Rush Strong High School - Plainsman Yearbook (Strawberry Plains, TN)

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CLASS WILL Now that the Class is about to leave this sphere of activity, it devolves upon us to put desks and classrooms in order, and dispose of those treasures which we regret- fully leave behind. We, The Senior Class of i945 of Rush Strong High School, .Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, being in sound mind and strong body, do leave this our last will and testament. To Mr. John Wenger, our beloved Principal we leave our devotion to Rush Strong School, hoping that he will rem-ain here as long as we have. To the Faculty, we will our text books and examination papers with the wish that they will cherish them always. To the Junior Class, we leave our class sponsor, Miss Virginia Adkins, with the request that they accept her ideas and abide by them. To the Junior Class, we leave our senior dignity so that they maty set a worthy example for the Freshmen. To the Sophomores, we leave our good looks and ex- cellent behavior. To the Freshmen, we will our ability to study and make good. To Burnese Cate, I, Inez Smith, leave my humorous ways so that she can keep people laughing. To Marie Wilson, I, Tommie Large, leave my ability to attract boy friends. To Paul Russell, I, Edna Lawson, leave my quietness and eagerness to learn. To Ruth Anderson and Evelyn Gray, we, Violet Beard and Agnes Lauderdale, leave our dignity. To Bill Robeson, I, Floyd Bales, will my ability to play basketball, hoping that his injuries are fewer than mine halve been. To Ruth Underwood, I, Trula Finchum, leave my per- sonality traits for which I am admired by the faculty. To Donald Finchum, I, Bruce Bales, leave my winsome smile, with the request that he uses it on New Market girls. To Frances Bolinger, I, Jane Lawson, bequeath my seat in Solid Geometry. To Donald Finchum and Christine Cole, we, Mary Ruth Roderick and John Frazier, leave our neighborly love, with the understanding that they take every opportunity -pos- sible to be neighborly. To Grace Beard, I, Sue Loy, bestow my ability to sing popular songs. To Marie Wilson and Bill Robeson, we, Tommie Large and Floyd Bales, will our standing place at the corner of the building, hoping that they will use it as faithfully as we have in the last four years. To F. M. Davis and Donald Finchum, we, Max Stiner and Bruce Bales, will our knives, if they will promise never to let a teacher take them. To Jean Bailey, I, Virginia Hodges, leave my ability to play the piano for the Glee Club. To the next President and Program Chairman of the Volunteer Literary Society, we, Dora Brewer and Floyd Bales, will our ability to get out of any class to practice. To Frances Bolinger and Christine Cole, we, Tommie Large and Sue Loy, leave our love for each other. To Jean Stallings, I, Inez Smith, leave my traits for be- ing an old maid. To Marie Wilson and Dorothy Brooks, we, Mary Ruth Roderick and Virginia Hodges, bequeath our habit of writ- ing notes in class, provided they do not get caught. To Ben Day, I, Eddie Zink, leave my love for my fel- low students with the understanding that he will not get too serious with the girls. To Ruth Underwood and Mary Faye Boling, we, Edna and Jane Lawson, bestow our deep devotion to each other. To my sister Alene, I, Agnes Lauderdale, leave the mirror in the girls shower room, provided she doesn't spend too much time before it. To Grace Beard and Christine Cole, we, Sue Loy and Trula Finchum, will the privilege of combing our hair after we get to school, if they will strive to get to class on time. To Roy Cook, I, Max Stiner, gladly bequeath my seat in the office next year. To Ruth Underwood and Jean Stallings, we, John Frazier and Eddie Zink, leave our ability to express our political views, and support our political parties. To Pantha Padgett, I, Sue Loy, bestow my love for sailors. To Georgia Shelton I, Violet Beard, bequeath my habit of being late to class. To Roy Cook and Paul Russell, we, Max Stiner and Bruce Bales, will our laughter and mischievousness with the sincere wish that they will not be called down as often as we have. To Ben Day, I, John Frazier, leave my appetite. To Pantha Padgett, I, Dora Brewer, leave my ability to compose and play songs. To anyone who wants the job, I, Floyd Bales, bequeath my position as Business Manager of the Annual with all of the trips to town, the arguments with dark haired girls, and the long hours of agony over securing enough ads to pub- lish the annual. I To our former classmate, Robert Lawson, now in the Navy, we wish success and happiness in everything that he undertakes to do, and we hope he returns to us soon. We, the Senior Class, hope that you will accept this our last will and testament, and cherish these gifts with the some spirit in which they are bestowed.

