Millington High School - Trojan Yearbook (Millington, TN)

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As the locomotive chugged around the bend the engineer saw that the signal light at the station ahead was showing green. This station happened to be Millington,Tennessee. This green light meant that the track was clear and that everything was arranged for stopping and picking up any passengers who wanted to ride this new train. The brakeman pushed the brake lever and gradually the train came to a screeching stop. Steam was coming from different valves and black smoke was coming from the smoke-stack which showed that the engine was hot and ready to go on its long journey. The whistle tooted loudly which indicated that the locomotive was ready to go. The passengers should already be on their car, for the conductor was shouting, “All Aboard! All Aboard the M. C. H. S. SPECIAL! It was in September of 1936, that this beautiful streamlined train started off from Millington. Although this MCHS SPECIAL was not a very long train, it was scheduled to pick up many other more modern cars along the way. Eleven more to be exact. It was going to be thrown off its track by having to detour and stop for fuel andwater. When this locomotive started its pilgrimage, its engineer was Mr. Roland. However, we changed engineers in 1940, receiving the one who was to remain with us the rest of our high school career, Mr. Osteen. His hospitality on this journey has been exceedingly generous. None other could have done a better job of leading us along the right tracks through the years, as he has. When the train first came to Millington it consisted of only two parts—the engine and the coal car. But when it pulled out of Millington on its first run it had one car to pull. There are five students of our class who have been passengers on this train continuously through these twelve years. These passengers who boarded Car No. 1 are Louise Armstrong, Jimmy Densford, George Harvell, Lewis Jones, and Edwin Ray. We had to stop over at several stations along the way and put on shows as members of the Kiddie Band, and of course, to recite our ABQ’s. Our hostess in Car No. 1 was Miss Abernathy. The next year our train picked up another car and the hostess for Car No. 2 was the pretty red-head. Miss Rogers. We picked up two new passenger s also at Bartlett and Quito. These two were John Tucker from Bartlett, and Aubrey Clark from Quito. And while the climate was still quite warm we chugged up to Wisconsin and picked up a funny chap in that northern outpost. This passenger was Darrell Austin. Our locomotive was really gaining momentum now as we sped along the way to perfection in education. The next year in Car No. 3 we find our hostess to be Miss Cox. We had to return to Bartlett this year to pickup an interesting passenger, Paul Curlin. As Car No. 4 was hitched on to this train, no passengers boarded this car that would reamin on it to tell the story with us today in our Senior Year. However, we had a very patient hostess to guide us this year. Miss Mitchell. With the addition of Car No. 5, we were forced to detour to Munford for fuel. Along with this fuel we lassoed into our car Clayton Moore. Miss Poyner was the one who fed us that rigid diet of readin', writin’, and ’rithmetic. The hostess in Car No. 6 was Miss Fleming. She prepared us for the more rugged trip ahead of us. Although we did not know it, we were just getting into the station of Memphis. Pattye Lou Woodtransferred to our car here and her transfer slip showed that she hailed from Idlewild. We 16

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RAYMOND MILLER JEANNE MASSEY ARDEN DIEHL HAROLD JAMES 15

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were glad to have this addition to our list of passengers already in Car No. 6. Well, we had been traveling on the same train for six years and we thought that we should be coming to the end of our journey. But OH NO ! Not just yet! During summer vacation another more modern car had been linked on behind. We immediately left the old car and went back to the new car to view the passengers in it. Speeding through the nearby settlement of Lucy we came to an abrupt stop. The door opened and in walked Dot Carlisle, Dorothy Dilworth, Joy Ewing, Ray Ewing, Jo Ann Williams, Helen Woodward, and Mary Ann Wortham. This group decided to cast their lot with us and ride on the MCHS SPECIAL. Due to the fact that this group was well satisfied with our hospitality, we decided to take on some more passengers, and traveled to many other distant places. At Bolivar we stopped to take on fuel. The fuel that we took on was in the form of our very able Senior Class President, Turner Williams. Robert Forbes boarded our train on our schedule stop at Jackson, Mississippi. We also detoured to Kentucky to pick up a freight package, Harold James. As the passengers were many and the journey was long this year, we had to have two hostesses, Mrs. Boswell and Mrs. Moody. Leaving Car No. 7 and transferring to Car No. 8, we find that we have lost several of our passengers and that we have gained only one regular passenger. This one was put on board at Munford. His name was Wallace Curlin. As our capable hostess in this car, we had Mrs. Cash. She was the one who told us that we had better not sleep so long and that we had better get ready for the conditions in the following cars. Some of us understood what she meant and some of us didn’t, but just the same, most of us are here in the Senior Class to tell about it. Now that we were better than half way on our long journey we felt very proud. We had met many people who are not with us here to recall those times. Some came and stayed only a few weeks, a few months, or maybe several years. Now we were going to have to settle down in our good soft Pullman seat and stay there because we heard that the road ahead of us was very bumpy. As the road got rougher and rougher, we were forced to detour to the village of Jeter. While undergoing repairs, we received several new passengers for Car No. 9. At this station we looked upon the faces of Edward Adams, Jessie Campbell, Wallace Gary, Mary Sue Hannah, Edwin Hines, W. R. Joshlin, Alma Sue Loft, Sue Rankin, Susie Shelnutt, and Tommy Skinner, who is now president of » the Beta Club and editor of the Senior Annual. This bunch added much to the atmosphere in our car. Starting on our way once more we stopped at the great metropolis of Frayser and picked up Hortense Atking, Peggy Crain, Augustine Trotti, and Jeanne Massey, who is now the editor of the Trojan. At Moorehead, Mississippi, a jolly chap boarded our train who has remained a favorite with us to this day. His name was Billy Harrison. Making a short stop in Union City we picked up BillyLong. Although we had a very large class of passengers inCar No. 9, we were to find our class decreasing and increasing all along the way to the end of the train. Going farther on into the tenth car, we find many interesting happenings. Stopping at the outpost of Humes in Memphis for water we were delighted by the addition of Elbert Gill and Patsy Denton to our ranks of passengers on the MCHS SPECIAL. We also halted at Daytona Beach, Florida, to refuel. Here, Dot Waite tramped aboard. However, one of our biggest stops waswhen we detoured from our daily routine to enter Jo Ann Williams into the race for Football Queen. And we went over the top in that race, too, because Jo Ann came through with the crown. It’s really something for the sophomores to win over the seniors and juniors in that race. Going into the next car we find a package being loaded marked «THIS END UP. When we had left the depot, which was Corpus Christi, Texas, we sneaked in and opened this curious package. We found in it plenty of talent and friendliness. Yes, none other than Denny Diehl stuck her neck out to venture traveling with us on this, now long, train. Coming back to our home station of Millington, we find at the depot a parcel marked HANDLE WITH CARE. The return address read Navy Department. Out of this package stepped Billy Pinson, our friend of years past. Car No. 11 proved to have many things in store for us. We were wise to choose, as our hostess, Mrs. Chambers, who was transferred with us to Car No. 12 Pattye Lou Wood was our candidate for Football Queen in the 11th Car. Although she did not win we really did work for her and we ran those seniors a close race. Another highlight that year was the Junior-Senior Prom. Now we were ready for Car No. 12, or maybe you prefer to call it the caboose. This was the longest car of them all and furnished the most entertainment for us. It 17