One Sidewalk. Many Memories.

Courtney Sligh Moss at 4:28pm September 11, 2008
Oh the memories!!! Thanks Aaron - this is great! I used to ride my bike up and down the sidewalks everyday.

Scott Warmack at 9:02pm September 11, 2008
And that would be the awning I was jumping up to touch.

Trina 'Smurl' Williams at 9:07pm September 11, 2008
You can just see the gym off in the back. I remember it being built. I also remember getting the cool job of going to get the milk before naps. Yes, back when you went all day everyday. :-)

Heather Young Malone at 9:14pm September 11, 2008
I loved!!!!! going to get the milk!!!! What a long sidewalk!

Scott - the higher you could jump... the further down the sidewalk you could reach... the cooler you were. That's it.

Stacy Cunningham Gilbert at 9:31pm September 11, 2008
Milk and moonpies!

Trina 'Smurl' Williams at 9:41pm September 11, 2008
Huh, Scott some of us were never really tall enough to touch the awning... let's not rub it in.... Ok? K.

Scott Warmack at 9:47pm September 11, 2008
Another thing about that sidewalk...it was the absolute greatest place to ride your bicycle during the summer.

Melody Gartman Lucas at 10:10pm September 11, 2008
The Gym....blood,sweat and tears!! The new smell. They made us run like crazy in that gym. I think Coach Cooper was there...not sure. Help me out Stacy. I think this is where we got our yearly shots. Even as a nurse I hate needles.

Stacy Cunningham Gilbert at 10:28pm September 11, 2008
I remember practicing there too! Ugh...Coach Cooper and Coach Honnell, her sister, before that! They LOVED to make us run....8,6, 4, 2's were their favorite! I remember rug burns from the carpet!!!!!!

Stacy Cunningham Gilbert at 10:30pm September 11, 2008
Scott...I cannot tell you how many summers I spent riding on those sidewalks..great fun!

Darrin Theiss at 10:12pm September 12, 2008
Milk trips that was the best thing - to get picked to get the milk

Pam Hill Arpin at 10:25am September 21, 2008
We lived two blocks away from the school. I spent everyday riding my bike around the school. I don't remember seeing any of you! lol

Brian and Carrie Gartman at 9:59pm October 23, 2008
How about dusting the chalkboard erasers on the big tree between the school and the lunch room? The 500 ft tall slide that was the cause of at least one broken arm a year? And the tragedy of all tragedies,,,when they closed the city pool across the street from the school?

Aaron Wilson at 10:03pm October 23, 2008
Now you're talking Brian. That a boy! Keep the memories coming!

Our DADS used to go swimming in that pool!

Andrew Welch at 1:51am October 24, 2008
I remember when my brother, Robert, fell off that slide. I think that was when they took it out. Oddly enough he wasn't hurt, but I think the fall explains some of his more unusual quirks today...LOL

I still miss the pool whenever I go past that parking lot. Its not the same swimming at the rec center...probably why I don't go.

Stacy Cunningham Gilbert at 9:19am October 24, 2008
The City Pool! There is not one summer that goes by that I don't think about that pool! It seems like the deep end where the

guys played "swim tag" was 50 feet deep! I was there every day in the summer! I walked from my house barefoot! What was my mom thinking letting me do that...well, now that I think about it, she probably didn't know!

Aaron Wilson at 9:25am October 24, 2008
Chris Paty taught me how to dive in the city pool.
My first swim lessons were in the city pool.
Kristy Evans was also in my swim class... and kept flirting with the instructor (why is that not hard to believe!) in the city pool.
Scott Holt got his arm stuck in the drain & almost drowned in the city pool.
Back in the day, it cost a quarter to swim... in the city pool.

CHALLENGE:
First one to find & post a picture of the city pool wins.

Brian and Carrie Gartman at 9:58am October 24, 2008
The first time that I watched The Sandlot (the best kids movie ever !!) the pool scene really got me...and when they were walking around town getting bottles to buy a baseball...I remember doing the same thing and going to Graves to buy whatever it was we wanted that day! BTW, Aaron, one of the instructors back in the day is my stepmom!

