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Page 28 text:
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Class History 1957 (Continued) seldom characteristic of people, their age. This was brought out in a conversation between two members during the beginning of the senior act. John: “Walter, did you know that Franklyn ran be¬ hind the bus every morning to save fifteen cents? Waller: “Well, if he wanted to save money why didn ' t he run behind a taxi and save sixty cents.” Much of the success in this act was brought about by an efficient prompter, Mrs. A. T. Solomon, who was always handy with the cue, if someone appeared to be faltering. In closing our p’ay our chorus, as in Sophooles’s Antigone, gave a summary of our last act. He reminded us of what a beautiful “Miss Homecoming” Shirley Taylor had been, a good leader David Dansby had proved to be, how sweet Kay Henry had been as “Miss Dudley High. He reminded us of the way Ramseur, James and Cole had led us in athletics, how Jerry Watkins had made us laugh, what a beautiful coup e Maurice Drake and Juanita Tatum had made as they danced to the “Blue Danube,” how Albert Little and Caleb Carmichael had proved to be the new Beau Brummels, and last how Norva Simms had captivated us with her stunning beauty. When asked what they were leaving the school to remember them by, one of the leading characters, Franklyn Cheek, stepped forward, and speaking in his usual southern dialect said, “I believe we’s gwine leave d’em peace and quiet.” Claudette Graves, Chairman John McLaughlin Walter Johnson Mary Doggett 24
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Page 27 text:
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Class History 1957 The setting is Dudley High School. The play—a new one covering a span of four years, and entited “The History of the Class of 1957.” Tryouts for leading parts were held before the Director, Dr. J. A. Tarpley and his production staff in session in the auditorium, Sep¬ tember 3, 1953. Who would be the stars? Who would mane up the supporting cast? As much as we hated to think of it, some would become disgusted with their parts and quit the play. Enthusiasm ran high and aspirations were great as we assembled that morning to begin the Freshman act of our play. First, the preliminaries had to be taken care of: familiarizing ourselves with the scenery, discovering all the properties and learning the variety of parts which were to be portrayed. In the early try-outs, Mary Doggett, Carolyn Rus¬ sell, Claudette Graves, Modesteen Thompson and Caleb Carmichael distinguished themselves in scholas¬ tic roles by appearing high on the honor rolls. One of the production staff members, Mr. Fureron was pleased with the athletic potential of some of the newer playmakers. Harvey ‘ Boon Dock” Ramseur was already blooming on the gridiron. Charles James and Rudolph Beasley, though they were very awkward and inexperienced, showed promise of becoming the basket¬ ball stars of the future. For example, Coach Fureron asked Charles James to do a “lay-up”. He promptly got down on his back and lay up against the wall. Paul Carvana was fast becoming the Rudolph Valen¬ tino of our production. It was once said that he was so sweet that when he went to class and pulled out his class assignment from his pocket, sugar wasted all over the floor. Verdie Wilkes, Joanne Simmons and E izabeth Har¬ ris exhibited nice talents when they did the supporting parts in the May Day Festivities for that year. As the curtains closed on our first act, we were better acquainted with our roles. After three months intermission we came back to the stage and began the sophomore act. A the play continued we found ourselves aware of the need for more participants. Students from other schools soon filled these positions. They joined our group offering more talents than we . ould ever have dreamed of. Again some of our actors showed scholas¬ tic abilities. Why, John McLaughlin led the honor roll “once.” Along with Ramseur, John Hughes, William Bell, Marshall Bennett, Robert Young, and several others, Dudley was able to win over Atkins High School at our Homecoming game. Cheering the boys along were Verdie Wilkes and Juanita Tatum, the only two sopho¬ mores on the squad. Adam Johnson. Phillip Cole, Jerome McAdoo, Pat Hargraves and Lorenza Blackwell joined the other basketball stars. “The Bishop’s Mantle,” the Thespians production was high-lighted by the superb acting of Franklyn Cheek, Catherine Bruner, Catherine Hinson, Mary Ton¬ kins and Lazelle Free. Catherine Bruner walked away with the best-supporting actress award when the mighty Dudley took its one-act play to Raleigh, N. C. The Panther’s Claw staff and the mixed chorus wel¬ comed several new members. Our play went on and on with ease until it was time for our second inter¬ mission. As the curtain rose on our third act, the actors and actresses were becoming accustomed to their parts and showed signs of sophistication. This was exemplified by James “Hey Hey” Hagins. On the first day of school though wearing his usual bib overalls, he had added a dress shirt and tie in the place of his old T-shirt;, a sport coat in place of his denim jacket and some fancy shades. Soon everyone began to settle down to the tasks that lay ahead. The National Honor Society and the Crown and Sceptre Club harvested the cream of the crop. The Homecoming event was quite exciting that year, with Elizabeth Harris, a junior, serving as the maid of honor to “Miss Homecoming” and Robert Young, Charles James, William Bell and Harvey Ramseur assisting in all those touchdowns Dudley made. Dudley had one of the best basketball scenes Coach Fureron had ever witnessed. The team made up mostly of juniors were runners-up for the state championship. Not on’y did we find outstanding participants in scholastics and sports, but in other areas as we ' l. Wal¬ ter Johnson placed the stellar role in “Green Shutters,” the fall produc ' ion of the Thespians. Catherine Bruner, Jerome Gaither and Lazelle Free a’so shared in the glory. Playing the greatest scene of her role, Blanche Taylor won first prize in the Omega Talent Hunt, for her splendid performance as a pianist. Being a good actor in the scene Trowel Trade, Collie Jones won first prize in the state trade contest. Richard “Farm Boy” Bow’ing during his years at Dudley proved him¬ self to be quite a student in agriculture. That year the finest campaign for “Miss Dudley High” was held. Exciting and interesting, it yielded, the charming and beautiful Kay Frances Henry as “Miss Dudley High” for 56-57. Winning by whopping majority, Kay really possessed the Magic Touch as was sung by the popular Varios. The Patrol Force, one of the largest ard most neces¬ sary organizations of the school began to canvas our class for future patrols. Some of the students possessed the qualities to become the leaders of the patrol. La¬ zelle Free was elected Chief, while David Dansby, Wal¬ ter Johnson, John McLaughlin, Betty Summers and Barbara Mebane were elected as his assistants. The ending of our junior act was the assigning over of the responsibi’ities of the school to us. The last intermission was filled with preparatory work for the great and final act, the senior act. On stage waiting for their final cue were one hun¬ dred and fifty three seasoned veterans who were wait¬ ing with utmost enthusiasm and that good ole Dudley “eager beaver” spirit. In the forefront stood the main characters of this production, ready to lead the show down the road to glory in the last act. There were Annie Suber and Barbara Miley co-editors of the Panthers Claw; Henrietta Wrliams and Green Lee Burge, who could show Gabriel a thing or two about blowing and Lyvonne McAdoo, Barbara Morton, Lola Campbell, and Henry Sharpe, whose melodious voices were to make a smash hit with the Mixed Chorus. There were “Squatty” Waddell and John Hughes, whose exploits on the football field were made possi¬ ble because they learned about M. A. (Mechanical Ad¬ vantage) in Physics. The actors this year were not only versatile but aggressive for they edited the first yearbook published since the beginning of the Dudley theatre. There was one thing that cou ' d be said about these playmakers—they were very thrifty, a trait that was 23
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