Chester High School - Cestrian Yearbook (Chester, SC)

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CLASS HISTORY Hello readerl How is your memory. Pretty goodi' you say. Then how about joining me in a few fond remem- brances of the glorious school days of the members of the Class of '57? I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. There are several important dates you will remember in the year nineteen-forty-five-D-Day, the sixth of june, V-I Day, the second of September and of course the most im- portant of all, some might say, the third of September, the day school started. Yes, the future class of nineteen-fifty- seven entered school that day-ready, eager, and maybe a little frightened at the thought of being taken away from home almost five hours a day! We really had it hard in those days. How did we ever remember to spell house and horse differently. What was the difference anyway? An- other tough one was learning that two plus two equals five or something like that, but we made it with flying colors. Each succeeding grade was a little more difficult.and required that we study longer and spend more time in school. As the years progressed, however, we became more and more proficient in this early training. We began to see in our lives outside of school the purpose of learning our lessons. Through our instruction in readin', writin', 'rithmetic, and reasoning we became of more use to our families and the community. While we were collecting and assimilating vital bits of factual knowledge in grammar school, there was also another great influence in our young and impressionable lives. Through the guidance of our teachers inside the classroom and out, we became partly aware of our responsibilities to society. In learning and playing with our classmates, we learned important lessons which will be remembered the rest of our lives. As some- one once said, A, person spends the first third of his life learning how to live the remainder of itf' We, the senior class of Chester High School, feel that we have learned this lesson. The pages of the calendar were tom ruthlessly from their places as time went on. It seemed as if we graduated from the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades as soon as we entered them, and, at, last, in nineteen-fifty-one, we gathered at College Street School to finish the last half of our schooling with the real characteristics of a class. We were in high school! VVell, junior high at least. My, what a thrill it was to visit our old grammar school alma maters and be looked up to by those ukidsv in the sixth grade. Those certainly were glorious days! As we came of age, we began patronizing the Canteen. We adopted fads in- stantaneously. Blocked hair, turned up collars, blue suede shoes, and draped pants were all the rage. We probably looked pretty juvenile superficially, but our record proved differently. Many made the honor roll every time. We had many who demonstrated great athletic powers, and we held our own when it came to clothes, slang, and dancing fashions. When we entered the eighth grade, we were finally allowed to enjoy the sacred sanctuary of the high school building. Although we spent only two years here, we grew to love its archaic traditions, cold classrooms, crowded halls, and countless stairs. We were thrilled to the spine by the fight songs, Come On You Chester Boys, We,re From Chester High School, and of course that old favorite, Give A Cheer, Give A Cheer For The Boys Who Make The Beerf' In the ninth grade we entered our formal four years of high school and had to give serious consideration to our choice of a lifeis work and we were given the opportunity to choose our respective courses of study. Finally it came. We entered the tenth grade, a proud group for several reasons. One was that we were entering a grand, new super-structure which had been on the planning tables of our school officials for many years and had at last been completed. This, too, was the be- ginning of a new era in the education of the young peo le of Chester. Perhaps in our exuberance over entering this new building, we left some of the tradition and spirit be- hind us in the old building. Perhaps a few of the old dreams were disintegrated. But to us was given the golden opportunity to lay the foundation for a new set of customs and traditions, and a new invigorated spirit of Chester High School. To many of us, the most cherished name we received was that of the junior Class. In this, our eleventh year, we worked together as a unit under the direction of Miss Louise McCord on the junior-Senior. We sold magazines, Christmas cards, and stationery to raise the money for this all-night extravaganza. Our junior year also brought many other joys - class rings, state-wide recognition for our athletic teams and players. We made great strides in choral and band development, also. At this time, little by little we were making our mark on the history of Chester High School. Perhaps at the time we gave little thought to this, but nevertheless it was a fact. Then, all at once we were seniors. Oddly enough there was no brass band on the lawn to welcome us to our last registration day at dear old C.H.S., and we didn't quite realize that we had indeed reached this long awaited sta- tion in life. As we attended our last pep meeting, football game, and basketball game, this boisterous group of friends who had laughed, loved, fought, played and studied its way through twelve years of schooling became a bit nostalgic as we realized that this wonderful period would be termin- ated in a few short months. ' All in all, it has been quite a struggle, but for that matter, so is life. We have tasted victory and defeat and have learned to take them both in stride. As members of such a closely united group, we have developed our own social code and customs. We have participated in fads which disappeared as quickly as they began. We have repeated phrases such as Go man go, Catv and Ain,t We?,' with every other breath. We have gathered ritual- istically at the Canteen, Mountain Lake and the Grill to discuss everything from dual glass pack mufflers to the world political situation. We will probably be remembered in the future as the generation of hot-rods, rock in roll fans and Elvis Presley worshippers. If everything is taken into consideration, however, it must be conceded that we have contributed a fair share to the welfare of this community. The past twelve years have been eventful, to say the least. We have had more advantages than perha s any preceding generation. The tomorrow that lies ahead promises to be even more exciting and wonderful than this, but it depends upon us. If we can take hold of the reins of this new era with the same steadfastness and determination exemplified by our parents and teachers, and continue to deserve the grace that God has bestowed upon us during these early, formative years, we shall not fail. Broxie Nelson, Class Historian

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S JAMES ALEXANDER BARRON A swell guy . . . toll and handsome . . . good humored, genial, and loyal . . . really gone on cars . . . mechani- cal ability plus . . . .lim's ambition: to drive in the Indianapolis 500 . 1957 ROBERT ONEAL BENTON Likes hunting and girls, especially that certain one . . . loves that Chev- rolet . . . conceited people his pet peeve. ini ' if .'i:.:'m 1 f 4 B N f' .. ., Ki- Q Kr' X lj H . I i 'giirxx - .I . -,:' 1 X , Ann, Janie Ruth, Jim, Robert, Carlton It's nice relaxing around the big fireplace in Jim's home. JANIE RUTH BLACK A brown-eyed pretty girl who hails from York Road . . . friendly . . . con- stant school companion, Brenda . . . main ambition at present to graduate. CARLTON EDWARD BLANKS CATHERINE ANNE BOND Witty . . . likes girls . . . at a dis- Dependability plus . . . so young and tance . . . motorcycle maniac . . . yet so wise . . . busy as a bee in school Harley Davidson here . . . cat on a activities . . . always a thought for the hot tin saxophone . . . musical in every other fellow . . . the Canteen s her way . . . professor . . . reverend second home . . . forever gushing with . . . a good guy all around. girlish giggles . . . a true Southern belle. ..a m.' 'nm' Y wp' Y.,