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Reunions
are for catching up. Here's your place to keep up instead.
Your classmates of the Sheffield High School Class of 1956 are doing all sorts of interesting things these days. . . . not to mention having interesting ideas and takes on the happenings of today. Who said you have to slow down at 50, or 60, or 70? Read on to see what we are up to these days.
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October 2, 2006 • Posted by Louis What's a "Fifty-Sixers' Journal???" This journal is a place where you can share your adventures, your photos, your opinions of world, local or SHS events or even the causes you support. Until we get some blogging software up and running, e-mail your story, comments, photos, and replies to other classmate stories to Louis. Hey, guys and gals! Anytime you see underlined words, click on them. They are links to great things!
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March 20, 2009 • Posted by Linda (Ed. Note: Does anyone need me to provide Linda's last name--Smith?) A Sweetheart of a St. Patrick's Day Luncheon!
SHS Sweetheart's of the 1956 graduating class present at the Thursday, March 19, 2009 luncheon at the Southland Restaurant celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Decorations provided by classmate Patsy Bell Congleton. (back row standing left to right) Linda Methvin Smith, Patsy Bell Congleton, Joanne Marsh Gargis, Joyce Horton Johnson, Sandra Foreman Morris, Joyce Ford Foster, Joanne McMoran Jefferys, Mary Lynn Blair Freeman. (seated left to right) Shirley Kimbrough White, Louise Yarbrough Holland, Barbara Laughlin South, Zecora Willcutt Sanders.
Sweetheart's time went by so swiftly yesterday. Plenty of green and happy Sweethearts. Sweetheart's present discussed a tentative date for the SHS Class of 1956 mini reunion # 53 for Saturday, August 8, 2009 to be held at the SHS cafeteria. My only input was to offer that since Peggy King Bishop was not there, Sweetheart's should contact her with their suggestions as she and Louis have been heading up that Reunion Committee. Talk around the table was that summer vacations and grand children visits should be over by August...and that the event worked last year in August. I was asked to e-mail Webmaster Louis, chair of the reunion committee (you ) for you to firm up something with Peggy, whoever ? Sandra and Neil Morris invite the class to meet at their new home in Tuscumbia 4-6 p.m. for 'social time, happy hour on the ranch' prior to the mini-reunion feast at the school cafeteria. Sounds like a pleasant walk in the park; then we go eat. Sandra is soooooooooooo eager to share her new home with ALL classmates! Now with this e-mail, I have honored Sweetheart's request.... Guru Jim did our Sweetheart's group UP PROUD with his timely e-mail to classmates of our Sweetheart's gathering of yesterday. He added lots of St. Pat's Day decorations as you may have already seen.... Jim keeps us smiling and sassy ! It's your turn--get us on the website Believe me, they are looking at the website . . . . . . I even heard a comment on Sam Malone's genealogy search and his efforts locating Malones around North Alabama. Thank goodness I have my camera to grab when the girls become focused on a particular subject.......................Keeps me busy...............and quiet. Wait till you see my tulips ! Best crop I have ever had. I'll send you a photo.
Thank you, Linda Ed. Note: Now, to set the record straight after I so unchivalrously played with the group photo that our official photojournalist, Linda, graciously sent me to document the March meeting of the SHS Sweethearts, here is the REAL THING:
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March 15, 2009 • Posted by Sam Malone Know Your Roots - Fun in Genealogy 101 Hello classmates,
Several years go, my
brother-in-law got a copy of a Malone genealogy, done by a distant
relative in Illinois. He gave me a copy, and that got me started.
I soon found that there were errors in this effort, so I
set about to correct them. (I
still haven’t completed that task).
However, it led me down paths of generations of Malones I never
expected to find. My dad came from Russellville, so my wife and I walked the cemetery where my granddad is buried. This yielded nearly 150 Malones that I have carefully linked together to form the base of my study. I found an old Malone
cemetery near Frankfort, Alabama, where the first Malone settlers are
buried. Seems there were
three families who came to Alabama ca 1817 and settled near Tollisons
Creek, in Franklin County. James
Malone, Amy Malone Hester, and Pumphret Malone and their families came
from Person County, North Carolina, to the new frontier we now call
North Alabama. Between the
three original Malones above, they had over fifty children.
The Hesters founded what is now called Mount Hester, near
Cherokee. James and his 26
children stayed close to Tollisons Creek, and Pumphret (my great - great - great grandfather) went west for a while and then back
east. You can’t
believe how it feels to stand in an
old cemetery at the foot of a grave you have finally found after months
and years of searching. I
haven’t found Pumphret’s grave yet, but I did find his grandparents
graves in North Carolina. The internet is full of
websites that I have poured over for hours at a time, looking for the
one name that will fit and link my Malones to “their Malones”. A good story comes to mind. Several summers ago, my younger daughter, Paige, worked in a hotel in the Grand Tetons. While she was there, there was a Malone reunion scheduled. Most of these Malones were from the west coast. Paige was a maid and wasn’t supposed to talk to the guests, but she did get an opportunity one morning. When she told the lady she was a Malone, too, the lady got very interested and asked Paige if she knew much about her ancestors. Paige told her she had heard me talk about them all her life. “Our Malones came to America after the potato famine in Ireland, in 1849-50”, the lady said. “Paige looked her in the eye and said, “Well, my dad says we had Malone ancestors born in Virginia in 1652. We were here 200 years before theirs were !!!!!! Oliver Cromwell, an
English General and his troops drove out a lot of Irish farmers and
confiscated their land sometime around 1640-1650.
England has picked on Ireland for centuries, but that is another
story. If anybody is still
reading this, you really need to learn about where you came from.
We tend to get lost in the news of today
and fail to realize why things happen as they do. I
suggest to you that you find the oldest members of your family and get
as much information on all the relatives they can remember.
Most of us have waited too late,
and all he old folks are gone, but see who you can find anyway. You can walk Oakwood
Cemetery in Sheffield and find out a lot.
I found nearly fifty people I
am related to over there, including the parents of the original
genealogy author that got me started
years earlier. Another story: I always go by my parents graves and “visit” with them when I am in Sheffield. Nearby, are the graves of Floyd (Winston) Carter’s parents. At the last reunion, I told him I had visited with his folks that morning. He was shocked, to say the least. Guess he thought I was crazy. Incidentally, also
nearby are the graves of Bill
Threadgill, our grammar school
principal and his wife who taught most of us in the seventh grade, I
believe. Now there was a
man. I honestly believe he
remembered the name of every child who ever went to elementary school in
Sheffield, and something about them.
Years after we graduated, I would see him walking down the
street in Sheffield. “Hello,
Sam”, he would say. During
our conversation he would ask if I remembered one of his students.
No matter what my answer was, he would give me the details on
that person, just like he
was a next door neighbor. A
Fine Man. I have rattled on far longer than I intended, so I will stop and get my grass mowed. Just wanted to share with others my enjoyment with genealogy. It’s a blast. SAM MALONE Ed. Note: I've been hanging on to this from Sam for longer than I intended. I'm sure the delay has hurt my chances of getting more such great stuff from Sam. His contribution is interesting and stimulating. Genealogy can be so very intriguing, consuming all your time running down facts and family members. Every family seems to have one of these really great archivists who have gone to the trouble, as Sam has done, to document so much of the "Family Tree," and all the rest of the family owes them a great debt for the knowledge of their roots. Thanks, Sam, for your encouraging us to do something useful and rewarding for our families.
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March 8, 2009 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith Seasons Change - A good read as we emerge from winter Hello...again, Classmates: First I send you the Auburn snow fall...now, I send on to you classmate Buck Locke's recent poetry he just shared with me this morning. I urge you to read it 'cause it's so fitting for most of our country...waiting for Spring. Seasons Change Say goodbye to your winter blues Let me remind you of the good news! Spring in New England (and in Alabama) is near That’s news all are glad to hear. Think back and remember the snow Look forward, soon time to sow For the flowers will soon grow Mother Nature is on the go! Forget the long cold dark days Bask in the early morning sun’s rays Hope springs eternal in our heart Let the new season have a joyful start! Buck Locke 10 Dennett Road Winchester 781-729-7129 Linda
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March 8, 2009 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith Snowfall in Dixie I received this from classmate Zecora Willcutt Sanders. Her grandson Craig attends Auburn University. I don't know the origin of the video but it is good ! and the music is so fitting. I shall send it on to Buck Locke as I recall he attended Auburn. Me thinking...an excellent entry for the SHS website BLOG site as this is fresh snow...for all our Auburn classmates to enjoy...or Alabama classmates or mates anywhere. Please give Zecora credit for sharing with me so that I can share with Louis and the site. Thank you for whatever you choose to share.
Snow at Auburn 3/1/2009. You won't see this too often.
SEE my tulips coming up through the snow in Florence on Benji Road....
Linda Ed. Note: We were treated to a rare Alabama occurrence when when we woke up on Sunday morning, March 1--an accurate weatherman's forecast of snow in Dixie! I have almost become immune to the hype I see on the weather news when conditions become favorable for this to happen, because it almost never does. But they got it right this time. Here in Tuscaloosa, the headlines were "Worst Snowfall in Tuscaloosa in 12 years!" Now, Buck (in Massachusetts), that was 2 inches at most. Still, we got a thrill out of it, and, in my case, the bonus was that it all melted by noon, and I didn't have to drive in it. Click on the little thumbnail images to see a larger photo of the Tuscaloosa snowfall on Lake Cove Drive.
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March 6, 2009 • Posted by Buck Locke Where have all the good ones (members of the Class of '56) gone???"
I got email from Jim K that you had
sent him about Edna Blair. I didn't call and suspect that she
will not be back in the same room after the surgery. I had sent
her a Christmas card that came back as she must have moved from 544
Overlook Road, Fultondale, AL. If you have a new address let me
know and I will send her a get well card.
I also have several other folks who
have moved. You may have some contacts with them by way of the
website: Charlotte Dillard Bruce, Betty Williams Byrd, Beverly Broutin
Lacy, Sandra Maclin Thornton, Elise Hastings Loftin, Charles Bradford,
and Wayne Hargett.
I had also sent a card to Mary Fell
and it was returned. I guess after Harold passed away she
decided to downsize.
I may have told you before that I
mentioned some folks at my Wednesday evening prayer group and it seems
that my list is growing longer very fast. My minister suggested
that was one of the things that happens with getting older. One
of our friends told us that all her friends had died. I had to
point out to her that we were still around!
The snow is deep but it is warming
up going to hit 37 today. Spring is only a little over two weeks
away.
Ed. Note: Buck is optimistic when he suggests that I get any feedback from the viewers of this website. If he's to update his address book, you'll have to help. If any of you know the correct address of these classmates, send it/them to me at lebuettner@comcast.net or to Buck Locke in Winchester, Massachusetts. Check your class directory for his address, e-mail and phone number or write me.
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March 2, 2009 • Posted by Sandra & Neil Morris The
Big Burn CLICK HERE to be transported to a report on the resurrection of Sandra Foreman and Neil Morris' new home from the ashes of the fire one year ago this week. It's inspiring to see members of our class display such optimism and faith (and thankfulness to God) in the face of such a loss.
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February 24, 2009 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith Loyal, Faithful, Loving Sweethearts Ed. Note: This month marks two and a half years of monthly gatherings by our Class of '56 Sweethearts to reminisce, share and support each other. Their pledge at the first get-together in September 2006 to meet monthly has turned into one of the most enduring traditions of our class. These gracious ladies welcome any and all of the girls of the Class of '56 to their noon luncheons on the 3rd Thursday of each month, and even pause to welcome any of the guys who want to stop by and say hello.
