Thomas Dale High School - Reflector Yearbook (Chester, VA)

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CHass History music of the Southern Serenaders. June came and with it a longed-for vacation from books, study, and teachers. When we entered school in Septem- ber, 1948, as Juniors, we were the upper classmen, for there was no official Senior class. Our sponsors were Miss Hudson and Miss Park. Our officers were: Bull Cook, president; Jane Smith, vice- president; Nell Mitchell, secretary; and Gloria Smith, treasurer. Again we suc- cessfully published The Journal. On returning to school after the Christmas holidays, we found that construction had been started on the new addition to the school plant. Many of us would sit and gaze out the windows, watching the workmen mix mortar and lay bricks to make our new building. Under the di- rection of Mrs. Crump, on May 2 (ewe presented our class play, The Sunshine Twins. After days of hard work inter- mingled with fun, Charles Pickhardt, Wini Boggs, Becky Thompson, Stanley Holmes, Nell Mitchell, Florence Davis, Henry Walters, Eleanor Roberts, Page McGee, Marion Hall, and Marjorie Bos- well gave an outstanding performance. When our school gave a radio broadcast, “Junior Town Meeting of the Air,” from station WRNL, Donald Welker, Ray Goodwin, Jeff Stephenson, Bob Webb, and Eleanor Roberts took part on the program. In the fall of 1949 we acquired the long awaited title of “dignified Seniors.” When we returned to school, excitedly we rushed through the halls to inspect the new rooms which awaited us. Mem- bers of the Senior Class worked enthu- siastically and successfully on the Curtis Campaign. Page McGee was high sales- man, with Becky ‘Thompson a close sec- ond. Again we knew the excitement and confusion of preparation, as we began rehearsals for our class play, Miss Jimmy, under the direction of Mrs. Reames and Mrs. Crump. After days of turmoil and practice, Wini Boggs, Joan Wyman, Nellie Kidd, Frances Wooten, Jackie Hankla, Henry Walters, Florence Davis, Stanley Holmes, and Jimmy Farmer gave an excellent performance on February 24. In the spring we were guests of the Junior Class at a colorful and gay Junior-Senior re- ception. Our class chose to follow the custom of previous years and publish The Reflector. With Becky Thompson as editor-in-chief and Miss East, Mrs. Smart and Mr. Thompson as faculty ad- visors, the Class of 1950 prepared its yearbook. That day which seemed so far away 1n the fall of 1945 has come at last. And now that it has come, we find we are not as happy as we thought we would be. Perchance, in the future there will be times when we will look back longingly to our high school days at Thomas Dale and remember them with great pride and joy. NANCY PERKINSON, Class Historian ed OFS

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poe Ns we sit here in our last high school assembly, our thoughts turn to the fall of 1945 when we, as Eighth Graders, en- rolled under the new five-year plan at Thomas Dale. With the assistance of our sponsors, Miss Prochazka, Mrs. Brumble, Miss Wright, and Miss Chappell, we soon learned our way around and settled down to a year of interesting new work. Officers were: Emily Booten, president; Stanley Holmes, vice-president; Joan Wyman, secretary; and Jimmy Wombie, treasurer. Upon completing the required work of the year, we welcomed the sum- mer vacation. The next fall when we returned as Freshman, we were more enthusiastic about our studies than we had been the year before because then we knew our work would give us credit toward gradu- ation. After weeks and months of classes and study the year closed successfully. With memories of the wiener roast at Swift Creek Park, which had taken the place of the usual class day activities, we began a summer full of excitement— trips hither and yon, joyous days at the lake, and summer jobs. The fall of 1947 saw us back again, eager to begin a year that was to be the fullest and most memorable thus far. Since there was no Junior Class, many opportunities and responsibilities that normally had been theirs fell to us. Our first task was the publication of the school paper. In order that the paper might be representative of the entire school we changed its name from The Junior Journal to The Journal. ‘That spring with the assistance of our spon- sors, Mrs. Casey and Mrs. Smart, we en- joyed preparing for the Junior-Senior reception. ‘The gymnasium was deco- rated beautifully, with palm trees and murals, painted by the drawing class, giving a tropical atmosphere for the oc- casion. Frayed tempers, broken finger- nails, and general disorder were all for- gotten as we twirled and swirled to the

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Aass Prof hecy WELL. hi! How nice to see you again. Times have really changed since T last saw you. Here we are in the Atomic Age. All about us I can see the great work that our fellow students—the Class of 1950—have done with the atom. When we started as high school freshmen, news of the Atom Bomb was filling every newspaper. How glad I am that through the years we have been able to utilize this great force for our own progress. At this very moment I’m floating around on the little atom which I keep for my personal use, just dreaming of the past and wondering what's happened to my classmates through the years. I really should go home now, so how about com- ing with me and let’s see how much gossip we've accumulated through the years. “Vhe Reflector Since it’s cold outside, come on in. Let’s sit around my super-atom heater and reminisce. Sue Ann McAdams and Waverly Applewhite are singing a duet from our own Chester Studios over the radio-television set, and I’m sure you'd like to hear them. Listen! Donald Wel- ker (hasn’t he gone far) is interrupting with a special news broadcast: “Flash! The J. Bagby Womble North Pole Ex- pedition has failed. The explorer has trudged four hundred miles in the snow, causing him to get such flat feet that the famous doctor, Bryan Walker, has joined the rescue squad in case he 1s needed.” Ah, yes. That was a forward class. Page McGee is now a successful South- ern Planter. His colonial manor was de- signed by Architect “Tommy West and furnished by Bobby Baril. Claude Rocke is president of a western university where Ray Goodwin is now coaching football. Jeff Stephenson is, as we all expected, an accomplished and noted orator. Beverly Bailey, famous motion pic- ture producer, has just found a new male discovery, Floyd Bennett. He promises