South Norfolk High School - Tiger Yearbook (South Norfolk, VA)

Page 16 text:

Lzffl to right: Mrs. Lottie W!aters, Don Seymour, Nick Johnson, Fannie Virginia Butt, Ruby Harper, Mrs. Dorothy Atwater. Senior Class Officers DONA LD SEYMOUR .... ...,.. P resident Nick JOHNSON ......... . . . Vice-President FANNIE VIIIGINIA Burr. . ..... Treamrcr RUBY HARPER ..,...,.. . . .Sccrelzziy MRS. LOTTIE VVA'rERs ...., . .Spomar MRS. DORO'FIiY .ATYVA'I'ER. . . . .Sponsor MEMCJRIES Mr. Anderson, members ofthe faculty, members of the graduating class, and friends, it is an honor to be here tonight. . . . You bet it's an honor, mister! just look who's graduating. lt took most of us five years to get here and others even longer. Some didn't make it at all. I wonder if the other seniors are following the speaker or reminiscing now as I am of that hot day in September of '44, our first at South Norfolk High. I can confess now that l was unhappy about the whole thing, but I didn't dare admit it because everyone else was overjoyed. To be at high school -that was something! But to be a rorlcnt-that was something else again. Oh! The garb we had to wear! I laugh when I think of lVarren Morse in lipstick, earrings, and a woman's frilly hatg and there was Janet johnson in high heels with bobby sox and a man's hat sitting at a rakish angle on her head. Seniors waited for us at the door and escorted us up and down the hall, umbrellas raised, and singing loudly. The humiliation of it all! We got our revenge though on November 2, l94S. On that day we led little mls around the halls and plotted cute things for them to do. Everyone was given a free shoe shine with the compliments of the senior class. When we returned to school in September of '45, we were faced with a momentous decision, whether to take world history or Latin, our only electives. There were some who made a mistake and the following term we elected history. For the first time we changed classes. VVe would scamper through the halls, peeking behind doors to find room numbers, asking teachers' names, and then rushing off somewhere else. We looked as if we might be playing hide and seek. . . . And now we will present awards to those who have done outstanding work . . . . . . Wish I were presenting the awards. To Mr. Larry Wickens, an award for writing an essay in the shortest length of time. To Don Seymour and Paul VVilson, awards for all the corny jokes told

Page 15 text:

K' 47' nd..-f Lakeside pork provides ootlz beauty and recreation for our to1nnzunity'.v enjoyment. IUIQ

Page 17 text:

in assembly and in class, too. Mr. Johnson liked them all. Give Bobby Marshall an award for com- pleting his senior subjects in bed. Give Buddy Barksdale and Garland Darden alarm clocks so they will get somewhere on time for a change. VVe didn't wait until this late date to win awards. Why, we have been busy all these five years piling up honors. Don Seymour won an award almost as important as the Oscar for his acting in l ir.vl Dress Suit. I laughed until I cried at his silly antics. Bill Ambrose, Roberta Armistead, and jimmy Overton won awards for their fine essays. They told Roberta she could ride on a fire truck if she wanted to but she didn't rake advantage of the of-fer. ' What in the world is Sammie jumping up for? Even I'm not that excited. Oh, the triple trio is going to sing. Come to think of it, we certainly have a musically minded group graduating. The senior class makes up the backbone of the Vested Choir. There's no better bass than Melvin Creech, and Arthur Laney has the nicest tenor voice. Then there are the duets sung by Shirley Jenkins and Sammie Smith. The R11-1711771 Three has entertained us more than once and Jimmie Overton and Betty Lee VVilliams are truly talented seniors. Yes, sir, this class has the best of everything. Assemblies. Some were short, some long, some were serious, and others hilarious. I remember the first assembly that was held in September of '48 when we were entering this senior year. There we sat in the first rows of the auditorium prouder than ever before. Mr. Anderson made a speech on Giving Yourself Away. I don't think I'll ever forget it. Next year Miss Porter will be persuading another group to sing A Bicycle Built for Two. l know Julian Etheridge will miss that, for he used to help her lead. There is another assembly l'll never forget and that is the one in which all the presi- dential candidates from Mr. johnson's civics class made campaign speeches. Vegetables were thrown in spite of bodyguards hired to protect the candidates. Nathan gave his political views, too. I can't help thinking of the junior dance and all the time we put into decorating. For a week before the dance, Smith was busy getting crepe paper stapled together. What would dance committees do without Miss Smith's help. There were a certain faithful few who were' at the gym by 6 o'clock Saturday morning. We had breakfast at the gym, if you would call a pint of milk breakfast. VVe worked long and hard to get the gym looking its best. Our rewards were waiting that night because the dance was a big success and all had a wonderful time. After all the time it took to get the paper up, some boys got it down in five minutes Hat so they could tie it on their cars. That green and white paper, flying on every car in South Norfolk, surely got around in the town. . . . Now as I call your names, please step forward to receive your diplomas: Jackie Allen . . . . . . jackie, you lucky girl, you're now a graduate of South Norfolk High. l'll bet memories are running through your mind, too: cheering at football games, attending the banquets, waving to every- one so they will see your ring, performing the duties of secretary of the junior class, walking down the aisle in the May day festival, ushering at the senior play . . . Dorothy Boyce, Rose Chesnut, Myra Doane, Hazel Floyd, Jean Forbes, . . . Please, knees, don't give way on me now. That lovely scroll-I never thought the day would come -funny, I'm not as happy as I thought I'd be. I am no longer a senior. l don't even belong here anymore. Now I am an alumna. Someone else will take our places next year. They will fit into the places we used to cherish as our own. My eves are burning. I do believe I'm going to cry. I'm comforted though because as I look around me other eyes are wet. I do not cry alone. JEAN FORBES THE SENIORS DISCUSS PROBLEMS WITH PRESIDENT SEYMOUR