The SHS Sweethearts of 1956 celebrated Valentine's Day and National Heart Month in 'Happy Heart' style with table decorations and favors supplied by Patsy Bell Congleton, much congenial joy abundant anticipating Spring. Linda
Thanks to Jim Kimbrell, we Sweethearts have an e-mail newsletter which faithfully gets the luncheon notices out and photographically records each month's attendees and the action.
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February 18, 2009 • Posted by Buck Locke Memories of Joyous Misery Ed. Note: This came in from Buck Locke who, perusing his latest National Geographic, came across an article about one of his favorite climbing mountains of New England--one with a reputation for the highest recorded wind speeds and for being a climber-killer. CLICK HERE to read the National Geographic article and see awesome photos of what Buck likes to do that you and I would never, ever do!
Letter to the Editor (National Geographic): The
article “Backyard Arctic” in the February issue brought back many
memories of my own Mount Washington climbs. The Sherman Adams building on the summit houses the visitor
center, a cafeteria, restrooms, and gift shops.
The author Neil Shea mentions the number of deaths on the
mountain. Near the entrance
in the building is a plaque with a list of the names of the 136 who have
died on the mountain beginning with Frederick Strickland in 1849.
I have stood and pondered this list on several occasions as the
most striking feature of the plaque is the blank space left for future
names. Several times I
wondered if or when mine would be added. On
a nice summer day seven years ago I hiked to the summit.
While in the cafeteria eating lunch the wind picked up.
We tried to go down the mountain and were blown over so we went
back in. There is a
wonderful video in the summit building I watched that day when the winds
were well over a hundred thirty miles an hour.
Wind too strong to stand outside so we hunkered down in the
building watching the video “Breakfast
of Champions” which shows a fellow outside the building trying to pour
Wheaties and milk into a bowl with the wind blowing all of it away.
Quite humorous to watch the video over and over while the wind
howled outside. We also
watched the anemometer reading to keep track of the wind speed. Given
the velocity of the wind we took the cog railway back down the mountain
and there was even concern the roof would be lifted off on the way down. One
January a friend took my photograph while I stood hanging onto the sign
at the summit. I was on the
summit that day for about 30 seconds in the stinging bitter cold wind
before struggling down to use the observatory building as a wind break!
Sadly there was no cog railway to get me down that day.
The wind, blowing in gusts left us falling on our face when it
stopped or blowing us onto our backs when it picked up.
The photos by Jose Azel capture some of the conditions on the
mountain in winter
Buck
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February 9, 2009 • Posted by Buck Locke Brother Buck's Thespian Antics Help Build a Hospital Ed Note: If you go back 2 years in this journal, you will see some other articles that relate the part our classmate, Buck Locke, plays in the staging of a benefit performance in the town of Winchester, Massachusetts, for the construction of an oncology center at the local hospital. By my records, this is the final year of a 5-year plan for the hospital volunteers to raise half a million dollars for this worthy cause. Buck is in the stage crew, but the production features the stage crew in at least one performance which, this year, had them donning the robes and hair-do of monks. He first relates a cute story from a friend and co-worker who fled from Boston to Atlanta.
Hi, I'm sure some of you wonder why I live in Massachusetts. Well my friends at times so do I! We have about 3 feet of snow in the yard and more is expected tonight. So I thought I would share this little message that my friend sent me. edw is my friend Earle and I worked with him for many years at RCA. Ah, but we both left that company over 25 years ago. I stayed here and Earle now lives outside of Atlanta. He likes to pull my chair or poke fun at my stupidity! Anyway this is cute. Our
New Home in Massachusetts Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Massachusetts . It is so beautiful here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country. Oct. 14 - Massachusetts is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude of different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges and yellows, they are so bright.. I want to walk through all of the beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so graceful, certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on Earth. This must be paradise. Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very symbol of peace and tranquility here in Mass. I hope it snows soon . I love it here! Dec. 2 - It snowed last night.. I woke to the usual wonderful sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp, clean and refreshing. We had a snowball fight. I won, and the snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony. I love it here! Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love it here! Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling. And that snowplow! Dec. 21 - More of that white stuff coming down. I've got blisters on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the driveway. Dec. 25 - White Christmas? More creaking snow. If I ever get my hands on the goofball who drives that snowplow, I swear I'll castrate him. And why don't they use more salt on these roads to melt the snow and ice?? Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been inside since then, except of course when goofball "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows. Weather person says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea how many shovelfuls 10 inches is?? Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt until the 4th of July! The snowplow got stuck down the road and the driver actually had the gumption to ask to borrow a shovel! I told him I'd broken six already this season. Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to get some food and a damn deer ran out in front of my car and I hit the bugger. It did $3,000 in damage to the car. Those beasts ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if you ask me. Jan. 27 - Warmed up a little and rained today. The rain turned the snow into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak tree in the front yard and it went through the roof. I should have cut that old branch into fireplace wood when I had the chance. May 10 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside of the car is rusted away from all of that damn salt they dump on the road? Car looks like a bashed up, heap of rust.. May 23 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Florida . I can't imagine why anyone in their freakin' mind would ever want to live in the God forsaken State of Massachusetts in the winter time.
The Part About the Musical, "Winchester Cathedral" The cabaret finished up on Sat. night. I was a monk singing and dancing in the stage crew number "Winchester Cathedral". Our group definitely needed lots more rehearsal time. One of my friends pointed out that the rest of the crew was out of step with me. They will have to do better next year! We think we may have raised about $50,000 for the hospital. I know we sold out Thursday, Friday, and Sat. nights. It looked like a pretty full house Tuesday and Wednesday. We had one very emotional number "This is Our Country" by John Mellencamp. The stage crew carried out the flags for each service and the cast went out in the audience to bring veterans up to the stage. My friend Jeff was ambushed on his Swift Boat in Vietnam 40 years ago and spent about 6 months in the hospital having his legs rebuilt. So Wed. night Jeff carried the Navy flag and I carried the Army flag on stage. I don't think there was a dry eye in the audience or the cast! Hope all of you are enjoying the warm weather!
Buck
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February 2, 2009 • Posted by Carol Cahoon The Right Stuff This e-mail came from a friend who's in the flying business I was a cabin crew member for almost 10 years and feel very grateful that I never had to give the crash command. I give this crew great credit to have done this without incident. I hope you will get a sense of the professionalism that was involved in making this "Miracle on the Hudson" happen.
Subject: AA pilot was on USAir 1549, her report
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July 7, 2008 • Posted by Jim Kimbrell Enjoyed reading about Buck and his USN experience but in the REAL World he was just aboard a BIG TARGET !!! The Real Navy ? Well there are only two kinds of Ships, targets and SUBS... Guess what I was on?CLICK HERE (or on the title)
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July 1, 2008 • Posted by Buck Locke Got a Living Parent? Here's a Great Book For Them! I think I may be the first to submit a "book review" for the website, but this one is for the frail loved ones who are in nursing homes or retirement centers and have limited mobility. Eight bucks new at Amazon.com.
LIVING WITH PURPOSE in a Worn-Out Body Subtitled: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults By: Missy Buchanan My mom
is 95 and at some point in every telephone conversation she tells me of
her problems of growing old. Sometimes
it begins when I start the conversion by saying, “How’s it going?” Louis
Buettner got me hooked up with the Tuscaloosa News and for several years
I have been reading an electronic version.
A few weeks back I came across a book review of “Living
With Purpose...” The
title intrigued me as the aging process is true for all of us.
I thought it would be a good book for my mom and that it would
provide some comfort for her to know that what she was experiencing was
normal. Ah, so
the book came and I decided to read the table of contents to see if this
was going to be a good gift for her.
As I stood reading I got more interested and then sat down in a
chair and continued. Humm,
it is a short book of 93 pages in large print.
So I was hooked into reading the whole thing. Missy
Buchanan is a nice southern name for a lady who lives in Texas.
She is also a daily caregiver for her mom who at 92 lives in a
senior care residence. So
this lady is living with the issues of aging and knows of what she
writes. The
format of the book is interesting in that it gives a one or two page
meditation on a topic and then follows with some appropriate Bible
verses from the Old and New Testament.
Most of the Old Testament verses come from Psalms. For
example the opening topic is “What Purpose, God?” followed by Psalm
33:11 and Ephesians 1:11. The closing topic is “Aging Well” with
Psalm 40:8 and then Colossians 3:12.
Sandwiched in between are 39 more mediations. Let me
give you an example of the beginning meditation on
“Slow Motion”: “Mine
is a slow-motion world where everything moves like thick corn syrup.
It’s a deliberate pace that is both slow and slower.
Residents with walkers inch their way to lunch.
Folks speak in measure stride.
Others lean close to hear every word”. If you
have visited someone in an assisted living facility you know how that
rings true. My mom’s
fellow residents at Wellington Place in Muscle Shoals and at Catherine
Place outside Mobile come to the dining hall with their walkers and
wheelchairs. They do move
in “Slow Motion”. Yep, I
am going to pass this on to mom as I think she will find the content
appropriate and thought provoking. I recommend it to all who have felt the hand of father time
on their shoulder either from caring for parents or feeling those aches
and pains getting out of bed in the morning. I will
crib a note from the book jacket by Rev. Gentziler “ These are
mediations of the heart – full of faith and hope.
Though we may experience fear and discouragement, this book
invites us to remember that God’s energies are at work silently but
powerfully throughout all
of life. This book is the
perfect gift for frail elderly and the people who care for them.” To which I add: Amen!
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June 3, 2008 • Posted by Louis A Sign of Success???? Those of you who don't believe in evolution probably haven't been visiting this website since it was first started about two and a half years ago. Remember, back then I focused on urging, begging, pleading, and, yes, even bribing members of the SHS Class of '56 to come to our Golden Reunion? It (the website) was going to be dismantled as soon as the reunion ended, having served its purpose. Well, here it is. . . . alive and kicking 2 years later. Now, it's turned into our scrapbook of former and current great times in our first hometown, a place for some historical information about Sheffield, a record of interesting things going on in Sheffield nowadays, and, despite how uncomfortable it is for some, a place where Buck and I beg you to join us in our Holy Grail of building a large nest egg within the Sheffield Education Foundation in the name of the Class of '56 to serve as a source of funds for scholarships, teacher grants and other projects to improve academic excellence at SHS as a tribute to our own high school teachers. Well, what has this all got to do with "success???" Our gal, Linda (Linda Methvin Smith) has been a 1-person public relations committee since she has been serving as the website reporter, photographer and, now marketing manager. She hands out our website business card at public events, interviews, and while visiting friends. Her enthusiasm is infectious--for example, at her recent visit to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, she had the whole staff crowding around the computer monitor surfing our place. While gathering link information on Steve Wiggins' website post of his video of the very interesting set of interviews of citizens who were at the FDR visit, he requested permission to post a link to us on his website, The Catfish Wrapper -- a place where you can see many of the wonderful things going on now in the Shoals, as well as his obvious interest in the history and betterment of our fair city, Sheffield. His second annual "Walking Tour" will give you shivers of nostalgia. I get requests from the Mayor's Assistant to use the website as a search tool, enlisting readers to provide missing photos or information for various projects she is working on. I don't know if she ever gets any results from you, our visitors, but I hope so. Now, I have received a request from another "lost souls seeker," Mitzi Parkes, the author of the post immediately below. If you know anything about the whereabouts of the following SHS alumni, contact her at the Sheffield Education Foundation. Michael
Clark Roger
Clayton Steve
Ezell David
Gasque Pat
Leroy Haswell Trolecia
Sanders Hegler Jimmy
Dan Letson Walter
James Potts Guy
Henry Rankin James
Russell Billy
Jo Thrasher Kristie
Willingham Janice
Zeigler So, is this "Success," or what?
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May 27, 2008 • Posted by Mitzi Parkes Sheffield Education Foundation Update I thought you might enjoy a few updates for your website.