Trina 'Smurl' Williams at 11:08am October 24, 2008
I loved swimming there. I also think about that pool whenever I drive by. I remember being scared to death to jump off the diving board too. I remember our parents would just drop us off too. I wouldn't do that now with my kids!

Mandy Jester Martindale at 12:28pm October 24, 2008
I've loved swimming at the pool!! When it was time to leave mom would yell our names to get out, and we would go under real fast and pretend like we didn't hear her. haha I remember all the older guys with their cut offs on, making huge splashes!

Steve Warmack at 2:34pm October 24, 2008
What I find interesting and a little touching if I can set aside my usual smart-@$$ ness... is how many responses have been generated by this simple picture.

It was the best for riding bikes.. but I will go old skool on you and say that I remember riding "Big Wheels" and "Green Machines" there...

As for the city pool......Great memories... the guys driving up in their trans ams with Bostons first album jamming.... cut off shorts.

BUT... does anyone remember the slaughterhouse that was just a short distance away? Does anyone other than me remember the squealing of pigs from this very sidewalk?

probably not.

Stacy Cunningham Gilbert at 2:43pm October 24, 2008
I absolutely do, Steve! In fact, I remember walking by there to go to the Grant County Museum from my house on Vine Street and putting my fingers in my ears and going "la, la, la!" until I got further away. I would never let myself look in the
back pen to see the pig when driving by. I think I was afraid they would plead to me with their eyes and I would be forced to do a jail break!

Steve Warmack at 2:53pm October 24, 2008
Yeah... weird place for a slaughterhouse... smack in the middle o' town.

BTW - I think I was at the pool the day someone almost drowned because their arm was in the drain. I remember someone diving in to save him.

Aaron Wilson at 3:22pm October 24, 2008
I could only dream of a Big Wheel. And a Green Machine?! Why, my daddy would have to take a second job!
Flaunting your childhood life of luxury and on top of that scaring the children with "this little piggee" stories cannot be tolerated. :o)

I like your old skool Steve... keep bringing it.

On a very similar yet unrelated note - Eric Hanson recently gave me a cool vintage t-shirt that says "Old School" across the front... with a picture of a Big Wheel on it! Classic.

Aaron Wilson at 3:42pm October 24, 2008
Ahhh haaa! Now I remember the Avant's store that Stacy mentioned on another post! Was it right there on the corner of Vine & Hwy 35? The city pool dialogue stirred up my memory a bit... seems that my mom forgot to come get me at the pool one afternoon so I started walking home (at an age too young to walk home - even in Sheridan). I vaguely remember sitting on the curb or maybe the platform where the gas pumps once were, waiting on mom to come get me. Wow. That's weird. This is fun.

I've been trying to get this much action at my blogs for years! Who'd a thunk some pictures of old buildings would create so much buzz.

Seriously - I'm enjoying this and appreciate everyone's comments. Now, go listen to Kenny Rogers sing "20 Years Ago" and have a good nostalgic cry....

Eric Hanson at 4:01pm October 24, 2008
City pool- I learned to swim there, too. That pool was a babysitter during the summer. But the level of stink in those bathrooms could make a sewer inspector blush.

It was Scott Holt that got his arm stuck in the drain. Was feeding it leaves or something when it sucked him in. The guy that saved him was an older guy that played tag in the deep end. Forgot his name but it was something like Wimbo.

Kathy Flynt James at 10:35pm October 24, 2008
This is so funny. When I was in elementary school I used to have real dreams about riding something like a big wheels or other type of vehicle at the elementary school! I had no idea kids actually did that! And when I was taking pictures of the
school yesterday I remembered that old swimming pool nearby. I only went there a few times because I lived in Ico. And I also remember the slaughter house because my parents used to get a bunch of meat there to put in the freezer every year.

