Graduation Day (8th Grade)

Texas History Play

More Fishers

Everyone's younger in this one than in the one from yesterday. And Sandra tells me that'd Don Green on the far right. How did he get in there? The older girl in back is Don's sister, Rosemary, who recently passed away.

Family Portrait

You never know what you'll find when you're browsing the Internet. Here's an example.

What's this Pose?

Dolly, Lance, Theresa, Linda.

Martha Roark

Martha Roark and some cool cars.

First Christian Church

This picture is from 1947. A year or so later, I walked by the west side of this building all the time when I was going home from the third grade classes being held in the First Baptist Church.

The FHA Club!

Lots of familiar faces here.

World's Biggest Dress?

Or just the most petticoats? Genie Schuh ('58) is a real southern belle. Remember stuffing napkins in chicken wire to make those floats?

Mr. Haney and the Mexia Blackcat Band

Recognize anyone in the band shot?

Babes

Linda Phillips, Theresa Carroll, Pat Haney, Dolly Pinson, Margaret Ann Bleakney, Mary Clark, Gladys Fisher.

The Lineup

John Black, Pat Haney, Dolly Pinson, Marvin Berry. What house is that in the background?

Brownies

First Baptist Church

I didn't go to church at FBC, but I did go to third grade there. I still remember playing in the roped-off street at recess, and though I haven't been inside the building since second grade, I think I could still go straight to Mrs. McBay's classroom.

Sadie Hawkins Dance

Bobby East, Lynn Roy Weeks, Ken Trotter, Fred Williams.

I believe that Lynn Roy, Ken, and Fred are showing off their football injuries. Fred's left knee was damaged, but it doesn't show. They certainly look cheerful, however.

First National Bank

This was the First National Bank when I was a kid. Before that, it was the Pendergast-Smith Bank, I think. (The name's still on the building, but you can't see it in this picture.) Now it's Womack Insurance.

Remember the days of "counter checks"? In Mexia, there were two kinds of checks on the counter of every store. Pink checks (for First National) and white checks (for Farmer's State). If you wanted to pay by check, you didn't have to carry your own checkbook. You just filled in a counter check and signed it. Balancing a bank account must have been easier in those days.

Glamour Shot

Mary Clark in Cameron Park, without the hat.

Letters, We Get Letters

A few days ago I got a couple of letters from Rodney Allbright. Well, they weren’t really from him. They were from me. I wrote them to him in 1960 and 1961 when I was in college. (Rodney is an even more of a pack-rat than I am. He has some more letters that he claims to be saving for blackmail purposes.)

Getting those letters was quite a shock. It was kind of being in a time machine. Stamps were four cents. There were no ZIP codes.

Reading the letters made me realize how little I’ve changed, since they’re about girls, movies, and books. Those are the same things I write about now. In a way, that’s depressing. Somewhere along the line I was supposed to mature and become a grown-up. Too late now, I guess.

Some of you might be wondering if you were mentioned in the letters. As a matter of fact, yes. Here’s an example. “Bob Tyus went home on Friday. I started to go but decided it was no use since it’s only 39 more days until Easter holidays begin. Tell James to tell John to come home. I want to hear about how he got engaged to Kay Lynn. If he’ll tell, that is.”

I can’t believe I said that part about “only 39 more days.” That must have seemed like an eternity to me back then. James and John are obviously the Black brothers, and I don’t think John ever did tell me how the engagement came about. By now he probably doesn’t even remember. Maybe Kay does.

There’s more in the letters, stuff about who’s sitting with whom on the band bus, about movies I saw and books I read, but none of your names were mentioned. I sure would like to see those other letters that Rodney has, though.

Old City Hall and Fire Station

I'm pretty sure this building is the old City Hall and Fire Station that was on the corner of McKinney and Main, across from the post office. Am I right or wrong?

Boom Town

I don't think I ever heard of "the famous Golden Lane." I wish I'd had some of the income from that field, though. I remember seeing the oil derricks out along highway 84 when I was a kid. My father said that they drilled the wells so fast that they just left the derricks there when they finished and went on to the next one. Now the derricks are almost all gone.

First Presbyterian Church

I remember the Taylor sisters, whose father was the pastor here when we were in high school. Stuart and Leith. Stuart was a twirler, I believe.

If You Got the Money, Honey . . .

. . . I've got the time.

Down by the Graveyard

This is the entrance to the Mexia Cemetery. I didn't put it up to be morbid. It's just another memory of the old days and the stories about couples going in there at night to park and talk. Or whatever. Not that I ever did, worse luck for me. There was one memorable night with most of the one-act play cast in John Black's old Chevy, when what was intended as a drive-through became a stall-out. That was a pretty funny experience.

Slow Dance

Richard Perkins dances with Margaret Stubbs while Fred Williams looks on wistfully. I wonder what song was playing on the jukebox.

What's Happening Here?

Joy Bates and Lance are standing behind Mary and Gladys. Ann and Claudia are on their left. I don't know what's going on, but everyone seems to be having a good time.