The
class of 1958 had their reunion a couple of weeks ago, and they
purchased a brick, as well as donating $1,958 to the foundation!
Mrs. Zelda Jackson presented us with the check. The
academic ceremonies were held at the high school last Friday. This
class, Seniors ’08, received a total of $1,300,000! No that is
not a misprint, 1.3 million dollars in various scholarships! One
of our Registry of Honor inductees, Byron Franklin, announced that he
has given a scholarship to Sincerely,
Mitzi Parkes Ed. Note: Those of you who know Buck Lock and me well, know that we are passionately interested in doing something for our Alma Mater which will help in some small way to improve the academic excellence of the future classes which are turned out by her. To this end, Buck established a fund within the Sheffield Education Foundation which is called "The Class of '56 Fund." A precious few of our class have made donations which, to date, total less than $5,000--far below our goal of a nest egg that would spin off enough earnings to support an annual gifting of a substantial amount of scholarship grants, teacher project funding, or other worthwhile projects. Peggy King Bishop has agreed to be our representative in the decisions about spending the income from this fund, but, right now, there's not much income. How about let's copycatting the Class of '58 at our annual reunions? Better yet, how about copycatting the Class of '57 which had a goal of $1,957 and came up with $3727.85. How about buying a brick for the courtyard yourself? How about going to the places on this website that will inform you about this tribute to our mentors and our Alma Mater?
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May 23, 2008 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith My Report of Yesterday's Unveiling of the FDR Memorial in Sheffield
A jubilant crowd of over 200 gathered at the railroad crossing on
Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield, AL Thursday, May 22,2008 at 2 p.m. to
witness the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt monument
containing 3 large bronze plaques: one of FDR, one telling the
Legend of his visit to Sheffield, AL in 1933 and one plaque listing
the names of contributors to the monument's construction.
Sheffield Mayor Billy Don Anderson welcomed guests and introduced
Sheffield City Historian Richard Sheridan who told of FDR's Sheffield
visit by rail car in 1933 following Congress' signing the declaration
bill creating the Tennessee Valley Authority. CLICK
HERE to read more about the Wilson Dam Affair.
I had the opportunity to visit with Laverne Mills who as a young
boy saw President-elect Roosevelt as he spoke of the creation of TVA
in 1933 in Sheffield. Mr. Mills, born in 1920, graduated from
Sheffield High School in 1938. He remembered well, this was the
year the high school burned down. (1938....the year most of our
SHS class of 1956, were born.) Mr. Mills served in World War II
as a waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator airplane on 35 missions.
He retired from Union Carbide and lives in Sheffield.
Another I visited with was Woody Stanley (named for President Woodrow
Wilson) now 93 years of age living in Muscle Shoals, AL. At age
18, Woody hitchhiked from Spring Valley to Sheffield to see Mr.
Roosevelt in May 1933. He and his brother Mac owned, operated
the Woody Mac restaurants for many years.
This FDR monument unveiled today is the only monument erected in FDR's
memory on the Tennessee River. TVA's 75th birthday comes full
circle as this monument now displays for all to see, the vision of
this man FDR for the future of our Nation.
Thank you
Linda Smith
CLICK HERE to see the Times-Daily article printed on May 21, one day before the unveiling. CLICK HERE to see the Times-Daily article printed after the dedication of the Memorial
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May 7, 2008 • Posted by Carol Driskell FDR Memorial Dedication - May 22
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May 6, 2008 • Posted by Louis Being otherwise fully occupied in the grandchildren's end of school things, Little League baseball, church activities--some of which are special time-consuming things like landscaping, pictorial directory publication, etc., I haven't focused much attention on your website. Poor, poor me! Buck's contributions, no doubt, have entertained you if you found them, and Linda has been faithful with her SHS Sweethearts reporting. As penance for my slackard behavior, I've posted a little light humor that I have been holding onto for awhile. A friend introduced me to The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational--a contest for quick-witted, clever individuals who can work with words. I think you will like the winners. Just click on the title above.
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April 30, 2008 • Posted by Buck Letting Go to Make Room for More and Better
Good Morning Louis, It is deja vu all over again. Several years ago when we sold my parents home we were all sad. Then I found a rusted electric train in the garage which called back memories of my dad and me playing with it. Almost every object in the house had a cluster of memories that had accumulated over the years of my youth.
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. Now that we are remodeling our house every object is facing the same test, to keep or give to the Salvation Army or Vietnam Veterans or perhaps to the church. In cleaning out the rooms so the contractors can start knocking down walls, we are reassessing everything.
50 years of accumulated memories. Since we are putting in central air, I have been clearing out the attic for the workman to put in the ductwork. I had saved binders from my years at RCA and I started to read of projects I had worked on in the '60s. After about 30 minutes of reading, I asked myself why am I doing this? Much of things I had written on was now beyond my comprehension and about technologies that have long since been obsolete. My kids will never be interested in digging through this and after 40 plus years neither am I. The binders are now in the trash!
So why am I telling you this? It is springtime and the trees are in bud, the magnolias are in bloom and the forsythia is a startling yellow. Yesterday Judy was going through the freezer to get ready to move it to the other floor so we can get the kitchen remodeled.. Yep, you probably guessed it! She found the Moon Pie from the 50th reunion that I had carefully saved.
So last night for a bedtime snack, I poured a glass of milk and had the whole Moon Pie to myself!
What next, is that the question on your mind? The RC Cola is still in its unopened state setting proudly on the bookcase beside my computer. Will it make it through the remodeling? If I drink it will I be able to save the bottle? What is the shelf life of an RC?
As you can see our life is filled with angst! Our minister had an interesting observation in his Easter Sunday sermon: For there to be a resurrection, something has to die.
So to make room for new memories, some old beautiful ones have to go. However the Moon Pie was tasty!
Buck Ed Note: How'd you like this? Buck tells us that he was not a good student, but his career and this sort of writing bear witness otherwise. This "ordinary" correspondence is a masterpiece of deep thought (Is that also known as "philosophy?") and prose poetry.
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April 2, 2008 • Posted by Louis Check out the SHS Today pages I have been remiss in reporting to you the goings-on at SHS today. Sherri Baker has been sending me issues of The Bell, and I have been reading the online version of The Times Daily, so I have seen a number of notices of the various things that are happening at our Alma Mater these days. I tried hard to keep up with the sports program, the accomplishments of students and the profiles of some of the outstanding teachers for the first year and a half or so, but it is a daunting task to do alone . . . . . from Tuscaloosa. And, to boot, nobody ever indicated that they liked hearing about these things. So, I concentrated on other things. Recently, when researching other topics, some of my Sheffield contacts told me about some of the really good things that had happened at SHS this year, and, better still, sent some material that I could easily use. As result, I am going to work a bit harder at keeping up on the current accomplishments of the students, teachers and administration. My first offering is the report of Betty and Troy Whisenant of the successful State Convention of The Key Club of Sheffield High. It'll eventually be found by going to "Scholars" on the SHS Today page, but from now on, the current hot new topic will be found by clicking on the [hot button] on the SHS Today homepage.
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February 29, 2008 • Posted by Zecora Wilcutt Sanders Flat Stanley's Visit to Sheffield Flat Stanley came to visit me back in 2001 when my granddaughter, Jordan, was in the 2nd Grade. Jordan sent me a letter that included "Flat Stanley" and instructions to tell him about my hometown and write an account of our adventures. She asked if I would send pictures that she could share with her class when she read her letter. I tried to find things that would be interesting to second graders and write simple enough that Jordan could read to her class without help. I thought this was a wonderful idea and thoroughly enjoyed the project. "Flat Stanley" is a small boy on paper. Each student chooses the colors they want to color him and then cuts him out so he can be mailed in a business envelope. To my horror, he got lost while visiting my office. A school office is always so busy and my desk was "community property", so I assumed someone got him by mistake----he never showed up. I told my daughter what had happened and asked if she could get another from Jordan's teacher and color it like the original for me. I was so upset I could not remember the color of "Flat Stanley's " clothes. We managed to pull it off. Jordan did not find out about the incident until last week while looking for the pictures for me to send you. She thinks it is soooooo funny now!!!! I hope you enjoy my adventures with Flat Stanley around Sheffield.
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February 21, 2008 • Posted by Louis Send Your Business Cards for a Free Extreme Makeover At Jim Kimbrell's suggestion, we now offer a new service to members of the SHS Class of '56. Just send us your current business card, and anybody in the class who knows how to design business cards will send you their proposals for a New Look. Who knows, you might even like what you see! Just go to "Calling Cards" on this website for a peek at what we are offering.
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February 21, 2008 • Posted by Louis for Buck Postcard from Australia Buck says "Hi!"
Ed. Note: Buck and Judy are "relaxing" (sailing, scuba diving, and roaming the Australian Outback) after a tough January of laboring on the production of "Cruisin' to the Beat," a fundraiser that presented the Winchester Hospital with $105,000. Did you notice the price of the stamp? There's some comfort in realizing that Buck only paid 1.14724 USD for that stamp, though. Now, if Winchester were in Australia, he and Judy would have helped raise $114,334.09 AUD. BUT, if they had traveled to Europe this winter (and why would anybody want to do that?), Buck would have paid $1.84947 for a 1.25 euro stamp, and the fundraiser would have only raised 70,986.67 EUR.
CLICK HERE to play with the currency conversion calculations CLICK HERE to see what the currency symbols around the world look like Oh, to live in South Korea where the dollar is worth nearly a thousand won! But, then, a $4 cup of Starbucks coffee there would be about 3,793.69 KRW. I'm just as happy to be in Alabama where I don't need to pack a calculator everywhere I go. Why do things like the $1.25 on the stamp make me think about things like this?
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February 18, 2008 • Posted by Louis Eric's Tales - Removed from the website for operational security reasons. At Linda Methvin Smith's suggestion, I have asked Eric South, Barbara Laughlin South's grandson who is with the Army Corps of Engineers and was just transferred to Baghdad, Iraq, to share with us some of his observations, thoughts and stories during his sojourn there. He has graciously consented to do so despite his busy schedule. Those of you who support our young men and women who, in whatever role they serve, are over there in harm's way ensuring our liberty and freedom will appreciate Eric's contributions to our understanding the things that are going on in that theater. Thanks, Eric, for taking the time for us.
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February 12, 2008 • Posted by Louis Finally, You can view Jim Holland's Reunion Slideshow, "Families" here on the website. Ever since about halfway through the showing of the PowerPoint slideshow that Jim had made for us by Brother Jeff Garrett of York Terrace Baptist Church at the reunion banquet on June 3, 2006, I have had the mission of making it available to you here on the website. The slideshow is enormous, though -- 163 photos sent in from 52 classmates. The photos alone take up 129 megabytes--and that is after I have reduced their file sizes down to the minimum resolution required do a full-screen picture. The actual PowerPoint slide show that I first created was so large that I could not transfer it to the website. Then along came Linda Methvin Smith and Jim Kimbrell with their Windows MovieMaker (WMM) movie of "Sheffield," our first hometown. So, with a shove in the right direction, I set out to use this technique to bring you Jim's reunion slide show. Again, the darn thing was too big to function right on the website--or so I thought. I divided it into six parts to make it run better, and it didn't. That's when Jim stepped in and offered his expert assistance which resulted in "Problem Solved." I want to nominate Jim to be "Computer Whiz of the Decade." Click on the underlined name of the show in the title above and enjoy Jim's reunion slideshow, "Families" all over again . . . . . . finally.
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February 11, 2008 • Posted by Louis How'd you like to give/get this Valentine's Gift? I swear to you these two ads appeared in today's Tuscaloosa News as bonafide suggestions for Valentine's Day gift giving. What do you think your sweetie (guy or gal) would think or do if you gave them a certificate good for one of these?
