Lenoir High School - Bearcat Yearbook (Lenoir, NC)

Page 25 text:

exhfafory oy! fda eggniolf 5261455 All :he u'orld'r rr Mage, and all the men and zvonzezz merely plrzyerif' This I beheld or dreamed in a dream - there spread before me, like a stage, the moun- tains of North Carolinag and on them I saw men and women playing out their lives. In one part of these mountains I saw the Town of Lenoir, its citizens engaged in furniture manu- facturing. I observed the factories, the homes and the business sections of Lenoir, I Watched the people Work and play-both in a free, con- tented manner. As time passed, I watched the actors change, some passed on, but the babes became children and entered a period of education to prepare themselves to fill the vacancies created by those who had passed on. ,In the year 1935 I perceived a group of young children, myself among them, entering a school for the first time. I noticed the anxious looks of the mothers as the youngsters trod off to school. I saw their wandering looks as instructors herded them in and the curiosity with which they examined desks, pencil sharp- eners and small books for the first time. I saw them drilled in obedience and courtesy. I watched their adaptation to routine, and the gradual unfolding of capabilities in each one. In their grammar grades they mastered read- ing, 'riting and 'rithmetic and marched forward toward their common enemies-history, English, and geography. And then I beheld a change-a second act began to unfold. The class of '47, as they came to call themselves, now knew progress. They were more assured, less childlike, sharper- witted, broader-minded. As time went by, they were schooled in newer and higher interests. Finally, with graduation, they became known as senior high school students. Gradually I saw evidence of maturity, of higher thinking. I observed them as they began to evade their boundaries and explore the more difficult fields of mathematics, science and foreign languages. Here I noted a broadening of the stage, the entrance of new players. Then came the rumbling of discontent and Wtarld War II. To answer the call of their country's need, many players left our sacred wallg but after a lapse of time returned to the former stage to resume their schooling. I saw these veterans return with a clearer, more sober train of thought, bringing with them a higher standard of education. As I watched, the end of the play came into sight. I saw the class of '47 prepare to leave Lenoir High. Still watching, I saw them march down the auditorium aisles for the last time and receive their diplomas, thus ending their too-brief high school days. It has now become time for us to enter a new play called Life, and the entire world will be the stage. We have completed a phase of preparation, the next phase shall prove our newly-acquired strength. We have reached the crossroads, each shall now choose the path he will pursue. PAULA RUTH ABERNETHY LAURELLE Gootssv 1 9 4 7 i.-49g'3s!i BEARCAT ' 'ik 2141-

Page 24 text:

PAUL WINKLER He would if he would, but he u'm1'l. RONALD PRITCHARD He does not postpone his life, but lives nIreu1Iy. 1 9 4 7 e Aw lv C4xX 'XKKIS i yr f Nf:1 Y xl, . . Ifbsugq QL my enjoni , 'WDM .--X5 ' w v f EUGENE YOUNCE Brudge His smile shoufs his happiness his friends, his popularity. s L U UA, 3,-iw V CJ C BEARCAT VETERHHS Charles Richards, Eugene Younce, Earl Hardy, Bonnie Goolsby, john Greer, Aaron Hart, R. C. Query, Thomas McNeill, Ronald Rader, Ronald Pritchard, joe Winkler, Charles Curtis, Therman Clark, L. S, Nelson. X zo

Page 26 text:

I 9 4 7 ffzlfubfili 9 CKMA M010 ec? The room was silent. Looking at the blue and white diplomas in our laps we knew that our good times at L. H. S. were over. Where would we go? What would we do? At last the time had come for us to set out on our own. When shall we seventy-odd meet again ? asked Tootie. Ten years will be soon enough, teased Max. I'm serious, replied Tootie. I think it would be great if we could all meet at this same time in ten years. It was agreed. May 30, 1957, was set for the homecoming. George was the first to leave. I shall re- turn, he said, with that old MacArthur de- termination. The years slipped by rapidly. I was working with the Civil Service in Washington on a job which required a lot of traveling. One day I received orders to go to San Francisco, pack- ing quickly, I started for the station. On the train I met Eloise Presnell, whom I had not seen for years. She was an experienced nurse in johns Hopkins Hospital and was on her way home for a vacation. We began talk- ing over old times and discussing our former classmates She said she had seen Tootie Rainwater in Baltimore the other day, but they didn't have time to talk because Tootie was busy trying to get Bonnie Goolsby to publish his latest book of poems. Bonnie owns one of the largest publishing houses in Baltimore, she said. Since the train was delayed for a few hours in a small town, Eloise and I got off. Walking down the street, we heard a newsboy shouting, Smith and Denton Safe On Mars. I quickly purchased a paper and read the details. It seemed that Bar and Hadley had finally per- fected a rocket ship on which they had been working for the last eight years and had made the trip in a week. In another section of the paper, we noticed that the Icenhour Sisters and Mast Dickson, jr., had finished a new show and were getting ready for a world-wide tour. Eloise suggested that we get something to eat. Upon entering a small cafe, we ran into Faye Allen, who was on her way to the office of J. Scroggs, Real Estate Dealer. Stopping to talk awhile, she gave us a lot of information. Betty jo Pierce and Frances Pennell were teach- ing in some mid-western college, Daphne Baker was singing with Hugh Stewart's All Girl Band, which included Martha Drum and Jackie Mathesong and Shirley Lomax was mar- ried to some political leader in the town. She also told us that Paul Winkler now owned the largest number of cabs in Lenoir and that Bill EARCAT N If ,W 22 x , Laney and Bobby Joe Robbins, two of his chief drivers, had a stiff competition to see which one could make the most trips. We grinned as we realized that the old Laney-Robbins feud was still going on. After hearing all Faye could think of about old schoolmates, we decided to walk with her to the office to see her boss, jimmy Scroggs. He greeted us cordially and asked Faye to finish typing a letter to his chief competitor, Paul Smith. He said that as a real estate agent, he was having an interesting career, especially since Paul Smith was giving him such stiff competition. About that time johnny Crisp came in to see about buying some land to build a summer hotel on. He told us that the plans were to be drawn by Dick McGimsey and Gerald Robbins. The deal was made and we had to leave as it was getting near train time. john walked with us to the station. He told us he was going to New York to see Jim Ball and Charles Richards play in the World Series. We gasped in astonishment because we were so behind times on our old classmates. We said goodbye to Johnny at the station and settled back for a long ride. I picked up a Time magazine which someone had left, and there on the front page was a picture of William M. Smith, youngest Congressman in history. I already knew that Paula Ruth Aber- nethy was editor and that Ray Smith and John Greer were two of her chief reporters. Inside the magazine a picture of two doctors and a headline caught my eye. Doctors McLain and Lore Perfect Cure for Head Lice. Dr. McLain stated that the cure could not have been a success without the kind cooperation of Charles Haas, who had donated his head for experi- ments. Meanwhile, Eloise had been reading the New York Timer. She called my attention to an advertisement of' a new department store on Fifth Avenue. It was known as ,I.C.'s Place and was owned by joe Pritchard and K. C. Robbins. On the sports page she showed me a picture of George Crowell and Brudge Younce who had made All-American last year. It seemed that they would graduate from their senior year in college in 1958. Now, how could that have happened? Eloise got off at the next stop and I promised to see her in the spring at old L. H. S. Things were quiet for the next week except for the fact that I met Earl Hardy and Thomas McNeil in a small western town. They were up and coming ranchers. While I was in San Francisco, I decided to take in a movie, which was Get Your Man or Die Trying, starring Kitty Bruce, Susie Goble, and Handsome Hart. As I bought my ticket, I recognized the cashier as my old