Parrish High School - Sel Ala Yearbook (Selma, AL)

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MARGARET DAVISON, CLASS HISTORIAN CLASS Ill 'l'llllY As our mothers and fathers looked down into our little smiling - did I say smiling?-well, maybe quizzicol, or even bowling faces while we were yet being rocked to sleep in the cradle, little could they have imagined all of the naughtiness for which we would soon be notorious in our neighborhoods. However, their high estimations of their own little Tommies, Janes, Susies, etc., were only too soon to be shattered, for we innocent little beings were not too long in finding out that we had minds of our own, and believe me, we interfded to use them. After terrorizing only a comparatively small number of pecple over a period of five years, a very singular and rare experience occurred in September, l938l We were enrolled in the first grade and attended school for the first time in one of those huge, mysterious buildings not too far from our own homes. We grew to love the story-telling and coloring periods and experienced our first groans over such matters as the alphabet and spelling. Also, we were slightly disturbed over the presence of so many other little people who had minds of their own and didn't want to conform to our ways of thinking. However, after associating with one another over a period of four or five years, we managed somewhat to adjust ourselves until our fights totaled a mini- mum of about nine per annum. After working our way to the sixth grade, la feat of which we were very proudi we realized that what had seemed to be the greatest of achievements for the last few years was now overshadowed by a clark, menacing cloud which was labeled Junior High School and the seventh grade. Page ll2

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Our older brothers and sisters, having been told wild, hair-raising tales by their upperclassmen concerning Junior High, took a fiendish delight in filling our gullible little minds with such stories also. However, overlooking those first few days, during which time we were unknown, unhappy, un- adapted, unattached, uncertain, and uncomfortable, not mentioning the fact that the hair on the boys' heads was unseen, Junior High School was not so bad after all. The seventh grade dragged by quickly, and then came another minor peak in our school career - the eighth grade. By this time we had been convinced thoroughly that school was no picnic and had experienced our share, or more than what we thought was our share, of overtime work with teacher, if you know what l mean. Our idols, those simply magnificent works of nature called seniors, who had battled their ways to the highest achieve- ment of achievements, namely the twelfth grade, began to occupy a larger and larger space in our day- dreams. When we enrolled for our ninth year in school, the thought of being in the Senior High School Building under the same roof with our idols simply thrilled us to the core. Of course we had the some outstanding characteristic that is attributed to any Freshman Class - that of terrible timidity and backwardness. However, with encouraging smiles from the upperclassmen and the teachers, we man- aged somehow to be our normal boisterous selves every now and then - result, more overtime work after three o'clock. The tenth and eleventh grades seemed to pass more quickly during which time we took part in more and more activities and became more and more important lin our own estimation, anywayl. Some of us even put in enough time to get to attend those Letter Club Banquets at the end of our Sophomore and Junior years and to receive those long-cherished gold P's to sew on our sweaters. Then, while walking down the halls at the beginning of our '49-'50 term, it suddenly dawned upon us that this was what we had been waiting for, that we were no longer idolizing but were on the pin- nacle ourselves. The funny thing was, that think as long as we might, we could think of absolutely no one in our class that we would put up against the reputation of an idol. In tact, we had known long before this that we were not ito put it mildly? the smartest class in school, and if some of us didn't know it, it didn't take the teachers long to convince us. Even with this great handicap, we have managed to do our share in the extra-curricular activities, namely, football, basketball, b a se b a I I, dramatic club, Tatler staff, glee club, annual staff, and others. We have glorified the name of good old P. H. S. in many ways. Among these are: our coveted honors in local, district, and state oratorical contests, pro- grams that talented members of our class have given before local civic clubs and in other towns, our high magazine sales, and ugh - well, I can't think of any more on the spur of the moment, but l'm sure there are many others. In the next few years when we look back upon our last few weeks in the senior class, I believe that our memories can be summed up in the following words - a cream cheese sandwich and a bowl of punch! After spending twelve full years in such a fashion, the miracle is the fact that we on the stage have found the time to study enough to get seventeen credits for graduation. Pagel I3