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February 9, 2008 • Posted by Louis Windy In The Shoals Last week when the winds came whistling down the plains of north Mississippi and west Alabama, I lost two more giant pine trees in my backyard here in Tuscaloosa. One of our classmates from the Shoals who's handy with her videocam sent this evidence that the winds were fairly high up in the Tennessee Valley, also.
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February 5, 2008 • Posted by Barbara Laughlin South All-American Progeny
This
is my grandson, Eric, and his daughter, Claire. He left Feb. 3rd
for Iraq. Ed. Note: I'm the one who put the military scene in the background. I think it is important that we remain aware that our young are continuing to put themselves in harm's way out of a sense of duty and honor to protect us and our freedoms. Here's a too-close-to-home example of a young man who did not shirk his duty to answer the call--a face and a name for you to put on the brave soldiers who represent us in the Middle East. Pray for Eric and his comrades--for their honorable completion of their mission and for their safety--and safe return. You, of course, recognize little Claire, great granddaughter of our classmate, Barbara. We want another picture in a few months with her sitting on her daddy's lap and great big smiles on both faces.
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February 4, 2008 • Posted by Buck Locke Wheeew!! I got dressed up in a white tux and help earn $100,000 for my hometown hospital. I'm ready to relax and go sailing in Australia. We closed up the cabaret on Sat. night, struck the set yesterday and feel we deserve a little time in the sun as it is summer in Australia. My stage crew number made the front page of the local newspaper, the Winchester Star:
I'm sure lots of my friends expected to see my picture in the paper with a number underneath! Guess I've been lucky so far as the law hasn't caught up with me! The new producer was named yesterday and the theme for cabaret 2009 is "Seasons of Love". Judy is burned out from her job as co-chair of scenery and we both need a break from show biz. It has been an exhausting week (month? year?) but now it is time for a little recreation. At least we hope to have six weeks in Australia. We are now packing up for leaving at 5:30 AM tomorrow. We are ready for sailing, diving and exploring the Great Barrier Reef and the outback in Australia.
Ed. Note: Buck and Judy volunteer to help the Winton Club of the local Winchester, Massachusetts, hospital stage a fundraiser called Cabaret. This is the 87th year that the citizens of Winchester who volunteer to run the hospital's gift shop have produced this musical. The club is currently in the 4th year of a 5 year pledge to raise half a million dollars for the new oncology center. Buck is a perennial member of the stage crew who are rewarded for their arduous labor by having a special number in the musical gala. Since the production runs the end of January, all the people virtually give up their Christmas and New Year holidays to work on building sets, learning lines and songs, rehearsing and preparing their costumes. They really do earn their R&R. Here are a few links to see more about what they are doing: Buck's 6 poems about the production all made the newspaper CLICK HERE The Winton Club Site CLICK HERE The Cabaret Site CLICK HERE A story about last year's fundraiser and a short video of Buck's number in Cabaret 2007 CLICK HERE
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January 14, 2008 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith's Hibiscus Pink or Red? Suppose you are a hibiscus and got adopted by Linda last July. You know Linda--kinda quirky but lovable and big-hearted. If you are like me, you want her to like you. When I was adopted, I had pink blooms. See, I'm the one in front of the goose (or pelican, or swan, whatever) back then.
Well, I heard her say she liked the color red, so I focused all my energy on trying to give her some big, red flowers. I grunted and I crossed my roots. I prayed to Ra, the sun god. I was patient and had faith, and one day one of my buds opened just a little bit and I saw the most beautiful deep cherry red peeking out. I couldn't wait for Mommy to come out and see. All summer, I made her the most bountiful pink and red blooms.
She took lots of pictures and even carried a branch with flowers of both colors to the nursery. They said it didn't happen very often, but when a good little flower wants to please her Mommy, anything is possible! I am now featured on her email stationery.
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January 6, 2008 • Posted by Buck Locke Ode for a Winter's Day in New England Louis forwarded me a note from Linda Smith on the Political Cats of New Hampshire's Mt. Washington Observatory, and I found this poem written four years ago about my winter outings in the snow. The snow this year has been a challenge for hiking high mountains. Winter Hiking
2.27.03 Jay Village Inn Sibilant swishing sound of snowshoes And squarky sound of hiking poles Moving me through snow shrouded spruce Trees decorated as nature’s snow sentinels The cold fog of our breaths a traveling cloud Around our heads as in silence the small band Of winter enthusiasts ponder the meaning Of life and the mysteries of God’s nature. The bone chilling cold quickly gives way To sweat causing the party to stop Packs drop to the front of snowshoes As layers are removed and stowed Terse hurried discussions about past Hikes both better and more difficult Are delivered before commencing Again the winter adventure. Weather is a constant concern As little snow flurries could turn Suddenly into whiteout conditions Or clouds surrounding summits When stopping for water and gorp Eyes quickly check faces for white patches To determine if Jack Frost has Decided to nip a fellow hiker. As temperature drops or wind picks up Face masks turn the group into robbers Determined to wrest pleasure from Mother Natures hoard of accomplishments The peak baggers muffled conversations Revolve around numbers of hikes this season And total accumulated summits on whatever Lists are driving them into winter’s wonderland The sibilant swish swish of skies on logging roads Bring intrepid adventures to remote mountains Where bushwhacks can begin Transition from skis to snowshoes made quickly
As hands grow numb quickly in the bitter chill As snowshoes are laced quickly to backcountry boots Some move out slowly as others finish their preparation While some quickly chase a power bar with Gatorade Hydration concerns are constant as the cold Sucks the water from the body as we labor Up the sides of the mountain lured onward By the siren summits soft compelling call. The hardwoods at lower elevations Give way to the spruce and fur With the occasional event of a companion Dropping suddenly down waist deep in the snow Jack or Jill has stepped into a spruce trap With the awkward thrashing and struggle To untangle snowshoes from the branches To gain purchase to escape the soft surrounding snow Poles are extended from helpful companions To pull the hapless victim from the panicky pit A few moments to regain confidence in the snowshoes Ability to provide a firm foundation and off again As tentative steps turn once again to confident strides Up the steep slope kicking steps into the snow Or traversing to ease the ache in the quads From the relentless burn of the steep sides. What drives this brave band toward the heights Inner goals that only they can see and understand For it is impossible to describe the feeling of summit fever As for a brief period of time shivering in the windy cold One can see forever mountains rolling away And experience the beauty of God’s creativity The richness of nature, trees carved into a Varity of sculptures by snow and wind How to capture the romance Of these hardy souls Committed to the harsh winter weather While normal folk are in their cozy comfy caves Ah, the normal folk roll their eyes! And find it impossible to understand Perhaps the best explanation It feels so good when you quit! --Buck Locke
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December 29, 2007 • Posted by Carole Driskell Response to Sheffield, A City Hanging Over a Cliff Louis,
Ed. Note: Carole is the sister-in-law of our classmate Wallace Driskell and Administrative Assistant to the Mayor of Sheffield, Billy Don Anderson.
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December 19, 2007 • Posted by Louis Your Classmates Got Elfed
Remember the dancing babies screen saver that went around several years ago? Well, Office Max brings you a new hilarious tool to turn yourself (or classmates whose photos are in your collection) into Santa's elves. I was introduced to this laugh-maker by my daughter, and now I inflict it upon you. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Jim K. Elf, Linda Elf, Buck Elf, and Barbara Elf: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1566339618 Peggy Elf, Farley Elf, Ron Elf, and Patsy Elf: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1570341352 Louis Scrooge: http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1551126145
SORRY GUYS, OFFICE MAX HAS SHUT THIS SERVICE DOWN. YOU MISSED A HOOT!
"White Christmas" sung by Santa Crooner: http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf
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December 18, 2007 • Posted by Louis Never Miss an Opportunity to Spread Christmas Joy!
CLICK HERE to read the letter/short story, "A Sailor's Christmas Gift."
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December 14, 2007 • Posted by Buck Christmas Greetings From Our House to Yours
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To One and All! Actually, this is a photo from last year down at my sister's home in Daphne.
We leave in a few days for
Alabama so do not have any Christmas Kids pictures yet. So I
attached a word document with photos of our three granddaughters for
the website collection. Getting
grandsons to be stationary for any amount of time is impossible.
Oh well, we all do the best we can.
Hope all is going well
with you. I looks like I'm going to be able to give my mom a
great present for her birthday. All three of my kids are going
to be down for her birthday. I told one daughter that the
"gift of time" is the most precious of all.
Now to get out and shovel
the foot of snow off the walk so the mailman can get to the house.
Looking out at the snow I am sure that we have now more than I had in
total in my first 25 years in Alabama! Oh well it looks lite and
fluffy so perhaps it will be easy to shovel!
Buck
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November 30, 2007 • Posted by Louis Now, This Is What I Mean By Storytelling! We all remember The Southland Restaurant from our school days. Our own SHS Sweethearts chose this nostalgic restaurant as their meeting place for the current monthly get-togethers. The parents of our classmate, Don Roper, were owners of the establishment. My next door neighbors on 15th Avenue, the McCays, were co-owners, too. I don't remember who was brother or sister to whom, but I sure heard a lot about the Ropers and the McCays from my parents growing up. Daddy Roy was always at the restaurant, and so was Mrs. McCay most of the time. The McCay kids, two girls and a boy, were very young when I left the Tri-Cities, but letters from home were full of tales of Dad and Tommy. Tommy was like a shadow to my dad, following and asking questions all over the many garden plots that Dad kept and around the house. I had heard of his interest in Dad's pellet gun, but I didn't know how much that gun intrigued him until this morning when I was visiting the website of the Southland Restaurant. If you haven't found this website (http://thesouthlandrestaurant.com/) on your own, I urge you to visit it today. It's a paragon of nostalgia complete with stories by Tommy McCay, one of the three siblings who now own and operate this wonderful throwback to the Fifties and one of Sheffield's claim to fame, since it has been featured as one of the best catfish restaurants in Alabama. This, of course, is ironic to those of us who know that the Southland is more famous for its barbecue and fried chicken--and freshly baked pies. A main feature of this website is the collection of stories told by Tommy. Their folksey style, bordering on "tall tales," makes them nostalgic and hilarious at the same time. What caught my eye was the story about the war waged by Tommy's dad, Daddy Roy, against the gopher rats that plagued the restaurant back in the "good ol' days." I ran across the name, "Earnest Bittner," who, of course, was Ernst Buettner, my dad and Tommy's surrogate granddad. I forgive Tommy for the misspellings, because until Linda Methvin Smith corrected me earlier this year, I always spelled their name, "McKay." I know many of you dine at the Southland, so I urge you to meet Tommy McCay, let him know how much you enjoy his writing and encourage him to keep those wonderful stories coming on his website.
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October 4, 2007 • Posted by Louis Indicted I just got "Courtesy Copied" on an e-mail correspondence between Bill Gray, SHS Class of '55, and Steve Wiggins, SHS Class of (sometime in the '50's). Bill was responding to Steve's note of thanks that Bill appreciated his efforts to do something about the deterioration of our fair hometown. In his correspondence, Bill noted that he wanted to encourage me to feature more prominently on this website the film that Steve made about Sheffield and its woes. As you see by the date on this posting, this blog has been going about a year. This website has been up about 2.5 years, and nowhere do I feature the woes of present day Sheffield along with the optimism that Steve Wiggins has that Sheffield's fortunes can be turned around if the right leadership would come along. As those of you in my high school class, "The SHS Class of 1956," know, I began this website project as a tool to stimulate attendance at our golden reunion--the 50th anniversary of our graduation from SHS in 1956--held last year. Everything I published on the website touted the wonderful halcyon days of our youth and the idyllic features of growing up in a small town. I am proud to be from Sheffield, just like I am sure that Bill and Steve are too. But, unlike Steve, I have been content to live with memories of the past. After all, I am now a citizen of Tuscaloosa, a city that's doing lots of tearing down of the derelict and building new stuff. This website is visited by over 20 of you a day. This is not a huge number, but I hope each of you will view the lovingly created film produced by Steve, "Sheffield, A City Hanging Over A Cliff," and get 20 more friends and fellow citizens of Sheffield to do so. Tell each of them to tell someone else to view it, so there will be a logarithmic increase in the number of voters who will be saddened by the plight of Sheffield and motivated to provide themselves with the leadership which will bring a reformation to our hometown. Mea culpa! Bill, I hope the scrolling marquee and the homepage link to Steve's film makes up for my starry-eyed backward point of view.
