SPECIAL MEMORIES

                                                  TRIVIA

How many of you have "Reconnected to a classmate as a result of Minden
Memories" or Earlene's Newsletter?

                                                     WANTED
Memories of your most special school memory.  Don't let those remembrances
get lost. Share them with your classmates. Some will be funny. Some will be
sad. All will be treasured.

 

                                                                                                   SENIOR DAY AT CANEY LAKE, 1956

Ronnie wrote about senior day at Caney Lake in 1961.  Even further back, in 1956, Senior Day was held at Caney Lake.  Most of us showed up in shorts, and some of us went swimming.  I was not in that bunch, since I (nor anyone else in my family) could ever learn to swim!  I drove out to Caney, parked my car, and as I began walking toward the swimming area, I saw Jim Lee Stanfield flying off the diving platform, fully dressed in his white slacks, shirt and shoes!
 
Earlene Mendenhall Lyle, Class of 1956

                                                                                 GOOD  MEMORIES OF SENIOR DAY AND KENNETH BECK

May of 1961 we had senior day where all the seniors would go to Caney Lake or any where we wanted to have a good time. It was our day! I owned A 1957 ford that looked like crap and I happened to see Kenneth Beck at the Coffee Cup. He had just came in from Green Bay Wis. after he had finished the season with the Packers. He was driving A 1961 baby blue convertible pontiac. I ask him if I could borrow it for senior day. He ask me if that piece of junk iron I was driving would run and I told him "like A scalded dog". He filled it up with gasoline and told me to be safe and have a good time. I drove that beautiful convertible all day and half the night. Kenneth is deceased now.  I'll forever remember him as A friend and letting me fullfill A day I will never forget. Oh it was A pretty good girl trap too!.
 
Ronnie Hennigan 1961

 

And as far as car escapades go, I can say we picked up the gauntlet when Celia Jones graduated.  As Kathy Dickinson, Dixie Chandler, Nancy Ellington, Frances Greer, Jane Harp , Meda Kaye Colvin, and numerous other special recruits can avow, we knew how to make the most out of our evenings out on the lamb.  Since I didn't own a car back then, I relied on the kindness of my brother Tom Carey, who had worked hard digging ditches for several summers to save up the seemingly huge amount of money needed to buy his pride and joy, an antiquated looking jalopy in a pale green color, with a semi automatic transmission.  Never did know what that meant, so I drove it the way I drove everything else....with wild abandon.   But Tommy valued his automobile and had developed a way to keep his lil sister honest on her nights out with the girls.  He would note the mileage on the odometer when we left and he'd allow me just so many miles for the evening.  It took me mere minutes to figure out that if I put the car in reverse, the odometer would spin backwards and run miles off the odometer.  So, the last 30-45 minutes of our night out, I'd drive around Minden in reverse....up and down the streets....main streets and narrow winding lanes and rollercoaster hills just outside of town.    I think I could get that car up to 35 in reverse....but you'd have to ask my partners in crime to be sure.

Katie Lu Carey Sims, Class of 1966

 

                                                     CELIA'S VOLKSWAGEN and SLUMBER PARTIES
                                                                   Reply to Waynette's memory

There's not much I can add to Waynette's vivid recounting of adventures in Celia's Volkswagen and slumber parties at my house.  Waynette is one of the best writers I know!  For years I've been trying to convince her to write her autobiography or a novel.

One of my most indelible memories of Celia's Volkswagen and our slumber parties is of a night about 12 of us, wearing our baby doll pajamas, piled into Celia's Volkswagen.  Now I can't see how see how in the world 12 could fit in a Volkswagen, but I don't think this is a "preacher" exaggeration.  It was around 2:00 a.m., and we did push Celia's Volkswagen down our driveway, just as Waynette wrote, to keep Mother and Daddy from hearing us leave.  Celia drove right down to First Baptist Church, and we all piled out and arranged ourselves on the front steps of the church.  We began singing, not hymns, to the top of our voices.   Several police cars drove by, and the officers just smiled and waved at us. 

