SCHOOL DAYS ARE HERE

I loved school! My brothers enjoyed school! It was an opportunity for us to have other kids to play with because we lived out in the country and had no close neighbors. By the time the school year rolled around we had played with each other all we wanted to. Of course we had church activities and friends who visited but for the most part, we just had each other, the farm and our imaginations to keep us occupied.

Back in the olden days school didn't start until the Tuesday after Labor day. It was a day I anticipated and prepared for weeks. Mama would have been sewing for many days to make me new dresses. She would have gone to Liddell's, Weatherbees, and Williams department stores to buy pretty gingham checks and plaids to make me new outfits. I always wanted to wear them before she washed them and I loved the smell of new cloth and would preen before the mirror while mama plaited my hair or tied it in pony tails thinking I had to be the best dressed girl in my class because Mama was a master seamstress.

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The shoes would have been purchased from Myers in Selma and most likely were Buster Brown lace up or had a strap. Mama and daddy didn't think loafers were a good bargain so we didn't have them. We would go to Myers and put our feet under an x-ray thing which would show the bones of our feet and tell you which size you needed. We always bought about a half size larger than we needed so we wouldn't outgrow them by Christmas. You would stand up with your new shoes on, mama would press her thumb on the toe of the shoe and if she didn't have a thumb's width at the toe we got the next half size up. We had plenty of room in our shoes to grow. You just laced them up a little tighter or pulled that strap across the instep a notch tighter so they wouldn't slip up and down. I didn't wear them out of the store because I wanted them to look brand new on the first day of school with my new dress.

My brothers didn't have to have new shoes  because most of the boys in Wilcox County Alabama didn't wear shoes to school until the 7th grade. They all went barefoot but in new jeans and knit shirts. The jeans were bought at Southern Wholesale in Selma through Mr. Leatherwood. Can't remember how we got this privilege but it sure helped out when outfitting 3 kids .

We would all five make the trip to Selma to buy our school clothes. The boys would get 6 pairs of jeans, 6 knit shirts - long and short sleeves, 6 pairs of underwear and undershirts, and a package of 6 socks. The jeans were always too long and rolled up to last all year. Sam was always difficult to get the right size for he was a skinny little rascal and they would always be too big in the waist and mama would have to put tucks in them or buy the ones with elastic in the back. I would get the underwear, cotton of course and sometimes mama could get some material to make my dresses.

I can remember those jeans smelling new and so stiff they would chafe the inside of the legs when you wore them. Mama would wash them to help but back in those days we didn't have clothes softeners so you had to wear them to break them in. They would look so handsome on the first day of school with new jeans rolled up, new knit shirts (striped of course), fresh haircuts, thanks to mama or daddy, and their new book satchels. The bare feet would be peeping out the bottom of the jeans with soles as tough as leather.

We would wait anxiously for the big, yellow bus driven by Mrs. Tubberville to appear over the little hill to our left. Hair shining, teeth brushed, clean as whistles, and jumping with excitement we waited impatiently. The bus would almost be full by our time to get on, but someone would always save us a seat. The elementary kids sat up front and the big kids in the back but there was usually no trouble for Mrs. Tubberville was tough. She didn't put up with any foolishness especially if some of the big kids were picking on a little one. She was fiercely protective of her little ones. We all loved her and she also ran our lunchroom. Except for the overcooked cabbage, the food was  good.

When we got to school we would run to our classrooms and I mean run unless you were in high school. That would not have been cool. Our teachers would be waiting on us and we would enter that room which smelled of chalk dust, paste, and little bodies. I loved that smell because it meant we were going to learn something. It was exciting, challenging and FUN. Yes we had fun! I will tell you more about that later. We knew our teachers personally and they knew each of us and our parents. If you were "from" there, they also knew your whole family for generations. It was comforting and secure.

It's sad that in some cases this is no longer true. School to us was a magical world of reading, writing and arithmetic with a caring teacher and administration. This magical world is why I became a school librarian. I wanted to be a part of this wonderful place of learning,  

Nuff Said

The Georgia Peach (transplanted from Alabama)

Class Reunion

Now and Then

Good evening. Ya'll come on into the 'Net Porch and sit awhile and have a coke with me. We have had a great weekend but I am TIRED or as our pastor said this morning, "I am plain wore out." But as he said, it is a good tired for we had a great experience yesterday which I will blog about later. We had a Community Day sponsored by our Valdosta Baptist Assc. and in cooperation with many other churches we ministered physically and spiritually to between 7,000 - 10,000 people with over 150 making a decision to follow Christ for the rest of their lives. It was a wonderful, blessed day and I will tell ya'll all about it later.

