South Side High School - Scrapper Yearbook (Memphis, TN)

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A The SCRAPPER 31 Sara Cox SENIOR CLASS PROPHECY Dear Mr. Gnuse, As this is the year 1950, the year of a reunion of the 1938 class from South Side High School at the Hotel Peabody, I thought I would write you a long letter, telling you what has happened tb the girls and boys you used to give detention when you were princi- pal of that school. I do hope you will be able to attend, ailthough being the Superintendent of the northern district of the Railway Companies of the United States, I know you are very busy. But do try to come as we want everyone present that was in anyway connected with the class of that year. Miss Tharp, one of the senior sponsors of that class, is now the famed novelist and is writing How to Cultivate Mosquitoes at Home. Miss Little, another sponsor, is editor-in-chief of the New York Times. Our other senior sponsor, Mr. Hickman Ewing, is the celebrated commercial artist of New York's Broadway. How- ever you already know that, as I received a note from him a few weeks ago, telling me of talking to you at his last exhibition of etchings. Robert Porter, president of that class, is now operating the Porter House and Steak Undertakers Parlor in Chicago, Missisippi. Has a very good business too. Clyde Dixon, the vice-president of that class is happily married and is manager of one of the Evap- orated Milk Companies at Memphis. From all reports, he is living a most contented life. Ruth Jolley, the secretary of the class is the famous Wrestling Lady of the Ring. I saw her at Madison Square Gardens the night she won the light weight championship. Her opponent, by the way, was Helen Dugan. A beautiful match, too. A very interesting incident occured the other day when I was in Los Atngeles. I had' just parked my plane and when I started to pay the cashier the storage fee, who else was it but Gene Mc- Neely? As we talked over old times he told me of seeing Boyce Le- Duke, Oliver Irwin, Macolm Evans and Ed J oles on their second bicycling trip around the world. As it was getting late I wanted to get myself presentable before night, I left Gene with a promise

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32 The SCRAPPER from him that he would be at the reunion. I then decided to go to one of the well-known beauty shops of Hollywood. As I walked in, I looked at the girl at the appointment desk and although she now has blonde hair, it was no one but Venus Kourvelas. We were so surprised at seeing each other after twelve years that it took us all of fifteen minutes to tell each other what the other had accomp- lished in those years. I told her I wanted a wave and a manicure and she rang for one of the girls fat least that was what I thoughtj and who should walk toward me but Honey Mansfield'. The only difference in Honey was a Waxed mustache. Venus must have seen my expression as she .started laughing and told me Mr. Mans- field was the proprietor of all the beauty shops in Hollywood. By that time 'Honey had reach-ed us and we had a gala time the rest of the evening going over our senior year. Honey told me of Dorothy Brown and Rose Burson's operating the B and B Dog Kennel in Los Angeles, also of the Hazel Bennett and Gladys Bas- kin acrobatic team. After Ileft Honey and Venus, I caught a cab to my hotel. While I was in tihe elevator, I kept looking at the elevator boy and finally discovered that it was Robert Cogswell. I let out the old South Side Locomotive and then he recognized me. He told me that his brother, James, was operator on the next shift. He said that the Hotel had a very good orchestra and floor show and he would be off in an hour and asked if I would have dinner with him and James. When we were at our table who should walk up to take our order but Bert Humpries. I was surprised, and after we gave our order he said I was to have many surprises before the end of the evening. We had been talking too long, as I noticed the manager headed for our table. Bert scrammed, and as the manager advanced toward our table, I noticed Robert and James had a'so disappeared I thought to myself what an awful beast to have for a boss, but as he stomped onward I recognized Jack Walter, altho he had culti- vated a middle-age spread and had grown side burns. A few feet from the table he recognized me and let out a wahoo and gave me a South Side bear hug. Remember how the girls used to dodge Jack in the halls so that they could escape his cave man methods? We yelled and shouted about different things and by the time We had quieted down, the floor show had started. Master of Ceremonies was Nell Collins. I yelled by myself then. She announc-ed that Frances Babin and her Babby Babes would give a new number call- ed Babinism. Frances appeared first, sang a cute ditty: then the Babby Babes trucked out. A beautiful chorus too. On the first line were Mary Cain, Verneil Garner, and Mattie Fowink'e. The second line was composed of Juanita Cuneo, Martha Jane Bel- lew and Nadine Connally. Next on the program, Nell announced was the Song-bird of the Perch, Miss Dorothy Nolan. I had drunk four glasses of water by this time, but when they announced that Miss Mary Weaver would present a sword swallowing act, I asked Jack to hand me the pitcher.