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.

Two Cool Cats

Fred Williams and Warner Dean Hancock (Class of '57). I believe that's a Tootsie Pop that Fred is holding. Do they still make Tootsie Pops?

At the Hop

Claudia Moss New and Noah New, caught on film about a hundredth of a second before breaking into a hot jittberbug move.

First Methodist Church

Some of you will remember this building better than others. It was very familiar place to me when I was growing up.

Is This Ann Pendleton?

What do you think?

Back to the '50s

From the left: Robert and Mary (Clark) Mortimer, Claudia (Moss) and Noah New, Dolly (Pinson) and Ron Huffstutler. [Click on photo to enlarge it.]

A Song We Used to Sing on the Band Bus

Forest Glade Students

Were You at this Game?

I was. (Click on the ticket to enlarge it.)

Ina Cooper -- Second Grade

Sandra Romain -- Second Grade

Mary Clark -- Second Grade

I can't recall whether they took our school pictures before or after we left W. M. White school for the First Methodist Church Sunday School building. Mary seems pretty happy, no matter where she was at the time.

Girls in Hats

What I want to know is where Mary and Gladys got those hats. And I can see those jerseys in my mind's eye right now. I'm willing to bet they were maroon and white. Am I right? And where did they come from?

That's Ann Pendleton behind Claudia, and Melinda Mansell is sitting on the ground off to the right, holding a baton. I have no idea what she was doing with the baton. Maybe a twirling exhibition.

Down Mexico Way

Judy Crider, Bill Crider, Francelle Crider, Jimmy Fulwiler, about 1965.

John Marion Black

May 1959

Neither of these people was in our class, but I like the picture. The guy with the really cool cap is Warner Dean Hancock (Class of '57), and he's dancing with Martha Wilson (Class of '62).

Another One from Cameron Park

That's Lance in front, of course, with that great old double-lens reflex camera. (So, Lance, where are the photos you took?) Mike's behind her. Then we have Ina, someone I can't quite make out, Dolly, and Jimmy Fulwiler.

May 1959

Another one from Cameron Park. From left to right: Bill Crider, Claudia Moss, Mary Clark, Mike Leary, Ann Pendleton (who's apparently in the Twilight Zone), and Margaret Stubbs. As you can plainly see, that's Gladys Fisher behind Ann. This one was in the annual, but Mike (who was the editor) cut me out of it. I don't know who that is on the far left with only 1/4 of his head showing. This one enlarges nicely if you click on it.

30th Reunion, July 1989

Bill Crider, Claudia Moss New, John Marion Black. I have no idea what we're looking at. Bob Tyus is behing me, and I think that's Barbara Guest between Claudia and John's shoulders. But I'm not sure.

30th Reunion, July 1989

Left to right: Mike Leary, Bill Crider, Bobby Gene Tyus.

May 12, 1992

This shot was taken in the living room of 401 S. McKinney Street in Mexia. Standing in front is Lauren Bettinger, Francelle's daughter. From left to right: Mike Leary, Fred Williams, Bill Crider, Margaret Stubbs, Francelle Crider, Melinda Mansell.

Cops

I don't know how old this patch is, but it reminded me of Boss MacKenzie and Chief Parten. Anybody ever get stopped by the police in Mexia? The only time I remember getting stopped was for running a stop sign. I can't remember who stopped me. When I pointed out there wasn't a stop sign to run, he thought I was being smart with him. Then I asked him to take a look, and, sure enough, there wasn't stop sign. There was one there within a week, though.

Ann and Claudia, May 1959

Another one from the Cameron Park band trip. Ann is typically camera-shy.

Melinda Mansell

Like the picture below, this one was taken at the lake. Melinda Mansell (Class of '61) has just caught a ball. I don't know who threw it, and I don't know who that is on the right, either.

At the Lake

It's May 1959, and Margaret Stubbs (Class of '60) is hiding behind a tree while holding an RC Cola. I don't know why she's hiding. Maybe because she didn't want me to take her picture.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Today is Elvis Presley's birthday. It would be impossible to overestimate the importance of Elvis Presley to people of our generation, I think. One of my fond memories of MHS is of the time John Marion Black slipped into Gilbert Smith's office and played Elvis' Christmas Album over the speaker system during lunch. From the reaction of the teachers (I'm thinking of Mrs. Burleson), you would have thought that obscenities were being broadcast. Everybody else loved it, though. Those were great days.

Mrs. Burleson probably hasn't paid any attention to the current popular rap "songs," but I have to wonder what she'd think if she heard some of those lyrics.

Another Bible School Photo

I can identify some of these people. Not all, though. That's Peggy Flowers standing in the back, behind Richard Perkins. Is that Joe Owens to her left? The head between Richard's head and the (Leslie?) Owens head belongs to Mrs. Dollar. You can see Genie Schuh's face to the left of them, and I think the one barely visible behind her is Mrs. Mary Hintz. Mrs. Measles is next, and Suzanne Hayter is on the end of the back row. Faye Euganks is in front of her. Is that Jane Edwards in front of Faye? Lynn Hammer is in the middle, with Bobby Wasson to his left and I'm on Bobby's left, looking pained. I'm not at all sure about the other two guys. One of them looks like a slightly chubby Fred Williams, and the other one is no one I can put a name to. You can click to enlarge the picture and see what you think.

Update: Genie Schuh (Class of '57) has checked in to say that looks like Cecil Stephens standing on the left. I think she's right.

From Santa to Scout

After all the dam pictures below, I thought I'd change pace a little with one more Christmas picture. This yellowed newspaper clipping is a shot of (from left to right) Fred Williams, Molly Walker, Maurice Easterling, and Fred Brown. I'm sure most of you remember these people.

The occasion was a pile of Christmas toys to be delivered to the kids at the State School. Remember going to the theater for a morning of cartoons and paying for your admission with a toy? That's where the pile came from.

The Drought Breaks

These pictures were taken when the drought ended in the middle '50s. Two are of the water pouring over the dam, and the third is the river below the dam, between the dam and the old bridge.

The Dam at Fort Parker Lake

Here we have three views of the dam at Fort Parker Lake. Most of you probably remember that when the "drought broke" in the 1950s and the run-off filled the Navasota, practically everybody in town went out to see the water flowing over the dam.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

I'm either a little late with this, or very early. It's Santa, who's sitting in the Sears store in Mexia with Ginny Pat Schuh (Genie's sister) on his lap. Santa is Fred Williams of the class of '57.

#1 Song

For the first week of January 1959, "The Chipmunk Song" was #1. But for the rest of the month, an oldie written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harback in 1935 was in the top spot. Can you guess what it was, or will you have to listen to the clip? Click for the answer.