Right now I need some advice. As you see from the pictures and title of the blog I am getting ready to attend a "big event." My high school graduating class from Wilcox County High in Camden, AL is about to celebrate our 5oth class reunion. Now why would I admit to that year for it tells you I am older, advanced in years, a senior citizen, old as dirt, or any other name you want to give it? Well let my tell you honey chile, when you get my age and are still kicking high you tend to brag about it and thank the Lord for your good health.

The advice I need is how do I prepare for this big day? As you can see from the differences in the 2 pictures above, there have been some changes. The hair went from black to white (but at least I still have mine), the weight went from 98 lbs to my business and not yours (just say a few have been added), no glasses to having to wear them all the time and no wrinkles to a few. So now what can I do about it? Well, I have started to do a few things and let me share them with you to see if there is more I can do to make me look a little better.

Now I don't want to go overboard here for my brother had an experience several years ago at his class reunion which I just know is going to happen at ours. One of his classmates came in and she looked just like she had 30 years before or almost. No wrinkles, hair the same color, everything was perky and not droopy and she looked great. Sam was a little puzzled since the rest of them had aged gracefully or ungracefully and she hadn't. He wondered if somehow she had found a time warp but after questioning one of his friends who knew the "rest of the story" he found out it was not time warp but "the knife" of a skilled plastic surgeon.

It seem that this classmate had found a very, very dear and sweet friend of the opposite sex who paid for her operations. She had been lifted, sucked, tucked, augmented, and molded into this youthful appearance and she looked good. Now if I had been there, being me, I would have asked her who the surgeon was for I think maybe I could use his services just a little bit. But you know something? All that stuff she had done was going to have to be redone in a few years for gravity is a never ending downward force that keeps going just like the "Energizer Bunny."

I don't want to go to that extreme but let me tell you what I have done. I began doing my walking exercises but I think I waited too late for I began last week and the reunion is in 2 weeks. Do you think I can walk off 20 lbs. by then? I also began to eat a lot less and lower the calories big time but I'm not sure even walking till I drop and starving to death is going to do it. My next question is what to do next?

Clothes they say make the difference and I began to read articles about how our choice of clothes can make us look like we lost 10 lbs. and that's better than nothing. Do I go for the black pants with no pleats, slim pockets and tummy control or the the black dress? Neither one, for it is May in South Alabama and the black pants would be way too hot and the little black dress would be too dressy. You see I can't be over dressed for that is as bad as under dressed if you are a Southern Lady. It's like you can't wear white shoes until after Memorial Day or wear a flouncy dress to a casual affair. You have to be dressed properly or the "Fashion Police" made up of older Southern Ladies will have to shake their heads and remark on how that reflects on your Mama.

What are my other choices? Maybe dark, cropped pants with no pleats or gathers, the shirt that hangs below the waist but has a tuck at the waist. I'll have to be sure the shirt has short sleeves for the "bat wings" will be showing if I go sleeveless. Then maybe some longer, straight earrings to elongate the face and a necklace with a long pendant to draw the eye down rather than across. Of course the shoes have to be the same color as the pants to not break the color line and the shirt has to be lighter to draw the eyes up away from the hips. What do you think? If I leave the shirt unbuttoned and wear a colorful tank top this will add a little color to the faded look which white hair gives you. Maybe that will work.

Undergarments? Well, there is a big choice there. I can wear the long, spandex girdle which encircles the body from just above the waist to the just above the hem of the cropped pants but that pushes the stomach up and your legs feel like they don't belong to you. Maybe the shorter one will be more comfortable but I just can't let it all hang out! I'm Southern lady enough to want to look my best.

The hair is just going to stay white for I gave up long ago dyeing it but I am getting a hair cut before I go and Robert has promised to make me look younger. Maybe one of the moussed up spikey looks? I will probably keep the one I have all the time for I keep it short, perky and not tightly curled like n old lady. I just refuse to have the curly, football helmet, hair sprayed look. I like the short, slightly mussed sexy look.

Makeup? It's going to be dreadfully hot so a little has to go a long way or it will melt and drip right off. Of course minimal for me is a little foundation to even out the shadows, a slight brush of pink on the cheeks, hightlight for the eyes, mascara, and little bit of eyebrow pencil. I'll have to outline the lips with the special pencil so the lipstick won't bleed into the wrinkles and that should do it. Have to be careful and not look like the "painted lady" but I don't want to look all faded, washed out and washed up.

I almost bought some of that regenerist potion but do you know it was $30 dollars for a little ole jar? Just not worth it for one weekend and it said it took 30 days for you to notice the difference and I don't have that long so the wrinkles will just have to wrinkle.

Well, what do you think? Will it do? I'll be sure and take some pictures to show you the results. Now, honey, I do realize the rest have aged also and have put on few or more than a few pounds, the hair has turned grey or they are dyeing it, the hair has fallen out or they have on a wig, and the wrinkles are there unless they have gone under the "knife but I am going to do my very best to bring home the "least aged" trophy! Right, and if you believe that I have a beach side house for sale in the Okefenokee Swamp for sale at a real good price.