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September 14, 2007 • Posted by Louis Things in a bottle Today, I opened Linda Methvin Smith's e-mail sharing one of the wonders she came across on the Internet: Square Watermelons.
Well, being the skeptic that I am, I checked it out on snopes.com, and, by golly, it's true! Only 400 were grown last year (they put the bud in a box or glass mold and let the melon grow to fit the shape of the box). They cost 10,000 ¥ -- about $85 American. This intrigued me, so I googled "things that grow in a bottle."
Linda added this anecdote of her own experience with a critter in a bottle: In some psychology class I took at Cal Poly, one of the projects was to obtain, keep, house, feed some creature totally abhorable to self for two weeks. Some chose rats, tarantulas, scorpions, lizards...and a few snakes of various sizes and descriptions. I chose a simple garden snake about 8 inches long (anything over fishing worm, better yet, roly polys length,) terrifies me. I purchased same at a pet shop in SLO armed with a large mayonnaise jar which I had punched holes in its top. I'd put some grass and dead little bugs in there. I go to pet shop armed with my container and the man places my chosen reptile in the jar. Cost me $8.00. He did not call the police. I return home with Henry and place him in jar in the refrigerator where he lived happily in semi-hibernation for 2 weeks. I checked on him daily but did not take him out for exercise. I also added bug tid bits as I could turn the jar upside down and bugs were gone so I guess he ate them. I did not water him but he stayed green. At the end of the 2 weeks, it was 'show and tell' time...... in class. Some of the critters got loose in class but not Henry. I passed. That afternoon I take Henry back to the pet shop and the man said he would take him back and find a good home for Henry. End of story.... For this, I got a sheepskin? I tease....... And then Linda went and found a real video of a live cat doing the Bonsai Kitten thing! CLICK HERE You might also want to check out John Collins' story about his snake in a box.
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August 27, 2007 • Posted by Louis Never, Never, Never Give Up! Sir Winston Churchill uttered this admonition to the English people during the darkest days of WWII, and they apply today to your webmaster, as well. Just when I think nobody cares about our website and start thinking about shutting it down, I find the situation to be otherwise. I had noticed the Hit Counter creeping up, so I started jotting down the number weekly. For some time, now, we've been averaging 28 visits a day, and since yesterday, the count has jumped by 40--and it's only 11:00 a.m. Then, at the recent mini-reunion, Reunion 51, Joann Marsh Gargis slipped me a manila envelope full of newspaper clippings, 3 football programs, her congratulatory telegram from Mayor Beard and the City Commissioners, AND TWO MISSING ISSUES OF The HiLites!! And, these are the last issue of 1955 before the Christmas break and the Valentine's Day issue. What a treasure trove! Thanks, Joann--you saved the website from destruction! I still covet your memories of the fantastic things that you/we experienced during those halcyon days of the Fifties. Please send me an e-mail with your anecdotes, your tributes to our teachers, and updates on your career and current activities. You know the address: lebuettner@comcast.net. .
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August 23, 2007 • Posted by Louis How hard can it be to write a poem? Take a trip to the Reunion51 page on our website where I have just posted a poem I've been working on for days and days, trying to emulate Buck Locke who set the tradition for those who would journalize the goings-on at our reunions. For our recent reunion, Buck was in Boston, finishing up on self-imposed chores before making his great circle trip that includes visits to children in three states, picking up his mom in Daphne, Alabama, to attend the family reunion in Chattanooga, and, this time, a stay in Nashville to welcome to the world his 9th grandchild. Sooooo, your webmaster and ersatz reporter of the goings-on at our mini-reunion tried his hand at a poem to go with the account of the great steak dinner we enjoyed for our get-together. I have a new profound respect for poets like Buck. I tried to do a rhyming poem after having laid out the theme and story of the poem in "plain English." That's what took days and days. I finally gave up and in the best attempt to emulate Alfred Lord Tennyson's Ulysses, I went with a non-rhyming version. CLICK HERE or on the title of this posting to view my poem about our class reunion.
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August 17, 2007 • Posted by Louis Notice the new FastLink on the homepage? Our SHS Sweethearts meet regularly, and the group continues to grow. They have a member of the group who brings her trusty camera and sends me a brief resume of what transpired along with the photographic evidence. Soooooooo, your webmaster thinks that they deserve a special link to their spot on the website. Try out the link and see how grand it is to have "reunions" with classmates more often than once every 5 years, or even once every year.
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August 8, 2007 • Posted by Buck Locke Good Morning Peggy,
Sorry about not being able to make the reunion. We are going to spend most of the month of September in Nashville as daughter Laura is having her fifth baby.
I know there is no program planned for the reunion, but I do expect someone will give an opening prayer and maybe some remarks. I would appreciate it if you took a minute then to read the attached poem to the class.
This Sat. evening I will be there with you in spirit. Thanks for keeping the class together!
Buck
Ed. Note: Buck doesn't just say no; he says it in style! One of the most loyal out-of-towners to attend reunions, he has become a poet in his retirement.
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August 1, 2007 • Posted by Louis The First Set of "Hometown" Photos Well, Buck takes the prize for sending in the first set of photos taken around his hometown of Winchester, Massachusetts. Winchester is an old town (as are most New England towns), carved out of a northern section of Boston called Charlestown in the early 1630's. It was rural for a hundred years with only a couple grist mills on the Aberjona River. It started down the road towards developing into an industrial center when it suddenly became a suburban residential destination for wealthy Bostonians who fought the trend toward building shops, mills and manufacturing enterprises--at least in the center of town. So, it turned into a high-end bedroom community with a catering to the fine arts close by one of the nation's largest and most historic cities. Buck has been in Winchester for some time now, and, as most of you know, is an avid jogger who daily makes his rounds of many of the town's most interesting landmarks. When I asked him to take some photos for the website, he packed his camera for his next run. The result is what you see when you click on the title of this posting. The inveterate poet, he even wrote a long poem to serve as the photo legends. Kudos, Buck!
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July 28, 2007 • Posted by Louis
Since you are reading this, you know how to get to the SHS Class of 1956 website, but you may find it cumbersome. I know some of you have put it in your "Favorites" list, but that entails at least 3 clicks of the mouse to get to your destination, and you may not be reminded to stop by and visit if you have not made it a habit to do so. Therefore, I am offering members of the SHS Class of 1956 an icon featuring our beloved Alma Mater with instructions on installing it on your desktop (the first screen you see when you start up your computer). If you go to the trouble of following the instructions, you will see this reminder every time you turn on your computer and with the ease of one double-click on it, you will be whisked away into the land of nostalgia. Just CLICK HERE to get the instructions (or click on the title of this entry or the picture of the icon I want to give you).
NOTE: One of my test subjects from among our classmates told me that her advice for the best way to get this done for classmates who are nervous about computers is for them to telephone me or Jim Kimbrell and ask us to walk them through the installation of this desktop icon. Just look us up in the Class Directory that you got at a recent reunion, or e-mail me for the phone numbers (lebuettner@comcast.net).
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July 19, 2007 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith Mary Ann's Honduran Mission Work Saved Miriam The stories our classmates have to tell are sometimes funny, sometimes sad and, in this instance, sometimes heartwarming. For years, Mary Ann Byers Lenz has traveled from the comfort of her home in Alabama to the darkest pocket of poverty in Honduras to provide relief to the suffering and the needy. She is truly a living example of Christian charity. Her story of Miriam tells why Mary Ann gets rewarded as much as the recipients of the supplies of clothing and pharmaceuticals that she brings.
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July 13, 2007 • Posted by Buck Locke Between their visits to Paris and London, Buck and Judy sneaked off to The Republic of Seychelles for a bit of sailing and diving in the company of several of their Boston friends. It's no "Gilligan's Island" ditty, but Buck has rhymed his way through this tale of his trip to an exotic, idyllic place in the world.
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July 9, 2007 • Posted by Bob Proctor O.K. Louis, You have shamed me enough! My conscience is bothering me and I can't sleep at night, so I am attaching Bob's story about the soldier from Sheffield he met in Viet Nam. Please change it and/or put it in any form you wish. Really, I am sorry that it has taken me so long to do this. You know about the "Road to Hell...." (It is paved with good intentions). I am really sorry that Bob and I won't be at the mini-reunion. The daughter of a really good friend is getting married in VA and we feel as if we NEED to be there, although we would rather be with ya'll! Ed. Note: Janelle Proctor has extracted from Bob after much urging from moi, the great story that he told to a group of us at the Golden Reunion last summer. I believe you will agree with me that this is the funniest story you have ever heard from such a grim period in our history. Click on the link in the title above.
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July 9, 2007 • Posted by Jim Kimbrell So, What Patriotic Thing Did You Do This July 4th? When you click on the "Dirty Fingernails" link below, you'll see some of my garden growing. Look closely at the lawn behind the tomato plants and you'll see a tiny bit of my pontoon boat. We dragged it down to Alabama where we celebrated the Fourth of July on Lake Martin by decorating it and entering it into the boat decorating contest. The judges recognized class--we took first place in the category of pontoon boats:
----Jim Kimbrell
Ed. Note: Having lived in Montgomery (south end of Lake Martin) for 10 years before coming to Tuscaloosa, I can tell you that The Fourth of July on Lake Martin is a BIG DEAL. For the fireworks show on the evening of the Fourth, there are so many boats at the Kawliga landing you can WALK from boat to boat across one of the widest bays in the lake. Congrats, Kimbrell & Nixon families for a very beautiful patriotic expression.
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July 8, 2007 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith Dirty Fingernails (LINK TO CLASSMATES' GARDENS) See how my gardens grow ! And if you look close at the pepper plants, you can even see peppers...one I picked for you to see up close. ---Linda
Ed. Note: Mistress Linda, Quite a contendah, Look at your garden grow.
The effort you put in Pays off, times 10 And you're making a great big show!
Way to go, Linda! Now, all you Class of Fifty-Sixers with "dirty fingernails," send me your photos of your backyard (and front yard or side yard) gardens! They will go on the "Gardens" page at the link above.
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June 27, 2007 • Posted by Buck Buck & Judy got to make their trip to London, Paris and the Republic of Seychelles after their involvement in the fundraising event for their hospital. This link is to the story of that trip which will carry you away to Europe. .
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June 27, 2007 • Posted by Buck re: Tried and Convicted in the Press Hi
Louis, I
listen to Rush when I’m on the road.
I like to get as many different viewpoints as I can.
However I would remind you of some things that Mrs. Kimbrough
told us in Journalism class. First
take everything you read in the paper with a grain of salt.
Reports have deadlines and don’t have time to check all their
facts on a daily basis. The
same holds true for the editors. Second,
“dog bites man” is not news, but “man bites dog” is big news.
Third, reporters try to put words in folks mouths to get a
reaction. Most politicians
are clever enough to avoid letting folks put words in their mouth. Your
antidote about the cholera resonates with me with me also.
Anytime I have had first hand information about an event and then
read about it in the paper, I found many errors.