I hated going in there. As my nearly four-year-old nephew would say, "it was piscusting"....

Brian and Carrie Gartman at 1:17pm October 25, 2008
Jimmy Wimberly

Aaron Wilson at 3:54pm October 25, 2008
This marvelous pit of memories has no bottom.

Aaron Wilson at 3:57pm October 25, 2008
Wimbo pulled up next to me at the red light in Sheridan once, rolled down his window and with a jaw full of chaw, in a Grant County neighborly way asked, "Gotta pool chain?"

Brian and Carrie Gartman at 6:27pm October 25, 2008
How many people were there the day of the near drowning?! I was among the 10,ooo.

Bruce Dobbins at September 8 at 8:50am
Aaron, I really appreciate the work you have put into this site. You have made me remember many things of my childhood I simply forgot. Thank you.

Revenge of the Upside Down Clown

This week all three posts will feature that highly anticipated time at the end of each school year when we get to sign each others crack yearbooks. This event is rivaled only by the receiving of the yearbooks themselves. The next best thing to cracking open that brand new photo directory of classmates and taking that first whiff of the fresh, glossy pages is giving your peers the privilege of writing in it.

This first post is a playful poke at our friend Serena Koon (I have her permission to do this and the remainder of this post comes complete with a double coat of sarcasm). You see, for the past two decades as I've recalled and recounted all the wonderful school memories tucked away in my simple little mind, there was always something lurking in the shadowy corner. What was this dark mystery hiding in the cleft of my mind - or was "it" a "who"? Who could still be haunting me & taunting me like a schoolyard bully even twenty years later? Well, the answer to these questions has been revealed - yea, even documented in the annuals of history... our yearbooks. The evidence I have is as plain as words on a page. Read on.

Just take a gander at the verbal assaults below - beginning in the 2nd grade for crying out loud - and tell me if any decent human being is deserving of such ill-treatment.

You see that it starts out cute, playing the ole "upside down clown" card. But notice the subtle twist - this clown doesn't just sign upside down - but BACKWARDS TOO! I had to get out my pocket mirror to verify the signature... and sure enough, it was Serena Koon. What could this mean? Upside down? Backwards?

Then... the clown strikes again (see below). Same page. Same pen (not supposed to have pens in Mrs. Thompson's class!). Same clown. Same vertical orientation. Same horizontal reversal. I'm sure that something's going on here. This is second grade insanity.

The disoriented clown laid low for a few years, but in 1980 she struck again. And, as before, ever... so... subtle. Notice the underlined word "nice" in the image below. And notice the parenthetical laughter - HYSTERICAL parenthetical laughter. Everyone knows how to decode this: underlined word goes with parenthetical remark - easy. It's the LOL version of the grade school yearbook. And LOL she did - about me being "nice."

Childish flirting? No way. She's moving in for the kill.

The year is now 1983. Put on your CSI cap and just let the evidence do the talking. My investigation of the image below produces the following observations:

1. Clue: Cursive writing. Meaning: Intimidation.
2. Clue: Red ink. Meaning: One word. Blood. I'm really feeling threatened now.
3. Clue: Parenthesis right off the bat. Meaning: It's like the viewer discretion warning at the beginning of a television show - you just know something bad is gonna happen.

4. Clue: Sarcasm. Meaning: Just another way to toy with my mind. Is she serious? Is she lying? Are those question marks or exclamation points? Is she really "kidin"? Does she really not know that you double the final consonant when you add "ing"?

This next and final piece of evidence that seals the case against this mental tormentor is nothing less than a roller coaster ride of tricks and taunts that are only meant to play with my esteem like a yo-yo. Again, I observe:

1. After 10 years of knowing each other, she immediately strikes down my significance and deflates my ego by misspelling my name. Granted, this is before the age of "spellcheck", but that's still no excuse.
2. The flow of this, her longest yearbook contribution, is a poetic and rhythmic assault against any shred of dignity I might have left. See the repetition: NOT, NOT, NOT. This really stings.
3. Three opinions are expressed here as facts: 1. I'm not nice, 2. I'm not a stud, and 3. I'll need luck with the girls. I beg to differ. I think after 13 years of marriage and four children this can be easily refuted. However, to be fair, back in 1985 I was a far cry from the typical boy favorite.