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THE HISTORY OF THE SENIOR CLASS Setting - Rush .Strong High School Time - The present. ACT I As the cu.tain rises on scene one, we see around thirty-five eager boys and girls trying to find their way to a room called the First Grade. Here, Miss Cora Halbert introduced us to the ABC's and Little Bo Peep. Even at the early age of six we find a little blonde haired boy named Floyd- Bales bringing fame to the future Senior Class as the best looking boy. He was the object of every little girls admiration. ln scene two, we see Inez Smith, a very pretty young lass bringing her name to the top. In later scenes you will see her niore. The members of the cast overcome their shyness and we find around twenty actors entering upon the stage to play in the Rhythm Band with Mrs. Tom Swaggerty as our director. We look in on the third secen and find Miss Slover teaching us geography and the multiplication tables. This was all new to us, and we were terribly frightened. The fourth scene is directed by Miss Catlett. We find a number of tiny misses such as Sue Loy, Jane Lawson, Virginia Hodges, Edna Lawson, Trula Finchum, Mary Ruth Roderick, and Violet Beard, entering the cast. These soon began to show special talents in music and dramatics. The fifth scene opens with Miss Underwood, now Mrs. Roy Kinnick, in charge of grown-up boys and girls, never- theless, they spent most of their spare time playing I Spy on the rocks at the back of the school building. In scene six, we notice a youth by the name of Ed- ward Zink coming to the top. The rest of us will never forget row our director, Miss Sallie B. Lewis, constantly re- minded him not to forget his part, and rebuked him for drawing airplanes all the time, which habit he carried with him on through high school. In scene seven, the curtain goes up with a much larger group than we have ever had. We sce a little round- faced girl entering upon the stage, a very pretty young girl called Tommie Large. She was destined to be the Heartbreaker of the class and bring fame to the group in high school as a star basketball player. During this part of the play, Herman Wyrick, Max Stiner, Bruce Bales, and Clyde Kennemore began to at- tract attention. We find a still larger group on the stage for the final scene of the first act. The event of the year was when Inez Smith was crowned Queen of the Carnival with her escort, Herman Wyrick. Mr. Davis directed us, and we shall never forget what he did for us, and how he worked the week of our gradu- ation. We went off the stage with our diplomas, and feel- ing our importance. We had finished the first act of our class history. ACT ll Now that we had reached high school, how important we felt! ' We were represented in the Glee Club and sports, and began our difficult struggle with Algebra. Our director, Mr. Robyn Walker, led us faithfully until he had to leave for military service. i In scene two, we appear as sophisticated Sophomorcs under the leadership of Mrs. Young, who led us into the life and works of Shakespeare. During this year we felt sharply the loss of Herman Wyrick and Franklin Stipes who ioined the Navy. ' We entered our Junior year, a year packed full of history making episodes. Our outstanding event of the year was our first attempt in the field of high school dramatics, when we presented Old Doc. However, all the days were not so pleasant, because in the spring, iust as new life was bursting forth upon the earth, our lives were saddened by the loss of our beloved classmate, Robert Red Lawson. He too, became Navy minded and sailed away to aid his country in the great war. This year closed with the famous Banquet Scene at which we entertained the Seniors at The Little Red School House with the aid of our sponsor, Miss Thelma Cooper. The final hour came! - We entered upon the stage for the last time. Great are the events of this final scene. This time we had a new director-in-chief, Mr. John M. Wenger. Mr. Kinnick had chosen another class with which to work and moved on to Jefferson City. Mrs. Vaulta Bow- man came to direct our domestic talents. Mrs. Fred Stooks- bury and Mr. Charles B. Davis were back with us. Miss Virginia Adkins was our sponsor, helping us publish our Annual, and give our Senior Play. We reioiced with the arrival of class rings, beamed with pride when Floyd Bales was elected Student Council President, and wondered in amazement what the outcome would be when he and Tommie Large were elected Presidents of the two .societies for the first semester. They were quite successful in these positions. Sue Loy was elected to serve as President of the Volunteer Society the second semester, bringing more fame to her class. Dora Brewer joined our cast this year, only to remain for one term, but she made herself famous as the Southern Charmer in the Student Council Play. The merry month of May brought to our class the end of our high school days. The Baccalaureate Sermon inspired us, and with mingled feelings of ioy and sadness over graduation, we leave the stage with our cherished diplomas in our hands. We wish to express our deep gratitude to those faculty members who have led us so faithfully tftrough these years. We have completed this our first dramatic pro- ducfion, and after a short breathing spell in the shade of vacations spreading trees, we shall start on a longer and more toilsome production on the stage of - LIFE!