I attributed that to the points I raised above. Some time in the past I signed up with Merriam-Webster to send me a “Word of the Day”. I like the little section they have about “Did you know?”. This one below is for 1844 when it was coined, but dirty politics has a long and honorable history in this country. roorback
\ROOR-back\ noun
: a defamatory falsehood published for political effect Example
sentence: Did
you know? I
disagree with the quote by Roger Hedgcock.
I would actually count Rush’s program as part of the
“mainstream media”. He
has a point of view and I don’t listen to him for news, but for
editorial content. I view
him the same way as I view editorial page of the Globe or the Wall
Street Journal, and that is opinions somewhat based on facts. Sadly
most folk get their news from TV nowadays.
I lump the TV and radio news in pretty much the same category as
the daily newspaper. Tight
deadlines looking for sensationalism to grab folks attention.
The next level up is the weekly magazines and they have a little
more time to sort out the information
and provide some context. When
I was at I
had better quit now before I get in more trouble.
I will touch on the Left vs Right or Republican vs Democrat
concept though. I
think on any specific issue you will find some Republicans voting with
Democrats and vice versa. Listening
to the debates in Buck
P.S.: I have another addition to the discussion. I have been going through some boxes in the basement that I hadn't opened since we moved here in 1987. They were stored away in the basement and I had no idea what was in them. One of the items in a box reminded me of your posting. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Lexington Minute Man newspaper which was published on Sept. 17, 1970. My letter was "A Job Well Done" about some kids that had cleaned up the grounds at the Mystic Valley Mental Health Clinic. I had saw them working and stopped to talk to some of the students. So I called the paper as I thought it would be good to give the kids some good publicity and recognition of their work. Turns out the paper did know about this event and did eventually publish a picture several weeks after the fact. My letter hit a nerve at the paper as the Editor added a three paragraph rebuttal note explaining the paper's position. Her note was almost as long as my letter and was a defense of the paper. Also, in the hindsight of many decades I agree with many of her points. People pick up the phone to report a car wreak, a fire, a shooting, or any other tragedy. Few write a note to thank a group for a job well done or report something helpful. So leaping from the local to the world, we should not be surprised that bad outweighs the good in the media. Perhaps it is not a matter of liberal or conservative, but more of human nature!
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June 25, 2007 • Posted by Buck
Below is a recipe that I
got from Bobby Joe Viall. You may recall he was a couple of
years behind us at SHS. I tried the recipe last week with hot
Italian sausage instead of the smoked and added a "pinch" of
garlic power. I should have divided the recipe as we now have
containers of "Jambayla" in the freezer. We took a
container out last night and Judy added some fresh tomatoes to the
mixture. Anyway it is really good!
Buck
JAMBAYLA
1/4 CUP OIL
2 LBS CHICKEN BREASTS FILETS
CHOPPED BITE SIZE
2 LBS SMOKED SAUSAGE CHOPPED
BITE SIZE
4 CUPS CHOPPED ONIONS
2 CUPS CHOPPED CELERY
2 CUPS CHOPPED GREEN BELL
PEPPERS
3 TABLE SPOONS TONY CHACHERE'S
CREOLE SEASONING OR ANY CAJUN SEASONING
6 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH (2
CANS OF SWANSON IS JUST RIGHT)
2 CUPS LONG GRAIN RICE
METHOD
In one pot add oil and saute
meats until chicken is done, remove meats from oil and add veggies,
saute until onions are translucent, add meats, seasoning, broth and
then rice. bring to boil then reduce to simmer, cover pot and simmer
for 30 minutes stirring a couple of times.
This
is one of my favorites and it is very easy after you finish all the
chopping. Hope you try it and enjoy it. I'll go for now, hope you
have a good weekend. Go Red Sox and how about that 1 hitter.
Bobby and Pat Viall
Ed. Note: When you hear the term, "Cajun," you usually think of a backwoods (or "backswamp"), funny-sounding French-speaking person who likes to dance the "Two-Step" and drink a lot of beer--unless you live among these warm-hearted, fun-loving friendly folks of southwest Louisiana for seventeen years, as I did. "Cajun" is derived from the word, "Acadian," meaning those Francophiles who were driven from their homeland, the Acadia district of Nova Scotia around 1760. Most endured the prolonged boat trip that took them to New Orleans where they were further rejected and forced to relocate to the marshy swampland to the west across the Mississippi River where the popular geographic concept of "Acadiana" lies. CLICK HERE to find out more about this great group of people. Actually, the Grande Dérangement took these evicted Acadians to other places, too. Many went back to France, and many "jumped ship" at ports of call at major cities of the English colonies along the eastern seaboard, including Boston. So, it is not surprising that "jambalaya," a Cajun (or Creole, perhaps) delicacy, might be appreciated by Bostoners. I don't know where Bobby and Pat Viall reside or where they picked up this recipe that Buck recommends by taste test, but you can bet they have an appreciation for the food of a great ethnic group of the kettle-mix we call "The United States of America." P.S.: Bobby & Pat and Buck & Judy have learned that you get the best rice by cooking it in the juice of the dish you are making. My wife Georgia has found this to be true for some pasta dishes, too.
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June 22, 2007 • Posted by Louis Tried and Convicted in the Press I'm going to reveal to you something that you may not have suspected. On the "Radical Liberal-to-Far Right" scale, I consider myself slightly to the left of center. Rush Limbaugh would say that I stand for nothing, and I do listen to his radio show when I happen to be in the car at mid-day. Roger Hedgcock, sitting in for Rush at the Golden Mike yesterday kept harping on something that struck a chord with me, and I've spent the greater part of this morning researching it as best I can. His theme was, "The mainstream media is so intent on destroying the image of President Bush, they will lie and misrepresent facts to discredit him and "his war." The story behind this was the conclusion of the Article 32 hearing for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Haditha, Iraq, on the charges of dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order that arose out of the response of a Marine platoon that was ambushed on patrol and engaged in a firefight with insurgent terrorists. They are charged with the murder of 24 Iraqi "citizens." Roger asserted that Time Magazine and the rest of the media have been used by the terrorist propagandists (perhaps willingly). This posting was stimulated by one of those "dreaded forwardings" I talk about frequently. Click on the link in the title of this piece to see it and a number of links to the Haditha case I found in my research. Why don't we see the reports of good things that happen over there more often (CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE for some)? I've got a few friends whose kids have served time in Iraq, and they say that conditions are tough for the soldier but that they had plenty of satisfying experiences helping grateful people of Iraq. That may be changing as it becomes more apparent that the "bad guys" are going to win and we are going to leave--sooner than later. I had some experience with truthfulness and accuracy in reporting when I was practicing my craft in Louisiana. We isolated the germ that causes epidemic cholera from a fisherman from Abbeville, Louisiana, and were descended upon by all sorts of news reporters because it was the first case seen in this country in well over 50 years, and it actually turned into a mini-epidemic of about 11 cases of full-blown cholera which had never happened in the U.S. Much of what was reported was inaccurate. Some reporters actually tried to get me to say things that simply were not true. There were turf wars between the CDC and FDA. The experience left me very cynical and skeptical of all news reporting. I think, "If they couldn't get a simple story like a cholera outbreak right, what reason do I have to think that reporting on complex issues is accurate?" One of the "facts" I heard from Roger yesterday was that newswriters and reporters are overwhelmingly Democrats and liberal (something like 117 to 11 in a sample poll). Ever since that paragon of accurate, dispassionate news reporting, Walter Cronkite, retired and began behaving like a mouthpiece for the "Left," I have felt that even basic news is more editorial than objective reporting.
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June 6, 2007 • Posted by Louis Do U TXT MSG? E-mails from Linda Methvin Smith, Carol Cahoon, and Kitty Stribling Lee contain occasional character strings like "LOL," "GGG" and others. On my own, I deduced that "LOL" was a text message term that meant "Lots of Laughter," but I had no idea what "GGG" meant. Now, I'm going to reveal something that I'm sure none of you, my classmates, do. I read the AARP news magazine! In this week's edition, I found a little sidebar that told me that older adults are increasingly using the medium of text-messaging on cell phones. The number has increased from 10% in 2006 to 20% so far this year according to a study done by Jupiter Research analyst, Julie Ask. The phenomenon is no longer limited to the kids who look like they are focused on their cell phones all the time (including during class in school, I might add). Big corporations such as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Time magazine are using MA (mature audience) text messaging for marketing and customer service initiatives. So, I "googled" the term "text messaging," and got an eye-full! There are dictionaries with lists of all known TXT MSG terms, translators that will look up terms you don't recognize, translators that will decode an entire text message, translators that will turn an English phrase or sentence or paragraph into a TXT MSG, and even websites that will allow you to select a canned message (including some pretty raunchy ones) and send by cell phone to someone. I guess you have to have a dial-up Internet provider connection from your cell phone to utilize the latter options. I, myself, do not TXT MSG on my cell phone, because, until lately, I didn't have the dexterity, small-enough finger tips, or the patience to type alphabet characters into the itty-bitty hand-held machines using the telephone keypad which assigns three alpha characters to each number. I have to get one of my daughters-in-law to create my phone book when I get new cell phones. Come to think of it, though, this physical and mental challenge and the learning of a new language (TXT SPK) might be good exercises to ward off Alzheimer's Disease. Incidentally, "GGG" means "Gotta Go Girlfriend" or "GiGGles." Check out some of these links: Text Messaging Abbreviations - A page on this website where you can add links to other dictionaries or terms that you use that are not in the dictionary provided, (from WEBOPEDIA) NETLINGO - Another dictionary of TXT terms LINGO2WORD - Search engine for English translations of TXT terms TXT2NITE - A site with canned "funny messages" ASTALAVISTA - A list of websites found in a MSN search for "funny text messages" Send me your favorite links to TXT MSG dictionaries so I can add them here.
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May 31, 2007 • Posted by Louis A "Eureka Moment" Well, guys and gals, I just figured out how to get our homemade PowerPoint slide shows onto the website when I got the "Friends" series of photographs from Farley Vaughn who created them for table decor at the 50th Reunion Breakfast, June 3, 2006. You will want to invest the time and memory on your computer to get to view them. Click here to start the download. Sad to say, though, I haven't learned how to make the file size of a big PowerPoint presentation small enough to make the download go faster. It actually will take several minutes even if you have a high-speed Internet connection. I bet there is a way to do it quicker, but my limited computer technical skills don't include that trick yet. If you know how, please, please contact me. There's an even bigger slide show coming soon--the "SHS Class of '56 Families" slide show that Jim Holland had made for us to view at the Reunion Banquet on Saturday night. Meanwhile, I urge you to start the downloads and find something else to do until the shows are ready to start. It is well worth the wait.
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April 12, 2007 • Posted by Louis Duck Douthit - The Rest of the Story Did you know how Charles Elton got the nickname, "Duck?" His son Charlie let us in on "The Rest of the Story" when he began his father's eulogy yesterday. As a toddler learning to walk, he waddled, so his parents jokingly called him "Duck." It took and stuck with him for the rest of his life. He wouldn't let you call him anything else, and that was the way he introduced himself. But, until yesterday, I'll bet not many of you knew how he came to be "Duck."
The minister who gave the funeral sermon at Parkview gave a wonderful sermon on servant leadership, and his text for the message to the mourners was the life of Duck, emphasizing his giving, serving nature. What a wonderful way to go out of this life--your actions in this life being the basis of a sermon exhorting its hearers to "go and do likewise."
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March 22, 2007 • Posted by Buck A Sojourner's Tale
Hi Louis,
I made it back home (after driving from Boston to Chicago, Nashville, The Shoals, Tuscaloosa, Daphne, Beaufort, Kill Devil Hills, Valley Forge and back to Boston) safe and sound with about half the tin of cookies (picked up in Tuscaloosa from Louis, the cookie baker). I thought that I should save some for Judy. They were good to savor on the rest of my 4000 plus mile trip!
