Grantham High School - Grannawayne Yearbook (Grantham, NC)

Page 29 text:

Jack still remembers being slapped over a chair and getting a piece of candy to stop crying. This is the year we remember having Gwendolyn Williams join us, and also Frances Rutter, one of our former students, returned from Texas. Beginning the eighth grade, we were still separated. It was unusual to find some of us in Mr. Dunn's room combined with some of the seventh grade, and others making trouble for Mr. J. Edward Johnson. He opened each day with a good joke and then settled down to work. In the spring of '46, Mr. Johnson told of a prediction he heard over the radio That the world would come to an end at ten o'clock in the morn- ing. Jewel was very upset and Mr. Johnson said, That shows a guilty conscience. Frances and Gwendolyn asked permision to get a drink of water just as the clock was striking ten. Sorrow came to our hearts as death overtook one of our students, Luby Hall. This was the year of giggles and flirtations, with some of the girls having dates, and the boys beginning to feel their manhood. As we were divided into two groups to take Farm Family, it found one group under the care of Mr. Sutton and the other with Miss Buie. The boys looked very unusual in aprons, but they proved they could make better cookies than the girls. We ate our first lunch in the new Cafeteria about five weeks after the opening of school. Entering the ninth grade meant more than just another year at school, it meant working out schedules, deciding on subjects, and learning to be in class on time. We realized we didn't have but four more struggling years of school. The girls pestered Miss Buie while the boys were troub- ling Mr. Tart. Linwod Sasser, Roy Britt, Curtis Hill, Junior Cox, Carl Hollowell, Christine Thompson, Edna Rich, Albert Edwards, Luby Howell, Oscar Drawhorn, Daniel Westbrook and Myrtie Howell left us. Helen Gray, Alton and Stanton Hood joined us. Our girls had their first class party at night at the home of Ethel Odom, and we invited partners. After enjoying our Freshman year, we looked forward to being sophomores. We progressed and finally we were known as the tenth grade, with our advisor as Mr. C. H. Johnson. He seemed almost as a grandfather to us. because he had taught most of our parents. Our class party was in the school cafeteria, and everyone was thrilled and excited over it. l Mr, McDonald said the room with the highest per cent present could have a half day off to go where they wished. Our class was lucky enough to have the highest percentage one month. We had a picnic at play period and a hike the rest of the day. Instead of having our usual time out for Christmas, we had three extra weeks. It snowed so much we couldn't come back to school. The new building was completed at last, and we had a big thrill by starting our studies in a more roomy and better lighted building. We were the proudest of our new library. It seemed as though we were walking into a never-ending room compared to the little cubby hole we moved out of. Jack Denning left us to attend a school in Georgia, and cupid shot his arrow and caught Ellena Best and Janet Price. David Pennington, Oscar Edwards and Luby Denning joined the army and Huey Weaver joined us. This found our enrollment down to 37. Mr. Johnson's expression was It is better for the shirt tails to run after the frock tails, rather than the frock tails to run after the shirt tails.