If you've enjoyed this, why not pull out your old yearbooks and read all the silly & sweet things that your friends wrote to you way back when. And, many thanks to my friend Serena for being a good sport.

uosןıʍ uoɹɐɐ-ƃuıʞoɾ ʇsnɾ

We are the World

This little musical artifact won't fetch much on Ebay even after MJ's sudden death, but I'm still glad my wife held on to her cassette copy of USA for Africa's "We Are the World".

Unfold the insert and you're tempted with several opportunities to feed the hungry in Africa while sporting the current 80's fashions.

click to enlarge

Now, don't try to read the small print above, because I found a fun way to find out who all participated in this historic event... I'll show you at the end of this post. For now, below is the article I teased some time ago from the March 14, 1983 edition of Rolling Stone. This is a brief yet insightful write up about how "We Are the World" came to be. Click either image to enlarge & read.

Interesting, huh? Prince - hmphh! Who needs him anyway?! So, back to the album art. Take a look at the group shot below and try to identify some of the artists at this interactive guessing game.

Now, sit back, pretend like you've just tuned in to Friday Night Videos and enjoy the song.

Related links:

Wikipedia entry for "We Are the World"
Scripted lyrics for "We Are the World"

One of the great movies from our teen years (before we became too cool) had to be Spielberg's "The Goonies." LOTR's Sean Austin, Corey Feldman and Docka Jones' Asian sidekick were all a part of this cult classic.

Recently a guy I work with told me about a documentary that a couple of his friends were doing that was really gaining some popularity - even from the original cast. Visit http://www.thegoonies.org/ to check it out, including this exclusive interview with Chunk recalling some of the perks of being a Goonie, even one-upping Rick Shroeder at an MJ concert.

Oh, and here's a seperate website that shows then & now pics of the Goonies.

The Book Brigade

Sheridan Middle School

Way back in November, I posted this pic & asked where it was. There were a couple of guesses, but none got it right. These water fountains are located in the front hall of our middle school - right across from Mrs. Allen's 8th grade English class & next to the boys bathroom.

Below are a few more pics from our middle school, taken in October 2008 by Kathy Flynt. I've also tried to find an older picture of the same area for comparison.

Here is the front hall of the middle school, looking north. If you went out the double doors way down at the end of this hall, you'd be heading towards the gym. You can see the set of water fountains on the right. The open door in the foreground is most likely Mrs. Rhoden's old room. I only have one memory of this room: spitwads.

circa mid-1960's

Similar hall, 2008

The main hall. Who had lockers in this hall? The retro-odd-shaped windows on the right look into the library.

You can see the Alltel dude guarding the Library door and asking for old cell phones for recycling. Crazy... we didn't have cell phones in middle school. We didn't have cell phones in HIGH SCHOOL! Heck - recycling wasn't even invented yet, was it?

Below is the same trophy case next to the library entrance (above). I can't remember what we put in the trophy case during our four years in middle school, but FORTY years ago, some of our parents displayed championship trophies for their high school sports teams.

Above was our 5th grade hall bathrooms - you remember? They were between the end of the 5th grade hall and the cafeteria. This photo is looking back down the fifth grade hall (Mr. Hope's class on the left & Mrs. Rash across the hall). I don't know about the girls, but could I get some guy to back me on this one: this boys bathroom was the grossest thing I've ever seen in my life. This place was so nasty, you dared not even breathe the air. And the walls - covered with snot hockers, green, yellow, slimy snot hockers.

This place would rival any outdoor Citgo Station restroom in Jefferson County.