I had written up my little
presentation before the bulldog breakfast (CLICK
HERE TO READ IT).
So as a follow-up reminder I mailed it out today to the folks who
showed up at the breakfast. I think I had given you the gist of
the talk, but I am attaching what I sent out to the folks.
I enjoyed the visit and
you certainly have a nice neighborhood. Hope you have your
kitchen back in working order. I have to get up on the ladder
and fix a downspout that has worked loose out of the gutter.
Housework seems to never end.
While I was traveling and
enjoying myself, Judy was busy setting up some travel plans. I
have to brush up on my French in the next four weeks for a week in
Paris. After that we will go to the Seychelles for a week of
diving and then another week of sailing. On the return leg she
has us set up for a week in London.
Let's see after I left
you, I had about a week with mom down in Daphne. On the trip I
gained 6 pounds! I stopped off to see Bob and Janelle Proctor
and had a nice visit. Bob took me out on his boat and showed me
the bridge that they used for the storm scene in "Forest Gump".
He truly is in the "Low Country" as he walks down to his
private dock about 200 feet from his back door. The river/marsh
flows out to the Atlantic about 10 miles away. He also took me
on a carriage tour of Beaufort and it is a lovely town. They
have made 17 movies here, another of which was "The Prince of
Tides" which was also written in town.
From Bob's I went up to
Kill Devil Hills to see where the Wright brothers changed the world in
Dec. of 1903. They were really engineering scientists and they
developed the fundamental principles of flight. Great visitors
center and history of aviation. I had visited their bicycle shop
out in Dayton, Ohio and I still am in awe of the work they did.
Pressing on to Baltimore
to see my son, we went to visit George Washington's camp at Valley
Forge. I am still amazed that Washington was able to keep the
troops together and make a stunning comeback victory against the
British. The founding fathers had far more courage than I
possess. While in the neighborhood we visited Hopewell Furnace
which is a bit down the road from Valley Forge. The owner of
Hopewell furnished food to Washington as well as guns for the
revolution. I had visited this place about 10 years ago and they
put on a great performance of casting iron for pots and pans. We
are blessed with having so many great national parks.
Now home again and trying
to dig out of snail and email. Hope to get caught up before we
leave in four weeks!
Buck
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March 2, 2007 • Posted by Louis We May Not Have Snow, But We Sure Have Bad Weather Here In Alabama! Seems like this time of year is bad news, weatherwise, for Alabama. The twister that destroyed Enterprise High School yesterday eerily reminds those of us in the Class of '56 of the twister that got the SHS Gym 51 years ago.
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March 1 • Posted by Bill Gray, Class of '55 Sheffield, a City Hanging Over a Cliff Hi to my SHS Classmates and Friends,Today I discovered a documentary film which many of you may have already seen; but to me it was an eye-opener and it made me very sad. The documentary is: Sheffield: A City Hanging Over A Cliff, a 28 minute film by Steve and Sheri Wiggins. It is a "show and tell" of how Sheffield is dying while the surrounding communities are thriving. Oh, yes! I've also got a correction for Carol Cahoon's story about Elvis! CLICK HERE
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February 18, 2007 • Posted by Buck Locke Snowfall in Boston, 2007 Louis is bragging (CLICK HERE) about how light the snowfalls are in Dixie elsewhere on this website. Well, this year, Boston has been looking like a southern city. We have had a terrible winter as it has been so warm and hardly any snow. The ski resort folk are hurting. At Louis' request, I charged up my digital camera and ventured outside after church this morning to take these photos which show you what we call snow up here |
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You can see a patina of snow on top junipers and Judy standing at the top of the steps. |
At the end of my driveway where the plow pushed it up against my birch trees. This is right after church this morning |
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This is the park across from our house and you can just see the path going into the woods. Great for cross country skiing, but now with a coat of ice on top of the snow. That reminds me, we have had so little snow this year that I haven’t been on my skis. |
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February 18, 2007 • Posted by Bette Anderson Pickin On the Road With RVICS We are in Keystone Heights, Florida, working on an RVICS (Roving Volunteers In Christ's Service) project at the Park of the Palms, which is a retirement, assisted living and nursing home. This is our 5th project since beginning in January 2006. Last month we worked in Lakeland, Florida, at the Florida Baptist Children's Home--and, yes, we did have a couple of nice visits with Gayle and Jack Kent. We have met and worked with couples from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana and South Dakota. We are from different denominations, but the message is the same no matter where we go. We are blessed to be able to attend a variety of churches in each area where we work. We have worked 4 projects in Florida and one in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near the Canadian border, thus far. For more information on this group, click on the link below: We were on the road last year when Jim Holland called for the family photos, so we didn't get to brag about grandchildren at the reunion. I think you will agree that I have lots to be proud of in my two daughters and five grandchildren seen in the photos below (Click on the thumbnail photos to see larger pictures): |
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Daughter Vikki Smith & Family G'son Ryan, age 21, graduating from Georgia Southern U. in December 2007. Mom - Vikki G'daughter Lauren, age 18, graduating from high school in May 2007 Son-In-Law - Terry
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Bette Anderson Pickin's Grandchildren (l-r) Kinsey Casey, Krista Casey, Ryan Smith, Lauren Smith, Kourtney Casey
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Daughter Lisa Casey & Daughters G'daughter Krista, age 22, will graduate from U of Alabama in May 2007. G'daughter Kourtney, age 19, Sophomore at U of Alabama. G'daughter Kinsey, age 17, will graduate from high school, May 2007. Mom - Lisa
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February 6, 2007 • Posted by Buck
What a week we had doing
the Cabaret "Dial M for Music" to raise money for Winchester
hospital. Judy did lots of scenery and was chair of the wine
raffle. I worked on the stage crew and sang and danced in
"Build Me Up Buttercup".
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February 6, 2007 • Posted by Buck "Troubled" Louis wrote: "What do you think, former football Bulldogs? Some of you have experience playing varsity high school football at Jacob's size. This roster is from one of the game programs that Joyce Horton Johnson sent me. These weights are for the Junior year, same as Jacob, the 1954 season. Jim Holland was 138 pounds. Buck Locke, Ronald Gene Pace and Jimmy Todd were 140 pounds each. Tillman Gargis, Bob Proctor, Blackhawk Martin, Wallace Driskell were all at or below the weight that they published in the ACA roster for Jacob. How did you do it without injury? What advice do you have for today's athletes? What advice do you have for today's grandfathers of athletes?"
Buck's response: I have struggled with your question for months. I think my struggle with it has been that it is one of those unanswerable questions. I think in your analysis of the game before the ending above you articulated a number of issues and questions.
Each time I try to grapple with the question, I think back to taking my daughter to the playground when she was 2 or 3. I was unable to look many times when she would climb up the slide or the jungle gym. I had tried hovering over her to catch her if she fell, but after many experiences with being overly protective, I stepped back, closed my eyes, and prayed.
I recalled at that time I was thinking about the times when she was learning to walk. At first I held both her hands and then she would hold just my finger. The time came when she tottered a few steps before falling. She bounced back up for another try and I collapsed from nervous exhaustion.
In the anecdotes above I knew that to grow she had to have freedom. I knew also that she would get hurt and all I could do was pray it would not be bad. There is a song I'm teaching my 2 year old granddaughter: "Try to Remember" from the musical play "The Fantasticks". Perhaps for your question the line in the song is: "Deep in December it's nice to remember without a hurt the heart is hollow." There are the emotional hurts as well as the physical ones. We grow with both.
We as parents have to set limits for our children, but those limits move continually as the child grows. They also change as the child develops new passions which sometimes needs to be nourished. I was riding my bicycle in York Terrace when I found the Blue Devils practicing. I was around 7 or 8. The coaches name was Mr. Moser and his son Donald played quarterback. Seeing me hanging around Mr. Moser told me I could scrimmage with them if I had shoulder pads. Begging proved effective with my parents and I began playing with the Blue Devils furnishing my own equipment! Several years later the town was redivided and I moved to the Silver Jets.
Yes, injury was there from the start. Kids with broken collar bones and arms were the usual. I knew without doubt that the next injury could be me. I remember Mr. Moser warning Travis Borden about running with his tongue out as if he was hit he would bite it off! Coach Wright took me to a doctor when my nose was broken. The doc stuck what looked like two chopsticks up my nostrils to straighten the nose. Talk about pain, wow! The next time it was broke I told Coach I was just fine as I could not face that pain again.
So injuries were common, but I don't recall any fear about them. When I really twisted my ankle badly as a Sophomore I felt terrible that I was missing practice as well as games. I was on crutches for several weeks. Then I was really hurt emotionally when that caused me to be sent down to the "B" team. It was my first taste of being demoted.
On a rainy night in Athens I played against a nose guard that outweighed me by at least 100 pounds. I took a beating that night and again wound up with a doctor as the nose guard stepped on my left hand with his cleats leaving scars with stitch marks that are still faintly visible. Undeterred I was ready to practice again on Monday.
My playing days came to an abrupt end when I tried out at Florence State spring training. I think Billie Don Anderson was quarterback at FSU then. Anyway I made it through spring training and played in the "F Day" game. Coach Harold Self invited me to come back in the fall. I realized that there was a limit to how far passion could take a person. I was almost 150 pounds and I made up for small size with speed and quickness, but the college guys were just as fast and quick or quicker. There was no future in that game for me. So it was time to grow in another direction.
I played football for 8 or 9 years. I think my parents saw two games in that time period. Thinking back it must have been the same for them as it was for me closing my eyes when my daughter went up the slide. The unanswerable question is when to restrain the child and when to encourage. For everyone, grandparent, parent, and child, you have to say, "Depends" and sometimes close your eyes and pray.
One day when I have some free time I need to start a file of "unanswerable questions" that trouble me.
Buck
Ed. Note: Jacob breezed through the rehab for his torn ACL more quickly than any other patient on whom Dr. Andrews has operated, and the staff at DCH rehab said that no one has passed the benchmark tests anywhere as quickly as he. Instead of maybe getting to play baseball later on in the spring, he is on the starting line-up of his school's basketball team. So, Buck's right!
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January 19, 2007 • Posted by Louis Oh, I'm Glad to Live in the Land of Cotton I'm looking out my back window and seeing daffodils with little yellow bud heads poking up. I saw a tulip tree in bloom when I took my dog, Coco, to her cardiologist in Birmingham, and the quince are already showing their reddish orange glory. Where's winter this year?
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January 18, 2007 • Posted by Louis You gotta know I'm hard up for something new to add to the website when I start talking about my hobbies. If I hadn't become a doctor, I would have been an architect, because I love to draw. However, I have never studied drawing. It's always been an off again, on again hobby. After viewing this, some of you may decide this is a good reason for you to send me something better to post.
