Up Dates

Thanks to Jerry Gaudet’s latest “Blast eMail,” responses are pouring in.

Well…….Perhaps that’s a little too enthusiastic…….they’re actually “trickling” in.

However, they’re all exactly what we want; an informal “up-date” of your life today!

It’s “Show and Tell” time:

WARREN SPARROW

“In response to Jerry Gaudet’s plea, here is my offering. There are three photos attached to this email. The first is of me reading to grandson Hammond in our living room. The second is this spring’s tulip patch in our front yard. The third is a bunch of cows who stopped in our front yard the other day. They bring new meaning to the phrase “holy cow.”

John Merritt

“I have loved the memories of Central. I often wonder why. I didn’t try very hard in class, at graduation, I still owed the school many hours of detention hall for being tardy, and always seemed to be a little out-of-step with assignments. Nonetheless, most of my fondest recollections are about classes and teachers. Other things, like waterboying Football for you and others, being in a play, lunches across Elizabeth, and just goofing off make those memories very special. Selective memory is better than selective hearing, and nobody has to repeat themselves.

During the twelfth grade I joined the Naval Reserves, and soon after graduation went on active duty. Two years on a destroyer will cause the most difficult cases to mature. I learned a lot, grew up a bunch, saw much of the world, served my country, and earned the GI Bill.

After the Navy, I attended college and eventually graduated a couple of times from East Carolina with degrees in Art and Art Education. After three years in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg system, I returned to EC to teach. After EC, I moved to Gastonia to teach at Gaston College. After four years, I had the itch for more graduate school. I got my doctorate from NC State, and followed that with twenty-six more years of administrative work back at Gaston. Since retirement, I have taught part time, volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, repaired antiques, and attempted to persuade a little white golf ball to go where I wanted despite the laws of physics and my limited aptitude. I was fortunate to marry a woman with patience, personality, and perseverance. Sounds like she was a troll, but actually pretty good looking. We are proud to have three children and two spoiled grandchildren. Our health has been good even though we are slowly attempting to become bionic.

It has been a good life with few regrets– yes, things I didn’t do, not those that I did. If I could go back to being seventeen again, I would decline, but if karma says I must, I hope most of
it will be like the past, and has a school like Central.”

John….the class monitors have been trying to track you down for years to have you make up all those hours you failed to spend in detention hall. We expect you to pay your debt and report to Detention hall on the second Tuesday of every month at Jimmies of Mint Hill. -Ed

PS….In athe FIRST post, I mistakenly said the FIRST Tuesday of the month. What I should have said was the SECOND Tuesday of every month! SECOND Tuesday of the month at Jimmies.

And now a word from our sponsor…

I’ve been forced by the reporter’s union to raise the salaries of the already overpaid
staff here at the CHS54 media complex.

As a consequence, we are forced (once again) to accept advertising at our formally commercial free flagship website.

Please support our sponsors.

-Ed

“People tell me “Gee you look good.” There are three ages of man: youth, middle age, and “Gee, you look good.”"
- Red Skelton

One of the Mystery Girls Identified

Maxcyne Motte Yaworsky was kind enough to email us from way out in Ogdon, Utah

“I was very sorry to hear of John Ballards passing. The picture you posted from Gene Moore has one face that I can identify for you. The girl to the far right of the photo is Emily Killingsworth. She was at Central for her Sophomore year and later (I think) transferred to Myers Park.
She and I connected later at Charlotte Memorial Hospital where we were both Medical Technologists. “

-Maxcyne

Travel Tips

Al Gore’s internet is a wonder to behold! I came upon a site, by accident, that convinced me that we can all throw away our maps…forget the GPS lady….and just ignore your spouse who is making noises like, “you’re driving in circles and don’t know where you are….etc.”

Relax. Just stop in at the nearest filling station or convenience store and pick up a can of RC Cola!

That’s right! It works like this:

If your can on the far left looks like this one, you’re in Columbus, Ohio. If it’s a white can you’re in the mountains of Louisville, KY. If it has white stripes around it like the middle can, you’re in Holland, Mich. If it is narrow and has a yellow stripe around the top, you’re in Chicago.
And if it looks like the can on the far right…with a red stripe around the top……you’ve arrived safely back home in Charlotte.

