Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Graduation
My high school graduation was on May 14,1963 from Reeds Spring High School in Reeds Spring Missouri. It was held in the high school gymnasium/auditorium. Besides my diploma, I received an Art Award, a Secretarial Practice Award and a scholarship to Blue Bonnet Beauty Acacdemy in Springfield Missouri. There were 22 kids in my graduation class.
Favorite Songs and Movies
While looking through my "Memories of my senior days" book I came across some entries I made about favorite songs. Most of them I know, but there are two songs I listed that I don't even remember the words, tune or who sang them. These are the songs that I listed that I liked so well:
Don't be afraid little darlin'
Twenty miles
He's so fine
The end of the world
Puff the magic dragon
You belong to me
It is the firtst two that I can't remember. It didn't surprise me at all that there were no Elvis songs on my favorite list because I didn't like his music that well back then. It did surprise me that there were no Beach Boys, Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Rydell----you know, all the Bobby's. This was the spring of 1963.
I listed my favorite movies as "Blue Hawaii" and "Gidget goes Hawaiian".
Don't be afraid little darlin'
Twenty miles
He's so fine
The end of the world
Puff the magic dragon
You belong to me
It is the firtst two that I can't remember. It didn't surprise me at all that there were no Elvis songs on my favorite list because I didn't like his music that well back then. It did surprise me that there were no Beach Boys, Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Rydell----you know, all the Bobby's. This was the spring of 1963.
I listed my favorite movies as "Blue Hawaii" and "Gidget goes Hawaiian".
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Junior-Senior Proms
Small as our school was, we didn't have just a senior prom like the kids in larger schools now do. We had a joint junior and senior prom. The juniors would do all the planning and raise the money for the prom.
When I was a junior we chose Hawaiian for our theme. We raised the money by the usual ways---bake sales , cake walks and car washes. We hired the local DJ Dick Biondi to play the music for the dance. My date of course was Elmer (or as Laura would say, Kenickie) for both proms. For the junior prom I had a light blue knee length formal and white and silver high heel shoes. It is the same ensemble I wore the following year when I was homecoming queen candidate. I had a corsage of white carnations with light blue tips and a blue ribbon.
For the senior prom, the juniors chose "graduation" as the theme. We had the same disc jockey as before (you guessed it, the only one in the area!) lol I had a white dotted swiss spaghetti strap knee length formal . My corsage was red carnations with white ribbons.
I don't remember the place we had the proms but it wasn't at the school. We all met at the school and rode to the prom in a school bus!! Ain't that a hoot!!! No limousines (wow, had to get spell checker for that one, lol ) were available in the whole area. Now can you believe that? Maybe this is part of the reason I just don't care all that much about protocol. So much fun can be had in the simplest ways.
When I was a junior we chose Hawaiian for our theme. We raised the money by the usual ways---bake sales , cake walks and car washes. We hired the local DJ Dick Biondi to play the music for the dance. My date of course was Elmer (or as Laura would say, Kenickie) for both proms. For the junior prom I had a light blue knee length formal and white and silver high heel shoes. It is the same ensemble I wore the following year when I was homecoming queen candidate. I had a corsage of white carnations with light blue tips and a blue ribbon.
For the senior prom, the juniors chose "graduation" as the theme. We had the same disc jockey as before (you guessed it, the only one in the area!) lol I had a white dotted swiss spaghetti strap knee length formal . My corsage was red carnations with white ribbons.
I don't remember the place we had the proms but it wasn't at the school. We all met at the school and rode to the prom in a school bus!! Ain't that a hoot!!! No limousines (wow, had to get spell checker for that one, lol ) were available in the whole area. Now can you believe that? Maybe this is part of the reason I just don't care all that much about protocol. So much fun can be had in the simplest ways.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
My Senior Trip---Part 2
Most of us bought souveniours while we were in Biloxi . After being in Biloxi all afternoon and all the sightseeing we did, we didn't get back to our hotel until 11:00 p.m. Part of our sightseeing was driving across the Lake Ponchatrain Causeway. It is 24 miles long and is the longest bridge in the world. A group of us went out to eat even though it was pretty late. We didn't get back to our rooms until about 12:30. We were sure worn out, it had been a fun and very busy day.
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and headed out of town on our way to Vicksburg, Mississippi. We toured the Vicksburg battlegrounds, and then went on to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. We checked in to the Pine Bluff motel, which was the prettiest place we stayed. We headed on home the folowing morning and got to Reeds Spring around 4:30. We all had a wonderful time but sure were tired. We all called our parents to tell them we were back and to please come get us. They were on "stand-by" to come get us, but there was no way we could've projected what time. This was several decades before the cell phones. A group of us sat at the counter in the drugstore and had a coke while we waited for them.
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and headed out of town on our way to Vicksburg, Mississippi. We toured the Vicksburg battlegrounds, and then went on to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. We checked in to the Pine Bluff motel, which was the prettiest place we stayed. We headed on home the folowing morning and got to Reeds Spring around 4:30. We all had a wonderful time but sure were tired. We all called our parents to tell them we were back and to please come get us. They were on "stand-by" to come get us, but there was no way we could've projected what time. This was several decades before the cell phones. A group of us sat at the counter in the drugstore and had a coke while we waited for them.
My Senior Trip---Part 1
O n April 29, 1963, 18 of us seniors and our chaperones all met in the school parking lot. We all boarded a school bus and we were off. Our final destination was New Orleans, La. The first night we stayed at the Pelican Motel in Alexandria, Louisiana. We went to the bowling alley for awhile and then we just walked around and enjoyed ourselves.
