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MEMPHIS, TN. - Well, it's snowing in Memphis, but the Traveller must go on. We are once again saddened to hear of the loss of some Classmates. While the Classes of '64 - '65 -'66 are the prime focus of this site, we will continue to report on other classes if we are informed. It appears that the website started by a member of the Class of '68 has vanished from the web because it was not updated nor renewed, so we must take up the void left for the other classes.Please include your class year with your e-mails.
This past Thursday, February 26th, Jennifer and I had the pleasure to take in an experience some of you have previously enjoyed. We were able to see Jim McBride, perform. He was performing at the Melting Point in Athens, Gawjah with fellow songwriters Jerry Salley and Caroline Aiken. They were participating in a Songwriters in the Round as part of a fund raiser for their friend and fellow song writer Bruce Burch, who teaches song writing for the UGA Music Business program. When Jennifer and I heard about Jim performing in Athens we decided to make the short drive from North Augusta, SC to take in the show. We were not disappointed. Prior to performing, Jim, Jerry and Caroline met with Bruce's Music Business class during the day. Many of the students were in the audience that night and they were thrilled. Bruce, had made arrangements for two of his students to perform a song they had written. Jennifer and I had a wonderful time and really experienced some great talent. Young and old. Each writer took turns telling the story behind the song he/she wrote, what had been the experience that inspired it and then would perform it. Jim and Jerry have written a number of songs together and you could see the admiration Jerry had for Jim. He would often chime in on Jim's songs doing back harmony or just resting his hand on Jim's shoulder as he sang. We also witnessed the admiration that each artist had for one another and it was culminated by a surprise visit from Grand Old Opry legend Bill Anderson. Bill is a UGA graduate and was across town visiting with Sugarland who were performing at the same time. As Jim said "they have the same audience." Apparently Bill learned about Jim and the others being in town and came over to visit. Country Music artists are a close knit group and really support one another. After the show Jim took us over to meet Bill and he was every bit as gracious and kind as he appears on stage. We took advantage of the Kodak moment and afterwords Bill invited Jim and the others to go back with him to visit with Sugarland. Jim however wanted to spend some time visiting and catching up with the Bannecke's and declined.We went back to Jim's room to let him eat and to get caught up with what was going on in one anothers life. It had been some time since we had last been with Jim and we finally placed it several years ago when Jim, Judy Scarborough Milner, Jennifer and I had met at the JAZZ Factory restaurant on the Huntsville Square. That night ended badly for Jim and Judy as Jim had parked in a tow away zone and ... his car had been towed away. Go figure ? By the time they had made it back to the square to catch us, Jennifer and I had already gone.We had a wonderful visit and we highly recommend to all our classmates that anytime you have a chance to see and hear Jim perform do your self a favor and go. For all these years we've all been gone from our high school days it is easy to still see why "old friends are still the best friends."
We were saddened to get the following email about one of our Classmates. Unfortunately his photo was not in either the 1964 or 1965 Silver Sabres."I was googling my brother's name today because it would have been his 62nd birthday. I came across your site since he is listed as one of the "lost" classmates. (He died) in Birmingham, AL." - Penney K. DollarShirley Latta Gomez, Class of '71 submitted this to the site:With a very heavy heart I write to inform anyone who graduated from Lee in 1968 and remembers my sister, Cynthia Kay Latta Donnell, that she passed away on 18 Feb 09. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January '09 and went guickly. She had been in Cullman Regional Medical Center, then UAB, and I brought her to my house where, with the help of North Alabama Hospice and my daughter, we took care of her until her death. Kay went on to graduate from UAB with a nursing degree and was a care giver all her life; her husband has been sick for most of their married life and she took care of her inlaws until their deaths, and took a leading role in caring for our Mother after the death of our Father. I would be very happy to hear from anyone who remembers her and would like to write. I can be reached at 181 Silverwood Lane, Hazel Green, AL 35750 or email shirleygomez @aol.com. She leaves behind a daughter (Amy), husband (Mike), and a six-month old grandson (Alex). Her obituary was in the Huntsville Times on 19 Feb 09 if anyone would like to view. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we struggle to continue on without her in our lives.
The car I drove at Lee was a '55 Chevy (such as in the photo of a similiar car above) that had been the family car until we upgraded to a '63 Pontiac. The automatic transmission got so bad that anything but the smoothest acceleration would cause it to downshift. My favorite incident was coming up behind a tractor on the Ardmore Highway. It was going probably 10 mph, and I pulled out to pass. But I accelerated too quickly, and couldn't make it. I loved the expression on the tractor driver's face as he turned around in disbelief when I pulled back in behind him.
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