It should be fun and I do look forward to seeing many of my "old" friends. We have lived away from home for many many years and I have not seen some of my classmates since graduation so I hope they name tags are in LARGE PRINT so I can read them.

It's been good visiting with ya'll tonight and come back to see me and be careful going home.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

High School Homecoming

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Good morning, ya'll. Coffee is hot and I have some scones I can split and toast if you would care for a snack. I like to make scones using scone mixes and we had some for breakfast yesterday. They usually call for water to mix but I like to use cranberry juice or apple juice for another layer of flavor. Yesterday it was a cherry mix and I used cranberry juice as the mixer. You don't taste the juice as such, but it is a little additional flavor. You might want to try it. Sconse are a slightly sweet biscuit and is usally cut into wedges or squares. They are very good.

It was homecoming weekend here this weekend and a good time was had by all from what I heard. Sweet memories flooded my mind of our Wilcox County High School (Alabama) homecomings for it was a wonderful week or two. Education became second in priority at this time and excitement ran sky-high.

We would elect the homecoming queen and court about a month before and it was a great honor. The queen was always a senior and usually the most popular and the prettiest girl in the class. The court would wear lovely evening gowns on the float during the parade and suits with great big pom-pom corsages at the game. Most of the crowd would also be dressed up and most would have on a corsage with our school colors of blue and white. It was quite festive and a big celebration.

The floats in the parade were a labor of love for each class and club. A borrowed flat-bed trailer from one of the farmers would be carried to a warehouse in town and we would all hope they would wash it good before they brought it for some of them could be kinda smelly. We would wrap it in chicken wire and following the plans drawn up by one of our artistic class members we would begin the arduous task of decorating.

Each hole in the chicken wire was stuffed with a kleenex which you would hold in your left hand. With the right hand you would take it by the middle and place the fluffy flower you had made in a hole of the chicken wire. If you needed colored fluffy flowers, squares of crepe paper would be used in place of the kleenex. The colored paper would be used to form letters or a pattern and would look rather good from a distance. It was not fun when we would run out of kleenex though for we would then use the cheap, school toilet tissue which would not be fluffy. You do remember the school tissue? Is is always the cheapest you can buy - kinda like using a page from the Sears Roebuck catalog. We would have spent many days cutting squares of crepe paper and making posters for you wanted your float to win the prize for the best float. There wouldn't be a roll of blue or white crepe paper within an 80 mile radius of Camden.

On the Friday of the game we would work all day on the floats. They would be brought to the football field behind the school and we would stuff paper, make posters, and decorate all day. The biggest thrill for the girls was the privilege to wear jeans for we had to wear dresses or skirts to school every other day. We would wear our jeans with the legs folded neatly to just below the knees, a sweatshirt or blouse, saddle oxfords or loafers with socks folded neatly around the ankles. If it was cold it was an opportunity to wear your boy friend's letter jacket, if you had a boy friend who played football. I never had one of those so I just had to wear my leather jacket or a heavy sweat shirt. To get a good picture in you mind just watch the movie, Grease. I wish I had a pink, satin jacket but mama didn't like that idea.

About 2 o'clock we would hook the trailer up to a nicely washed and shined tractor and they would be pulled to the street in front of the school. We who were in the band would put on our scratchy, woolen uniforms, and line up in the front of the parade. At 3 o'clock, Mr. Tommy or one of the other policemen or deputies would pull up in a squad car, blow the siren and away we would march down town. The school was on main street and we would slowly wind our way down town, around the town square and back to the school. The whole town would line the streets to see the pretty girls, watch the band and cheer us on and every year they would say it was the best parade there had ever been. Small towns are the greatest for encouraging their kids.

The floats would be lined up on the football field and the winner of the best float would be announced right before the football game. The game would be played, the queen and court presented at half-time and a good time would be had by all. Lots and lots of the alumni would be there for most of them never left town. The crowd would be noisy, the boys played their best, Coach McKelvey would pace the sidelines, the band would strut their stuff, the smell of popcorn would fill the air and it was Friday night in Camden, AL and most other towns in the South.

Most of the college alumni would come home and dress to the nines in their best, wear a big ole corsage and make sure everyone saw them as they walked in front of the stands. When you would get to the student section everybody would be glad to see you and admire your collegiate look. The skirts would be a little short, the makeup a lot heavy, the hair teased and sprayed and you would look older and cool. Coming home for homecoming was a big deal and you wanted to make a big impression for after all, you were now in college and a big wheel. You wanted to make sure all were impressed with how pretty and more mature you looked now.