Happy trails!

THIS JUST IN:

The 15th annual RC and Moon Pie Festival was held last week in Bell Buckle, Tennessee and witnesses say that it was the best one yet! Since we cronologically challenged Wildcats are not due for another reunion for another 5 years or so, I’m going to suggest to the Reunion Commttee that we all meet next June for the RC and Moon Pie Festival. There’s fun for everyone beginning with the RC Moon Pie parade followed by the Moon Pie Toss and the RC Dash. For those of us less athletically inclined there’s Syncronized Wading.

All in all, according to the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce “it’s a day of fun for young and old celebrating THREE southern traditions: RC Colas, Moon Pies and Historic Bell Buckle, Tennessee…where we are 100 years behind the times and proud of it.“

ONE MORE THING

I don’t know exactly when this old RC Cola bottle was used, but when I saw this picture….it was like a “time machine” transporting me instantly to another time…and another place.

It seems that I was suddenly about 6 years old sitting in the dining room of our house on East 5th Street drinking a “coke.” (We alternated between Cokes, Pepsis, and RC’s….depending on which was on sale at the A&P.) We called them all “Cokes.”

I believe it was those yellow pyramids that set off that journey in my mind. The feeling only lasted for a split second…but it was powerful.

But, of course, the explanation could be a very simple one: creeping senility, first signs of dementia, or perhaps the pyramids I was thinking about were really the ones on that pack of Camel cigarettes….that made me so sick.

-Ed

“You know you’re getting old when you stop to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.

“-George Burns

Back Surgery

Marlene Ritch Beaty lets us know that Jackie Lookabill had back surgery on July 14th, and is recovering at home. She will go back to her doctor next week for a scan and progress report. Jackie is in good spirits, but still not up and around as she wants to be.

Send her a card:
Mrs. Jackie Lookabill
3601 Mountainbrook Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28210

Looking for……..

Thanks to Google, I just added a “Search Bar” to the website. You will find it on the upper right hand side of this page. Happy Hunting!

I was playing around with the search bar and typed in the words, Snips and Cuts; and lo and behold, it’s still there. That was one of the first things I put up on this website…many years ago…and darn, if it still doesn’t look pretty good, especially when you click on the pictures to enlarge them.

-Ed

Looking for……..

Thanks to Google, I just added a “Search Bar” to the website. You will find it on the right hand side of the first page. Happy Hunting!

-Ed

Sad News

Jerry Gaudet reports:

It is with sadness the we received word of the death of Becky Lampley’s husband. Jerry Leonard passed away suddenly on July 14, from “Cardiomyopathy, a heart condition.

Becky and Jerry lost their son 3 years ago this October. They have a daughter, Amy, the mother of their two grandsons who are in military service.

The Service for “Jerry Parker Leonard” will be Sunday, July 26, at 2:30 PM, at First Baptist Church in Kingsport, Tenn. He will be buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Johnson City, TN.

We have this contact information for Becky:
Mrs. Becky Leonard
465-D Manor Dr.
Kingsport, TN 37660

Email: jbleonard@earthlink.net

Gene Moore Checks In

Gene Moore sends us this note:

I was sorry to hear the sad news of the death of CHS ‘54 classmate, John Earl Ballard. The message from John’s wife, which was e-mailed to all of us by Jerry Gaudet, was especially touching. I was reminded of an old picture I have of John and seven other members of Calvary Methodist Church (West Boulevard, Charlotte) which was taken on the occasion of our graduation from Central High. Each graduate wore his/her graduation gown for the picture.

I have attached a copy of that picture and have identified the graduates as follows:

Second Row From Left: Gene Moore, Charles Sweitzer, Joe Kirkley, John Earl Ballard

First Row From Left: Not Remembered, Anne Disher, Not Remembered, Not Remembered

Unfortunately (probably because of my gray hair) I cannot remember the names of three of the girls. It appears in the picture that their graduation robes are different from those of the Central students, therefore they may have gone to another high school.

I join many others who fondly remember John and are sad at his passing.

Gene Moore

(Click on picture to enlarge)