Jann Aldredge-Clanton, Class of 1964


                                                       CELIA'S VOLKSWAGEN

 

I too, remember piling into Celia's Volkswagen many times.  But the most fun we had was when we were "attending" slumber parties. Eve and Nola forgot to mention the most important rule: YOU HAD TO WEAR YOUR BABY DOLL PAJAMAS when you piled into the Volkswagen. I can remember riding all over downtown Minden in our pajamas.  Her parents always saw to it that she had very little extra gas when she attended those slumber parties...just enough gas to get there and get back home. So I remember one night, we pooled our money and had 52 cents between us. The problem was, we had to find a gas station open at that time of the night. Back in those days we probably got about 2 gallons of gas for that. Also, the attendants ALWAYS put the gas in your car.(that was long before you pumped your own gas) I remember wondering what the attendant thought about us. I don't remember "rolling" Jim Castle's yard or Patricia Rabon's yard, but I do remember collecting toilet paper and finally ending up at the old Minden Cemetery. We just gave up and "rolled" the graves. Now I guess the Cemetery committee can come after us after all these years! And Eve remembers all the times that we sneaked off and rang the bell at the Episcopal Church. Wasn't that how one of us (un-named) broke her ankle? I guess if Eve waits long enough...we'll all come forward, one-by-one to INCRIMINATE ourselves ugh?
 
Jann Aldredge always had the most WONDERFUL slumber parties. Her sister would tell ghost stories holding a flashlight below her chin, with all the lights turned out. I remember how we would push Celia's Volkswagen down the Aldredge's driveway until it hit the street, then she'd crank it up and off we'd go. (Jann's driveway was downhill, which helped a lot) But Jann's mother, Mrs. Eva Aldredge "caught on" after that escapade. After that, she booby-trapped the front door by placing pots and pans outside the front door, so that when we opened the front door to sneak off, the pots and pans would rattle and some would even hit the floor and she would wake up. Of course the pot placed at the top of the front door, filled with water was probably what did it!  We all screamed when we got WET.
 
Also, I remember when we were juniors, I brought a  small, wind-up frog and brought it to chemistry class, with Mrs. Avice Foret.  When you wound him up, he hopped around and played the small snare drum that he was holding. So we had a great idea, we put him in one of those one-armed desks in the classroom and wound him up, while class was going on. Mrs. Foret kept blaming Harmon Drew, when it was really ME. Harmon named the frog "Herbie the Frog". When Herbie hit the top of that metal desk, what a terrible racket it made! Poor Mrs. Foret. She was nearing retirement age and we were so bad in her class. I do feel badly about the way we treated her then, but I do remember that she enjoyed a lot of it. She laughed with us. Now I do remember that Mrs. Belton and Mrs. Baskerville were 2 great teachers that we admired and we KNEW that we couldn't get away with anything with them.
 
Speaking of teachers that we "ran" all over...Mrs. Sadie Reynolds comes to mind. When we were in the 8th grade in 1959, bless her heart she had her hands full with us! I remember that fire-engine RED hair that she had. I don't think there was a whole lot of hair dye use back then...most old ladies just wore the "purple stuff" that made their gray hair turn purple. But not Mrs. Reynolds!  One day she was trying to make a point at the map, when she tripped, stumbled and fell backwards..right into her trash can. And as if that wasn't bad enough, her behind went into the can and she got stuck. Several students had to pull her out of her trash can. I'm sorry, but we couldn't help but laugh. As embarrassed as she was, she laughed too even though her face was the color of her hair. I can still see Fred Haynes sitting in her class, with his transistor radio in his pocket with an ear piece in his ear, listening to the World Series. I was so amazed that Mrs. Reynolds let him listen to the game and she even asked him to keep the class updated on the scores!  Back then, she had all the 8th grade football players, 8th grade cheerleaders, and all the band members who "made" the senior band in the 8th grade in that class. What a time we had!  Boy those REALLY were the "good ole days!"
 
Waynette Farrington Sharon, Class of 1964

 

I wouldn't call Celia a ring leader - she just had a car.  And she was always up for FUN and adventure!
Eve Baskerville, 1964

 

It appears that Celia's Volkswagon was the get away car in several little "not so nice" trips.  Like the time some of us were having a slumber party at Jan Aldredge's house.  About 2 in the morning we all pushed the Volkswagon down the driveway and far enough down the street that no one would hear it crank up.  We then went from filling station to filling station grabbing toilet paper.  We then proceeded to "roll" Bro. Jame Castle's yard and Patricia Rabon's yard.  I truly can't remember who all was there but I know it was sure crowded in that little Volkswagon.  We were sitting on top of each other in order to get everyone in the car.  Maybe we need a memorial statue or something to honor Celia's little Volkswagon.  Now the truth comes out. I wonder how many other little close calls that little car was involved in :o) Since Celia's car apparently was used in so many criminal activities, does that mean Celia was a ring leader ?
Nola Stonecipher Ellington, Class of 1964

 

My favorite memory in high school was piling into Celia Jones Volkswagen with a bunch of girls - I won't name names although I am sure the statute of limitations has expired by now - and riding in the dark of night to St. John's Episcopal Church (where I faithfully went to Sunday School ON SUNDAY and sang in the choir with one Dr. Richard Hooker Whiteman Murdock Campbell, Susan Dietrich, Anna Roberts, Emily Davis, and Harmon Drew- all in the class of 64)  Our mission on those mysterious dark nights was to wake up the town by  ringing the Church Bell.  After the deed was done, we took off like we were being chased.   Uh, did anyone hear it? 
 