We got up the next morning at 6:30 and went on in to New Orleans. We stayed at the DeSoto Hotel and our rooms were on the 4th floor. I shared a room with my best friend Barbara Shaw and two other girls. A group of about 7 or 8 of us went out to eat together and then walked around Canal and Bourbon St. for awhile. We went to a movie and saw "The Critics Choice" with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. When we got back to the hotel, us girls stayed up talking and laughing till around 3:30 in the morning.
The next morning we took a side trip to Biloxi, Mississippi. This is where the clutch went out on the bus. We didn't care a bit because we got to spend all afternoon on the beach!! However, a few of the kids that went into the "Gulf of Mexico" cut their feet on sharp rocks and seashells. The rest of us knew at their expense, not to go in the water barefooted.
The bus driver picked us up after the clutch was fixed and we headed back to New Orleans. We did some sightseeing and then went back to our hotel.
To be continued
We got up the next morning at 6:30 and went on in to New Orleans. We stayed at the DeSoto Hotel and our rooms were on the 4th floor. I shared a room with my best friend Barbara Shaw and two other girls. A group of about 7 or 8 of us went out to eat together and then walked around Canal and Bourbon St. for awhile. We went to a movie and saw "The Critics Choice" with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. When we got back to the hotel, us girls stayed up talking and laughing till around 3:30 in the morning.
The next morning we took a side trip to Biloxi, Mississippi. This is where the clutch went out on the bus. We didn't care a bit because we got to spend all afternoon on the beach!! However, a few of the kids that went into the "Gulf of Mexico" cut their feet on sharp rocks and seashells. The rest of us knew at their expense, not to go in the water barefooted.
The bus driver picked us up after the clutch was fixed and we headed back to New Orleans. We did some sightseeing and then went back to our hotel.
To be continued
Senior Sneak Day
This event was originally called skip or sneak day because all of the students in the senior class would skip school on the same day. No one in the senior class would show up for school. It evolved quite a bit by the time we would have done it. Not only did the school and faculty know about it, but they even let us use one of our old yellow school busses and a driver for the day.
We went to the bowling alley in Hollister first. We had a lot of fun there and then we headed out for Rockaway. It is (or was) a recreation area with a few rides and concession stands. It had a huge ferris wheel. That is one ride that kind of scares me, let's say it makes me very uneasy. Yeah I know, the fearless roller coaster rider afraid of the ferris wheel! Kind of ironic huh? I was goaded and talked in to going on it anyway, and I was right---I didn't like it at all! I hate that feeling of being dropped and always felt like I was going to get "flung" right out of that seat. I don't like any ride that drops me. We had a great time while we were there. We ate our share of the junk food that they sell at these places.Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the school.We had to get the school bus back so it could take some kids home, and of course catch our own busses.
Sure glad I didn't get "flung" anywhere, or all of you would't be around to read this! lol
We went to the bowling alley in Hollister first. We had a lot of fun there and then we headed out for Rockaway. It is (or was) a recreation area with a few rides and concession stands. It had a huge ferris wheel. That is one ride that kind of scares me, let's say it makes me very uneasy. Yeah I know, the fearless roller coaster rider afraid of the ferris wheel! Kind of ironic huh? I was goaded and talked in to going on it anyway, and I was right---I didn't like it at all! I hate that feeling of being dropped and always felt like I was going to get "flung" right out of that seat. I don't like any ride that drops me. We had a great time while we were there. We ate our share of the junk food that they sell at these places.Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the school.We had to get the school bus back so it could take some kids home, and of course catch our own busses.
Sure glad I didn't get "flung" anywhere, or all of you would't be around to read this! lol
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Homecoming 1962-63
Our homecoming my senior year started with a pep squad assembly at 3:00. We all took our busses home and came back to the school before the A-team started playing a 7:00. The A-team beat Galena 74 to 62. Later the B-team played and won their game 41 to 36 over Galena.
The coronation of the homecoming queen was done between the games. I was the homecoming queen candidate for the senior class. I wore my light blue knee length formal and my white and silver sparkley shoes (three inch spikes). All of the candidates were given white corsages. The junior class candidate won the title of homecoming queen and was crowned by the captain of the basketball team. She also received a bouquet of red roses. The theme for our homecoming was Christmas, so we had red, white and silver decorations on a midnight blue background. It was beautiful.
Afterwards, when I ran into mom and dad out in the hallway of the school, dad was mumbling and grumbling about something but I didn't pay much attention to it. My boyfriend drove me home that night. Mom told me the next day that what dad was grumbling about was that he thought I was the prettiest girl up there and I should have won. Gotta love daddies!!!
The coronation of the homecoming queen was done between the games. I was the homecoming queen candidate for the senior class. I wore my light blue knee length formal and my white and silver sparkley shoes (three inch spikes). All of the candidates were given white corsages. The junior class candidate won the title of homecoming queen and was crowned by the captain of the basketball team. She also received a bouquet of red roses. The theme for our homecoming was Christmas, so we had red, white and silver decorations on a midnight blue background. It was beautiful.
Afterwards, when I ran into mom and dad out in the hallway of the school, dad was mumbling and grumbling about something but I didn't pay much attention to it. My boyfriend drove me home that night. Mom told me the next day that what dad was grumbling about was that he thought I was the prettiest girl up there and I should have won. Gotta love daddies!!!
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