and in many ways it is really less fun.
I guess the only way to feel young as you get older is to take some time to play with your grandkids, but then again sometimes that play just makes you realize how old you really are getting. Of course mine are still amazed that "Boompa" has a set of Heelys.
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Based on this week's idea of playing. What is the name of the game that is being played in the photo above? Who remembers the rules, without looking them up? Any stories about when you played this game? Class year with emails please.
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Don Wynn - Class of '67 - This is a two-fer because I can identify the mystery photos from the last two weeks. The stylish, little fella was one of the prizes in the magazine sales contest for the Class of '67.
The spring is on Monte Sano at the end of a long straight-a-way just as you get started up the mountain. We called it Horse Shoe Spring but I am not sure if that is the correct name or not. The area around the spring was un-developed until Esco German Beatty's father bought the property and built a house there. I don't know the date but think the house was built in the 70's. Every time, I return to Huntsville and pass that spring, I remember sitting barefoot in the cool water as a 10 year old, catching crawdads and building dams.
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(Editor's Note: Thanks Don for reinforcing a memory of mine that I was not positive about. Deep in the recesses of my brain, I too associated the Horseshoe Spring with Crawfish, but could not prove it. It is good to have someone confirm that memory. Although I have not seen a live Crawdad in years, they are one of the magical critters that filled my younger days. It seems that most creeks back then were inhabited with them, but unless you go to New Orleans you just don't seem to see them any more - at least in the wilds.)
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Escoe G. Beatty, (The one and only), Class of '65 - Since I am the one that keeps this little part of the world "domesticated" I do recognize it as the Horseshoe Spring. The WPA workers built it as they made their way up the mountain to build the other various sites in the park.
There should be some kind of Academy Award for very special website creations and for their founders...I nominate the ingenious Tommy Towery !!!
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Paulette Luna Wilbanks, Class of '67 - The little doll was like the mascot that I purchased when I was in either my junior or senior year and I graduated in 1967. I think it was my senior year and I purchased it from the school.
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Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, Class of '64 - Last Week's Mystery Photo: I believe I dated that old boy once, but I didn't like the yellow sunglasses, so he wasn't a keeper!
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Subject:Class of '73 Reunion
Mary Auten
Class of '73
Do you have any info about the 35 year reunion of class 73? I resently somehting on cable about this but didn't catch the contact number.
I worked a lot on the 20 year reunion and would love to reconnect with those folks. I created a lot of graphics for that event and still have all of it for further use.
(Editor's Note - Check out this site http://lee73.org/ The reunion will be Friday and Saturday, June 13-14.)
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Subject:Alabama Music
Greg Dixon
Class of '65
I was in Chichicastenango, Guatemala on a work assignment sometime in the early 80's when a peculiar Huntsville related coincidence occurred. Chichi is a lovely little market town in the mountains where the native families brought goods for sale on certain days of the month. At night, they set up their stalls and camped around the town plaza anchored by an old colonial church. As I was walking around this colorful, magic scene at twilight, I saw a large group of small children gathered around the entrance to the church. Some musical event was about to happen and I wandered over to see whether it might be an interesting cultural experience in this exotic, remote village. As it happened, a group called the Huntsville Village Singers (I think from UAH) was beginning a concert. I asked about the price of a ticket (How many quetzals to the dollar?), and found out that it was about a nickel. So, being a generous guy, I bought tickets for about 30 children and we all crowded into the back of the church for a lovely evening of very good music.
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Subject:Poochie Parker London
Chip Smoak
Class of '66
It is always an occasion of great sadness to learn of the loss of another member of the Fami-LEE. I am sure that all of us are praying that God will comfort and strengthen the family, friends, and loved ones that "Poochie" Parker London left behind.
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New Computer Virus
Found
Submitted by Richard Simmons
(A long time ago, but I forgot to print it.)
I thought you would want to know about this e-mail virus. Even the most advanced programs from Norton or McAfee cannot take care of this one. It appears to affect those who were born prior to 1965.
Symptoms:
1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice. Done that!
2. Causes you to send a blank e-mail. That too!
3 Causes you to send e-mail to the wrong person. Yep!
4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to you. Who me?
5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment. Well darn!
6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished. Oh no - not again!
7. Causes you to hit "DELETE" instead of "SEND." and I just hate that!
8. Causes you to hit "SEND" when you should "DELETE."