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January 14, 2006 • Posted by Louis Elvis and a Stranger From Italy What do you do when you get an e-mail from somebody you don't know? Fearing viruses that will corrupt my hard disc, kill my operating system or start sending pornographic spam to everybody in my e-mail address book, I delete such suspect transmissions without opening them. This policy has caused me to lose important things such as the wedding pictures of a friend of my son because I didn't recognize his somewhat avant garde e-mail name. Last Saturday, I got one from a "Giovanni Luca Fabris" with the subject line saying "Fw: Elvis in 1955!" Would you have opened it? Well, I did, and I'm glad I did it! Turns out, Luca is in Italy and is a bonafide literary researcher for a book on fan reaction to Elvis Presley during his early years before he became "The King." He's trying to document every concert that Elvis gave during 1954 to 1956. He had nothing for Sheffield but the name of the venue--no pictures, no stories. If you've read the Elvis stuff on this website, you've seen my assertion that he gave more performances in little, ol' Sheffield than in over 95% of the other cities and hamlets in which he performed during these years. The three concerts at the Sheffield Community Center in January, August and November of 1955 beat out all other stops on his Louisiana Hayrides except Houston and Shreveport. It would be a shame if our hometown didn't get this recognition, and this new book just might help do it. But, Luca, the researcher, needs our documentation of Elvis' visits. He especially wants photographs in which landmarks, buildings or prominent citizens might be recognized--including photos of Elvis on the Community Center stage. He's also interested in interviewing those of you who had personal encounters with Elvis. He apparently has an expense account and wants to make the transoceanic phone call rather than you, so he wants to know who you are and when he can make the call so it would be convenient for you. Either e-mail me the time you will be available, or e-mail him directly at plcpf@tin.it If you've got photos, I would also like to get a copy for publication on this website. I can make a high resolution scan that I will e-mail to Luca, or, if he needs the original and you want to loan or give it to him, I will package them up and send them to him according to his instructions (saving you the postage). So far, he's contacted Carol Cahoon Hauser, Johnny & Sue Neyman (Sue's picture with Elvis on our website prompted Luca to contact me in the first place), Barbara Burcham Powell (another girl who dated Elvis during our high school years), Ronald Gene and Terry Pace. Carole Driskell and the Mayor, Billy Don Anderson, will be on the trail of these photos soon, The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Richard Sheridan (Sheffield historian), Sun Studios, The Tennessee Valley Historical Society and the Alabama Elvis Fan Club are going to be enlisted in the search. If you know someone with a story or stuff from the Sheffield Elvis performances, contact me or Luca.
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for Season's Greetings
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December 6, 2006 • Posted by Louis My new dear friend, Linda, has gifted me with a Lawson e-card that fits into the "save and cherish" category of "Forwardings" that I describe two posts down. Now, I share it with you. Just CLICK HERE, or on the title of this post. Hey, Guys and Gals! How about let's use this website to share Christmas greetings? Just take a picture of you (or you and your family) in a festive setting around your home (in front of the Christmas tree, in front of the mantle, in front of your decorated house, around a festive dinner table, playing with your decorated pet, etc.) with a digital camera and send it to me (lebuettner@comcast.net) as an attachment to an e-mail in which you also send the text of your greeting. Strive for beauty. . . or humor . . . or corny! If you remember the reunion of 1991 when Eddie Frost called on all the attendees to stand up and say something about themselves, you will recall that when James Brewer broke the ice with his comments about "all you old people," the activity really started getting fun. CLICK HERE to see an example of what I'm talking about. Be creative! Be verbose! Reminisce about the good things you've experienced this year--especially those things that involved The Class of 1956!
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December 3, 2006 • Posted by Louis Christmases in a North Vietnamese Prison You think your life is tough around Christmas time! Just think of what our servicemen who found themselves at the mercy of our enemy during the time when the angels proclaim, "Peace on earth," had to endure. Then mumble a prayer of thanks for all you have and another prayer for the safekeeping of our servicemen and women all over the world.
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December 2, 2006 • Posted by Louis Some Inspirational "Forwardings" Those of you who have read my other posts in this journal understand that I don't love all the forwarded e-mail messages which have no personal message and consist of nothing but the "cutesy" item that my correspondents like and want to share with everybody on their e-mail list. Some, however, really touch me. These would include some of the patriotic ones, the ones that pay tribute to the men and women who keep us safe from harm, and occasional religious sentiments. Some of the latter move me to recreate the e-mail and post it on this website, even though it doesn't have anything to do with our days at Sheffield High. I sense that many of you, my classmates, have a strong Christ-oriented faith and an appreciation for these inspirational messages. So I figure that if the ones that cause me, a crusty old Methodist with somewhat left of center inclinations (a conservative with slightly liberal streaks), to say, "That's nice," you'll like them too. This first link is to a page that features Psalm 23, but there are others all over this website (for example, in the "Playroom" page). Perhaps I will gather them together and put them onto an index page [CLICK HERE: I dun dunnit!) for future ease of viewing, but, for now, enjoy this one.
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November 20, 2006 • Posted by Louis What to give your friends and family for Christmas If you're stuck for something to give the folks on your Christmas gift list, try this web page. Today there are 35 shopping days left 'til Christmas, so it's appropriate to offer some gift suggestions even if they are intended to be in fun.
Seriously, at our level of maturity many of the gifts we receive are superfluous and may get stuck in a drawer and never be used. If this is something that has been on your mind, you might consider dropping hints to your children and other family members that you would really appreciate donations to your favorite charities or other causes that help needy people. Our trust fund in the Sheffield Education Foundation is one such worthy cause.
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November 15, 2006 • Posted by Linda Methvin Smith By the Sea
Two photos of my granddaughter I receive--standing by the sea, Bring to my mind, hoping in her time, she is seeing what I have seen. It is the age of the ocean, The youth of the girl Her four-legged friend Gazing out upon our world. Poets will write, muses will muse, the Sayer will sooth, clowns will die laughing... and The Bell continues to toll. Beings Peace on Earth is so fragile and the oceans so deep, how long will it take us to allow the two to meet in tranquility? Linda
Christina, Linda's granddaughter, and Jackie She turned 16 in August, has her driver's license and is a true Californian...locked and loaded on yellow VWs.... She has two cats, the dog Jackie, a huge white rabbit named Bunny, 2 hamsters and an outdoor aviary of domestic birds she cares for.
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November 15, 2006 • Posted by Louis Keep those Cards and Letters Coming! As you may have surmised from my comments elsewhere on this website that I am an inveterate, unashamed devotee of the comic page in the newspaper. I have been since school days, and they'll probably pull the paper off my cold, still body, saying, "He died laughing." Click Here to find an article I am writing on "Laughter Really Is the Best Medicine." For example, did you know that children laugh about 400 times a day (and they grow), while adults laugh about 15 times a day (and they die). Meanwhile, . . . In today's edition of this wonderful comic strip by the team of Brady and Wimmer, Rose is telling you in a humorous way that you can make my day by sending me a nice long e-mail with lots of good stuff to post on the website.
Rose Is Rose promotes a very healthy attitude of positive self-esteem, whimsy, letting loose and doing things in child-like ways that make you feel good. Lest you think this means it promotes hedonism, the message that we are being watched over and cared for by God comes through crystal clear as Rose's little boy frequently encounters his protective angel. It's a wonderful little comic strip and you should make this link a "Favorite Site" if you don't get it in your newspaper.
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November 8, 2006 • Posted by Louis (a message from Bill Gray) Fairy Tales
On this day on which the results of Election Day 2006 are now known, Bill Gray sends this apt cartoon and asks all "to join us in praying for these serious concerns; in praying for our new Liberal-controlled Congress and Senate; in praying for America; in praying for all the babies waiting to be born; and in praying for all of our children and grandchildren as they grow up in a world which is coming more and more under the influence of Secular Humanism."
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November 3, 2006 • Posted by Louis I told you so! The SHS Band is Tops. Since I first met Mr. Eric Kirkman, Director of SHS Band, I have felt that the development of the young men and women who march and play musical instruments for our alma mater is in good hands. Heck, he may even develop a legacy for the band that would match that established for SHS football by Coach Wright.
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November 2, 2006 • Posted by Jim Kimbrell re: Forwarders" and Internet Myths
Liked the post about
Hoax's.. I use these 2 URL's to check when I receive a message
that sounds a little strange.
It would also be nice to
teach others how to forward mail without all those
>>>>>>>>> I use a great
little program called E-Cleaner. It is Freeware and can be
downloaded from: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,6492-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html .
All you have to do is highlight the message with all the >>>>>>>>>>>>> and other things, right click and copy, click on e-cleaner in task bar, paste and clean. The cleaned message is ready to be pasted and sent.
Later, Jim
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October 31, 2006 • Posted by Louis "Forwarders" and Internet Myths Not complaining, mind you, but here's why you might want to check "Snopes" before you forward incredible stories about little-known amazing facts.
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October 26, 2006 • Posted by Louis Buck and Judy are enjoying an exotic escape from the cold of New England to the sunny South Pacific.
". . . . . Also, it (writing) is a way of reviewing the events and passing them on to our kids. In a few years all that will be left of us for our kids and grandkids is what we have written. All the rest will pass away. Memories are fragile but are the only things that are permanent." That's perhaps a statement of purpose that applies to this website. I intend to make CD copies of this website annually and send them out to those of you who want to retain all these memories that you have sent to accumulate here. I've learned that not just any CD will do for archival purposes, so I will make the copies on the gold archival quality CDs that should last 80+ years--not the15-20 years that the ones from Office Depot retain the data intact.
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October 17, 2006 • Posted by Ron Ron Newborn not only displays his love for his grandkids, but also the dogged determination of a dedicated journalist to get to the bottom of the (or is it "those?") terrorist bombing(s) in the Boys' Restrooms at SHS during our high school years.
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October 16, 2006 • Posted by Louis Intercessory Prayer Works! Take that, you atheists! On the morning of November 3 (and before then, if you will), let's all stop and speak to God about Don Vann's need for His healing hand and our request that His divine will be that Don's lung surgery in Birmingham will return him to full health. Don is the husband of our classmate, Irelle Dunning Vann.
BULLETIN: Don's surgery has been postponed until Friday, November 17. Please remember to remember him as he goes into the operating room on that day and pray for his complete recovery.
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October 8, 2006 • Posted by Louis Thoughts on Seeing One's Grandson Having His Knee Torn Up A grandparent's nightmare: a sports injury in a David-Goliath situation.
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October 2, 2006 • Posted by Louis Heard on the Grapevine: The SHS Band is a Winner! Let's show our support ($$) for this perennial championship SHS team. Their most recent conquest was this weekend at West Morgan High in the regional marching band contest.
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October 2, 2006 • Posted by Louis A Place in Alabama That's No. 1 in the World! Camp ASCCA, an Easter Seals agency heavily sponsored by the two Rotary districts of Alabama, Lions Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs and the State of Alabama is the biggest program in the world that offers disabled children and adults stimulating outdoor camp experiences that change their lives. I tagged along with my wife, Georgia, a new Board member, this past weekend and had my eyes opened.
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September 26, 2006 • Posted by Buck There's More to Nevada Than Slots! Buck Locke's annual gathering of his Vietnam era shipmates took place in Nevada this year, and you know Buck, he's got to find out all the history of the places he visits.
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Jim & Ginger at the fishing hole telling all Jim's classmates, "Howdy!" |
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The
Honor Walk is doing very well; by the week of Sheffield Sings, we had
placed 66 engraved bricks in the ground for people to see. Since
that time, I have taken 34 more to be engraved, and 25 new ones have
come in. That gives us a total of 125 sold. I thought you
might like to see some pictures of Sheffield Sings, so I will attach
those.
The
dedication of the FDR Memorial will take place on Thursday, May 22, 2:00
to 2:30 p.m. at the corner of First Street and North Montgomery Avenue
in Sheffield. This is the week of the 75th Anniversary of TVA.
We will have two people to speak that were at that same location on
January 21, 1933 and heard President Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt make
his historic speech. The memorial will be unveiled and honor given
to the man who delivered the "Muscle Shoals District" from the
poverty of the "Great Depression." Many people from this
area (my parents included) spoke of FDR as a member of their family--a
father--a grandfather--a savior. This memorial was overdue. No dam
in the TVA system was named for FDR. In the TVA offices at the
Muscle Shoals Reservation there is a statue of Sen. Norris but no
statue, picture, or likeness of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 
Want
a 1-Click Portal into the Website?
4/29/07
6/17/07
(January
29) They
returned, and now Buck has had a chance to write up his notes on the
trip. In a cover letter to this story, Buck relates a sobering
philosophy that we should all take note of: 