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CLASS HISTORY For six long years we toddled behind our Mutder's, asking the same eager question, When can I go to school? Finally the day of the long awaited years arrived. With a tinge of great excitement we approached Ole Grantham Hi with 122 eager faces and sparkling eyes. As we walked into two separate rooms, who should be standing before the two desks but Miss Wells Cnow Mrs. Dunnj and Miss Prescott. The first day, tears streaked many of our little innocent faces. As the days continued, we began to feel at home and much different. Somehow with the help and patience of our teachers, we managed to get tlaigough. During the year we lost some of our students and ended with With high spirits and hopes for the coming year, we entered the second grade. There to Miss Williams and Mrs. Kirby we really became a prob- lem. At the end of the year, the little troublers were reduced to 100. We were proud bcause our teachers thought so much of us that they asked to be promoted along with us. In the third grade, by becoming very wise, we began to ask for passes to the store: of course sometimes we were refused and we weren't nervy enough to slip then. We guess we became more of a problemi to Miss Williams and Mrs. Kirby that year. By the proudness we felt the first three years, it was nothing compared to what we felt in climbing the stairs to the fourth grade. By the end of the first week, it would have been much better if we could have crawled up instead. But to Nelson it was much more fun to slide down the bannis- ters until he slid into Mr. Crouch's arms one day. Our teachers that year were Mrs. Loftin and Miss Lawrence. We shiver with fear when we think of the fourth grade, because it was then that the World War II began. Gee Whiz! The fifth grade found us in Miss Wilson and Mrs. Loftin's room, and with our noses in rings on the black-board. Neither believed in sparing the rod and spoiling the child. This year is when we got grown enough to start passing notes, and don't think we got by with it every time, because our teachers had very sharp eyes. The sixth grade found the boys admiring the teachers, Miss Deans and Miss Mitchum, and found the girls slipping around trying out their older sister's or Mother's lipstick. We became very patriotic by helping aid the soldiers abroad, and buy- ing war stamps and bonds. By noticing our records we found at the end of the year our students had dropped out until we only had 63 left. Upon entering the seventh grade, we had a different expression on our face, because we realized that we had completed half of our school days. About half of our class were surprised to find a man for a teacher and he was none other than Mr. J. I. Dunn. The rest of our class found Miss Whitaker as their teacher. The high light of this year was the day a cat got into Mr. Dunn's room and began clawing on his chest. The class really had a laugh as he shouted Scat, Seat. His favorite expression was, The lightning flashed and the thunder roared. The students in Miss Whitaker's room were very disturbed the day they didn't hear the bell ring when it was time to go home. Some were left and other buses had to carry them.

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. Ten of us girls served for the J unior-Senior Banquet. We were dressed in white dresses with clown aprons and caps. After troubling Mr. C. H. Johnson over our boy friends and girl friends, we went joyously up to the eleventh grade and found Mr. Parker for our teacher. It was the first of this year that the love bug bit Edna Earle Britt, Doris Brock and Lola Mae Laws. Much to our surprise Ralph Weaver joined Uncle Sam's service. Daisy Moore, one of our former students, joined us. By working like Busy Bees we managed to get our Junior Play up in two weeks. The Little Clodhopper was a tremendous success, and was presented November 23, 1948. The next big highlight was the Junior Career Day with all of us look- ing forward to a trip to Goldsboro, and a barbecue dinner. We were very interested in the Art Exhibit, especially the Grantham section. The biggest highlight of all was the J unior-Senior Banquet for which we worked real hard. Everyone worked hard, but at the same time enjoy- ed it. It was a Hawaiian theme, and our waitresses were dressed in grass skirts. We got many compliments on our beautiful decorations. This big event came off the 6th of May, 1949. At the close of the school term our class had a weiner roast at May's Pond CDudley Beachj, May 30, 1949. On class night instead of carrying a rose chain like the other Juniors had done in the past, we decided to carry wands of roses, and with them We formed an archway for the Seniors to pass under. Our song to the Seniors was written by Ruth Williams to the tune of My Happiness. Our motto was, Tonight we sail, where shall we anchor, our colors were green and pink, and our flower was Pink Carnation. During the summer a few members of the class gave Mr. Parker a sur- prise birthday party. It was at May's Pond CDudley Beachj on July lst, 1949. At last, the awaited year came and we were proud Seniors. Our teachers were all back except Mr. C. H. Johnson. To our sorrow he retired, and it seemed as though one of our own family had left us. Although we still see him at times, it doesn't seem the same. Miss Frances Glenn took his place. After wondering all summer whether Miss Kathryn Chason would be with us as our Senior Home Room Teacher, the first day answered our question, as we walkcd in the room and saw her sitting behind the desk. We had lots of fun the night we went on our hayride, and also bowl- ing. We all went on a big truck with hay in the back for us to sit and stand on. Although it was cool, we still had our fun. We still remember our falls leaving us bruised and sore the times we went skating, but it still wasn't compared with our falls we got our J un- ior year skating. We had lots of fun at all our parties given by students of our class. We were thrilled beyond speaking when we were told we could have an Annual. It is the first annual Grantham has had in about eleven years. Our Senior play was Look Me In The Eye with twelve characters. It came off March 25th, 1950. Our class was the largest class to graduate in several years, with an. enrollment of 34. As the end of the year approached, our hearts became heavier and heavier. Our thoughts linger back to the many happy school days we spent together, and our eyes were misty with tears as we said good-bye to class mates, teachers, friends and most of all to Grantham, our Dear Ole Alma Mater.