I'm glad these traditions are still alive and well for these are memories you hold close and are dear. I still remember our queen my senior year for she was an exception to the rule. Sadie was our neighbor up the road and was not one of the in-crowd from town. She was not from a well-to-do family, worked after school and weekends at A. C. William's store but made great grades and was liked by most. Those of us who lived in the country got our act together and elected her our queen and she was honored and thrilled. We were so glad that one of our country girls was finally on the "throne."

If your school is having homecoming, get your big corsage, your best clothes, tease up that hair, spray it good and go have a good time.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach

Tuesday's Band Memories

Where our band room was located

Trombone

Bell Lyre

C0ronet

Good evening to ya'll. I still have some hot coffee, so come on in for a cup or if you would like some iced tea, have some of that also. Just come on in the house and sit a spell. By the way, how's your mama, daddy and the rest of the folks? Sure hope they are all well and Aunt Sue? I sure hope her arthritis is not hurting her too bad with this cool weather and all.

Did I ever tell you about all three of us children being in the Wilcox County High School band? Well I began the tradition by playing the bell lyre. I was in the 7th grade and our band director Mr. Schosser asked me one day didn't I play the piano? Now I had been taking for a couple of years from Mrs. Barnett so I could read music and that was about all he needed to know. He didn't have anyone to play the bells, so I was drafted.

Now you can see from the picture above that it was a rather large instrument weighing about 200 lbs. and had to be carried by me who weighed about 95 lbs. They didn't really weigh 200 but it felt like it sometimes. So, I joined the band at a late date, for most members began in the 4th grade. This made it little hard to catch up but they were patient with me.

Mr. Schlosser was desperate and I could read music, could tote that thing and wanted to get out of taking PE. So an interesting time began for me. One of the biggest hurdles for me was learning to march by stepping off on my right foot, you know the other right foot, the one on the side of the body which has the hand that does not make an "L." To say I was a challenged in knowing my right foot from my left was and is an understatement. But after marching every day for several weeks and learning how to make the formations, I began to think this might be fun after all.

There were several perks if you were in the band. Number one, you could attend all the ball games for free and wear a cool blue uniform which was hot as the devil in warm weather for it was wool. You didn't have to take PE class for 4 years for band could be substituted for this class, you know the marching and all. This was wonderful for me for I didn't do well in softball, volley ball, basketball or any of those other ball type games.

You have to know that I could not see without my glasses, I was a little squirt and would rather read than play with a ball. I think the PE teacher was glad not have to figure out what to do with me. The other problem was dressing out in the locker room which wasn't all that much fun when you had a figure like a stick and most of the other girls had boobs and butts. Kinda embarrassing!

The best perk of all was the bus rides on the trips! We would sing 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and lot of other silly songs I can't remember. When it was cold, you would snuggle under a blanket with your seat mate and that is all I am going to say about that for my son and daughter and grandchildren read this blog and I sure don't want to blow my perfect image they have of me. That pedestal is high and I want to keep it that way.

Four years later, my brother Arvin followed in my footsteps by joining the band playing the coronet. This is like a trumpet and he did like to blow that thing. It was especially painful when he was learning how to play for some strange sounds came from that horn. Our poor dog would howl with pain as Arvin would practice.

Now I couldn't bring my bells home but had to practice piano and Arvin had to blow his horn. I can hear mama now saying, "We paid good money for those instruments and you are going to practice!" So we would and we became quite good. Arvin loved to play and he was good. He was the lead trumpet his last year if not before and he knew his right foot from his left.

By now, I am in college, but brother Sam followed in our steps by playing the trombone and playing it extremely well. He played his way through University of Southern Mississippi on a scholarship with their band. He marched right behind the Dixie Darlings and admired the scenery.

He was also the first male drum major for the Wilcox County High marching band. This meant he also directed the band and this became the love of his life. He would sit at the eating table and direct music with his fork while the music played in his mind. It was against the rules to sing at the table or hum. Never could figure that one out and also I could not read a book at the table - strange.

Now it wasn't easy for Arvin and Sam to be in the band for we had a small school and they were big, strapping boys and Coach McKelvey thought they should be playing football like a good Southern boy. Now our daddy stood right up to that little man and told him that football wouldn't help them a whole lot after high school, but music could be enjoyed for a lifetime. Go daddy!

He was right for I still play the piano, some, and Sam is playing his trombone in a local band in Arlington, TX. Our brother Arvin is playing and singing in heaven with mama for our Lord. So daddy was right, music is for a lifetime.

I am so glad that mama and daddy made the sacrifices to give us music lessons, buy us a piano and musical instruments for we enjoyed it then and we still appreciate good music. We also appreciate those many years of them being band parents, working in the concesion stands and attending all those football games. It is a joy and a wonderful way to express yourself. Thank you mama and daddy.

Nuff said,

The Georgia Peach