We thought it was the most extraordinary naughty thing in the world to do.  At my mother's funeral, I confessed my bell-ringing inclination to the priest there at that time and asked permission to ring it one last time for Mama.  He agreed . . . and Celia, me and my brother and a few other partners in crime rang the bell 84 times. for a true Southern Belle -   Mama was 84 when she died.    I still miss her.  She would have loved it. 
 
That was the extent of my juvenile delinquency.  . . well, maybe not the extent but one of the highlights. 
Eve Baskerville Class of 1964

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                                                                     MEMORIES OF MRS. KATHERINE BRAKHAGE

One of my favorite memories of my young years in school was in my 1st grade class at E. S. Richardson in Mrs. Lois Hank's classroom. For Easter for our class party we had a life size white Easter bunny come into the room and present all of us students with a small Easter basket. I later discovered (when I was older) that the Easter bunny was really Mrs. Katherine Brakhage. It was so much fun!! The other first grade classrooms were so jealous of us. Mrs. Brakhage later became a Girl Scout Leader in Minden. She was wonderful as our senior Girl Scout Leader! She was such a warm wonderful person. As young high school girls we grew into young women in that troop with Mrs. Brakhage. Mrs. Brakhage recently passed on. I will always remember and love her!!

                                                           TOMMY THE TURTLE

 
Also in 1st grade in Mrs. Hanks's classroom. She took us on a field trip to her home on Louisiana Avenue to tour their motor home --it was called "Tommy the Turtle". We were so excited about this!!

                                                        Memories of Mrs. Bradley

                                                       
At Lowe Junior High School I was in the 1st 6th grade class that was housed at Lowe. The other 6th grade classes in Minden were located in the elementary schools. Our class was moved to Lowe because of space in the school buildings. We had a 1st year teacher, Mrs. Bradley, who was very attractive. All of the 6th grade boys spent the year staring at her with puppy-dog eyes!!

                                             PAT Nation Measures girl's dress lengths

At Lowe I remember our principal, Pat Nation, measuring girl's dress lengths with a yardstick to make sure no one's dress was shorter than 3 inches above the knee!! He would line girls up against the wall in the hallway and get his big stick out.

                                                           Rock Around the Clock

 
At 7th grade Mrs. Monk was our band director. We worked forever on the Music --Rock Around the Clock--from Happy Days TV show. We actually marched at football games then. We formed a big circular clock on field for a "clock" while we played this. It took us forever and a day to get that clock to be round!!!
 
                                                      I graduated from MHS in 1974.
 
Cindy McComic Campbell

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I reconnected to Ronnie Hennigan and Eve Baskerville after they were released back into society.
I can still see Eve gliding over the hurdles and Ronnie inhaling the Lucky Strikes in school.
Also, I can still see Elton and Clancey running away to the circus. I can still see Sherry Lynn missing the bus and having to ride with Sandy to school. I can still see Sandy trading one $.25 funny book for six $.10 funny books. I can still see the funny looking Eastsiders, all with their shoes on, and their hair all combed and clean.

Carl Shaw, Class of 1964

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Here are a few that the late Marsha Boyd Salmon published in our 50th reunion booklet in 2005...

Fifty three years ago, the theme of graduation was "The Way Ahead" and the topic of Charles Lewis' address was Global Living.

Our graduating class of 112 students was the largest in history for MHS.

"I'll Walk With God" was our class song and a prayer for graduates was given by Jackie White.

Top ten students: Charles Lewis, Valedictorian and Sammy Maxey Salutatorian. They both planned to be doctors and they did it. Anita Harkness, Donald Holcomb, James Ford, Carla Faye Green, Linda Lee Mims, Jackie White, Becky Jones, and Elisabeth Heffelfinger fill out this outstanding group.

Do you remember when girls who wore open-toed sandals sat with their feet on chair rails to keep from getting saw dust "varmints" in their shoes.

Do you remember who you walked down the aisle with at graduation or baccalaureate. My partner was the late Jimmy White and we were first in line. At the baccalaureate service we sang "All Hail the Power" and "Faith of our Fathers."  The Reverends M. L. Plauche, M. F. Williams, Truman Aldredge, and T. W. Leachman all took part in the service.

Our Principal was W. W. Williams. He was buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery. He moved us into the new 1954 building and his son, W. W. "Butch" WIlliams Jr., Supt. of Schools, will lead MHS into the 2007 building.