Austinville High School - Memories Yearbook (Austinville, AL)

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JAMES WILLIAMS A head packed full of brains and a heart packed full of sunshine. Safety Patrolman of Senior Class of '55-'56 Beta Club Good Citizenship Rep. for six weeks of '55-'56 Seniors not pictured, Shirley Smith Marvin Tucker Class History Come with me back to a cheerful day in 1944 when fifty-three children shyly approached the old Elementary School to begin their careers as first graders. Of the forty-one members of our present class, sixteen started together: Louise Vickers, Shelby McCulloch, Carolyn Baker, Freida Herring, Doris John- ston, Sadie Mae McCleskey, Larry Manly, Jimmie Plant, Dorothy Sparkman, Bobby Johnson, Carolyn Stephenson, Rebecca Allen, Floyd Stovall, Martha Messer, Gereldean Ryan, and Horace Hamilton. It took Mrs. E. B. Gurley's full attention to drill the ABC's into our lazy little heads. A highlight of that year was the Tom Thumb Wedding, in which Jimmie Plant, Larry Manly, and Sadie McCleskey had im- portant roles. Miss Lera Teague and Mrs. Julia Suggs were our second grade teachers, by the time we became third graders, we were so well-adjusted to school that almost any recess period found one or more of us staying in. Mrs. W. E. Ellis and Miss Teague were our teachers, and Mrs. R. W. Waldrop became our guardian angel in our fourth year. As we advanced through these early grades, our class roll increased, Joyce Roper and Edwin Liverett joined us in the second, Peggy Ricks, Gaither and James Wil- liams in the third, and Martha Holbert in the fourth grade. During our year with Mrs. D. L. Murphy in the fifth grade, we were excited because for the first time we were allowed to be exempt from our exams - that is, if our grades were good enough! I remember 110W hard we worked f01' that honor . OU! sixth, and last, year in grammar school was spent under the guidance of Mrs. Ellis. How weary she must have grown of our continual questions about what to expect next year! ln the fall of 1950 we found out for ourselves what to expect! Had it not been for the kindness of Miss Frances Collier, we never would have lived through that confusing adjustment into the seventh grade. By the time Mrs. S. M. Dollar took us over in the eighth grade, we knew our way around and felt quite superior to the dazed seventh graders. When we enrolled in the ninth grade with Mrs. Garland Simmons as our teacher, we discovered that we had outgrown our building and were forced to have some of our classes in the Club Room - freezing in the winter and broiling in the summer! However we managed to live through it, although at the time, I didn't think we would. During our junior high school years, we gained seven classmates, Arvel Lane, June Haley, and Delpnrue French in the seventh, Samuel Cooper in the eighth, Dewayne Reynolds, Autry Blagburn, and Dorothy Murphy in the ninth grade. Senior high school at last in 1953! We thought we were really growing up - whick we were, come to think of it! Only two more years to go after this one! Boy! Oh, Boy! Our class experienced a big expansion with the addition of seven new faces - Shirley Narmore, Flavous Johnson, Reba Bowling, Faye Lowrey, Jack Mullican, Horace Beggs, Berlie Busbey. Our class was so large that two sections had to be made, with Mr. T. C. Teel and Mrs. Curtis Holt sharing honors as our teachers, the girls in Mrs. Holt's group were delighted with the set-up in the Home Economics room because of the full length mirror there, we could comb, brush and primp to our heart's content. But Mrs. Holt soon put a stop to this enjoyable indoor sport when she turned the mirror to the wall! What a blow that was to Becky Allen and Dorothy Sparkman!

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FLOYD STOVALL A song is more lasting than the riches of the world. A Club 54-55-565 Beta Club 55-565 FTA 55, Officer 565 Class Officer 565 Annual Staff 55-56. LOUISE VICKERS The'wor1d sure'd be dull without me. Beta Club 55, Officer 565 FTA Club 54-55, Secretary 565 Elem, Supply 54-555 Office Girl 565 Librarian 565 Paper Staff 56, 'I+' T JANE WHITT She IS just what she is what better report a girl friend student good sport Student Council 55 Beta Club 55 Secretary of Beta Club 56 FTA 55 Historian of FTA 56 Office Girl 55 56 Glee Club 56 GAITHER WILLIAMS A woman is to be loved, not to be under- stood. A Club 54-55-565 Beta Club 55-56: Class Officer 545 Paper Staff 563 Basketball 54-55 56.

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When we attarned the glorrfred state of Junrors last year, we didn t realize that so much hard work was facing us With the enthusiasuc support of our sponsors, Miss Joy Hale and Mrs R P Nelson we solved the problem of financing the traditional Jumor Senior Banquet when we decided to present a play something which no other Junior Class had attempted for many years Our Mystery of Crazy Canyon Ranch with the talented actors Samuel Cooper Horace Hamilton, Doris Johnston Jrmmre Plant June Haley Thelma Chnstran Bobby Johnson Dorothy Sparkman Dewayne Reynolds Shelby McCulloch ant Joyce Walker was a tremendous success both dramarrcally and financially Coach Jones and Miss Hale spent many hours directing our venture everybody worked hard, and we were delrghted with our profit of S114 OO The western atmosphere of our play was so successful that we decrded to entertain the seniors with a western party rather than the usual formal banquet All the cowboys and cowgrrls had a wonder ful mme' The other highlights of our juruor year were the electron of Joyce Roper and Flavous Johnson to represent us at Girls State and Boys State, respectively, and the selection of our candidates for Mr and Miss Austin vrlle at the Halloween Carnrval How proud we were to see the crowns presented to Doris Ann Johnston and Dewayne Reynolds' Also last year we were happy to have Thelma Chnstran Reba Mrller and Jane Whrtt join our family In the twrnkllng of an eye, it seemed our last summer vacation was over and we were back in school agarn to start our senior year a year that we had antrclpated for so long Everybody was saying that we This was indeed a year of decisions we soon learned, when rn rapid frre succession we had to decrde on Class and club officers annual staff paper staff invitatron and calling card desrgns, senior class rings and many other exciting questions When we began our Magazine Campaign Mr Amis the Curus representative and a super salesman led us into setting a terrifrcally high goal for ourselves S1800 However with June Haley and Edwin Llverett as the two captains our enthusiasm knew no bounds and in two weeks we had shot above our goal and finished the campaign with a total of S2202 65 For accomplishing this record breaking record Mr Dollar rewarded us with a trip to Florence a happy day that we will never forget As our class gift to the school we chose a new bus We worked hard on many different projects to make the money to pay for it One of the most profitable of our money making schemes was the Concession Stand at the basketball games With Edwin Lrverett as Manager we were quite successful in this busmess venture We were happy to have Kenneth Walker join our class he was our faithful class photographer Since I am writrng this before our yearbook goes to press there are many end of school experiences that cannot be descrrbed here but we are lookrng forward to the class trip and play with excitement' The Senior Class w1ll always remember our wonderful sponsors, Mrs W J Brown and Coach Jones who along with Mr Dollar, have been truly pals to us These people and many more have made our high school years pleasant memorres to look back upon Sadie Mae McCleskey Historian, Class of 1956 H . I I l . I I l D I l . I I I I I D I ' . ' I . . . . . ' ' ' ' ll ll ' ' had the possibilities of being an outstanding class, and we were eager to make that prophecy come true. - - rr ' ' ' vv ' - - - - - . ' D ' . . . . . . . - , . . . . . - . . . . . ' . ' . . ,, I . . I . UA U , . ' - - . . . , I . . . I