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OUR FUTURE YEARS It was a raging night outside. The rain and sleet beat against my window as if demanding entrance to the warm, cozy room in which I was just settling down for the even- ing. No sooner had I settled back into my chair than I be- gan to feel drowsy. I seemed to be floating through the air. Then I felt myself going down toward the earth. I landed on the street of a strange town. I saw a policeman, and I went up to him and said, WiIl you please tell me the name of this town? Why yes, it is --' I didn't get the name, for by this time I saw the police- man was Bruce Bales. I next went into a restaurant. I objected to the food they brought me, and I asked to see the manager. The food you have here is rotten, I complained. Could you tell me what the matter is, a soft voice asked. I looked up and there was Jane Lawson. I next saw a crowd across the street, and I went to see what was happening. They were all talking about a new hair-do that had just come into fashion. I then saw the sign - Agnes Lauderdale, Beauticianf' I visited a school that was alhost perfect in every way. The principal was a young lady I hand once known - Virginia Hodges. I came to a hospital. An ex-patient was just coming out talking about the excellent meals they had there. I asked her who the dietitian was, and she answered, Trula Fin- chum. I went in to hear a famous opera singer. Her name was Sue Loy. She had become famous the world over. But who was it that accompanied her on the piano? None other than Dora Brewer! I went in to see them after the show. Her secretary said, She is busy. I recognized the secretary as being Mary Ruth Roderick, my old school pal. I came to a church that looked very inviting, so I went in. A man was in the pulpit holding his audience spell- bound by the power of his words. I said to myself, Why, that is John Frazier. He seemed to be very successful in his life's work. I visited a quieter neighborhood. All around me were beautiful homes. As I admired one of the most beautiful homes, the door opened, and out stepped a very handsome man. I had never seen him before, but as I looked at his wife, who was kissing him good-bye, I saw it was Edna Lawson. I said to myself, I see she has used her excellent geometric sense and got a husband with good Iines. I heard music down the street, and as I love music very much, I decided to follow the sound. I soon came to a broadcasting station. I saw a band of fifty or more players, and as I looked toward the leader, I saw it was one of the seniors of Rush Strong High School, namely, Max Stiner. I then saw an actress come out on the stage. After she was through with her performance, everyone knew she was one of the greatest actresses of her time. But her name? Oh yes, Inez .Smith. Next a man came out on the stage. He read to us a magnificient piece of poetry. Everyone was held as by a spell until it was over. The man then said the author was Violet Beard. I next visited a hospital. I saw a list of the nurses names in the hall. I glanced down the list and one name seemed to stand out above the rest. It was the name of my friend Tommie Large. I asked at the desk if I might see her and they told me to go to Room 3 across the hall. As the nurse told me this, she winked. I couldn't understand why until I saw Tomtmie's patient, Floyd Bales! Floyd had been flying one of the Army's new planes, and had a slight crack-up. He was wounded just enough to need a few days of special nursing. I wanted to see the plane, so I went to the place where it was being repaired. I saw a very busy man working around the place. He seemed to know precisely what was wrong with it. He turned his face toward me and I saw it was one of my old classmates - Eddie Zink. Suddenly everything began to grow dim, and then I awoke with a start. What a delightful dream I had, I exclaimed. I must tell it to the class tomorrow!