Recognize this place? I didn't either, because the sidewalk cover is gone. This is the blacktop parking lot between the middle school and the old gym. The door on the left goes into the front hall and the door in the background takes you into the cafeteria - where I ate my salami sandwich, cheetos and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls out of my Tupperware lunch box. EVERY STINKIN' DAY. Well, except for the time I actually ate cafeteria food while on the free lunch program when my dad was out of work when the West Bend Company shut down. [enter sad violin music]


Here's a view of the sidewalk turning 90 degrees from the previous photo, taken in the 60's. Notice the area on either side hasn't been black-topped yet.

Aaahhhh... the blacktop!

It's where we hung out before school in the AM and then during our lunch recess.
It's where we gathered in clicks.
It's where we swarmed in sadistic frenzies watching fist fights.
It's where we played four square against the Tompkins. And lost.
It's where I saw a pair of Nike's for the first time ever.
It's where we paired up on those white curbs and tried to pull our opponent off without losing our balance.
It's where several of us weaker ones got "pantsed."
It's where Jamey Black "two'd" Andy Mayberry.
It's where we passed origami-like folded notes with the fateful question "WILL YOU GO WITH ME?"

I wonder what kind of memories are being made on the blacktop today?

I wonder if they realize it?

One Another Passages

Here are the passages that we mentioned... blah blah

Build up	Romans 14:19; 1 Thess 5:11
Be at peace	Romans 14:19
Receive/accept	Romans 15:7
Admonish/comfort	Romans 15:14; 1 Thess 4:18; 5:11
Greet	Romans 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14
Care	1 Cor 12:25
Serve	Galatians 5:13
Bear burdens	Gal 6:2
Forbear, be patient	Eph 4:2; Col 3:13
Be kind	Eph 4:32
Submit	Eph 5:21
Esteem highly	Phil 2:3
Forgive	Col 3:13
Seek the good	1 Thess 5:15
Stimulat	Heb 10:24
Confess sins	James 5:16
Pray for	James 5:16
Be hospitable	1 Peter 4:9
Be humble	1 Peter 5:5
Fellowship in the light	1 John 1:7
Do not owe anything but love	Romans 13:8
Do not Judge	Romans 14:13
Do not devour/consume	Gal 5:15
Do not provoke/challenge	Gal 5:26
Do not envy	Gal 5:26
Do not lie	Col 3:9
Do not hate	Titus 3:3
Do not speak against/complain	James 4:11; 5:9

"it's yet more evidence that
quantity of media attention
rarely provides a reliable indicator
as to music quality and lasting significance"

So said Steve Peake on a recent blog post where he questioned the massive media coverage of a new Guiness World Record. At The College of William & Mary in Virginia, 242 students, faculty and children set a new record last weekend as part of the largest dance rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.

I won't fire-hose Mr. Peake with venom, as he suspects some opponents will. However, regarding his quote above, where he poo-poos the "music quality and lasting significance" of the King of Pop - I must respectfully disagree. Certainly, Jacko has gone wacko (no argument from me) but Mikey's music is quality and significant. After all, you don't see people trying to set records to ONJ's "Physical" or Paula's "Straight Up" videos, do you?

If you agree or disagree with Steve Peake, you can tell me here or tell him at his blog. But for now, you know you wanna see it - so here is the world record rendition of the "Thriller" dance.

Watch the original Thriller video here.

William & Mary... & Michael

"it's yet more evidence that
quantity of media attention
rarely provides a reliable indicator
as to music quality and lasting significance"

So said Steve Peake on a recent blog post where he questioned the massive media coverage of a new Guiness World Record. At The College of William & Mary in Virginia, 242 students, faculty and children set a new record last weekend as part of the largest dance rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.

I won't fire-hose Mr. Peake with venom, as he suspects some opponents will. However, regarding his quote above, where he poo-poos the "music quality and lasting significance" of the King of Pop - I must respectfully disagree. Certainly, Jacko has gone wacko (no argument from me) but Mikey's music is quality and significant. After all, you don't see people trying to set records to ONJ's "Physical" or Paula's "Straight Up" videos, do you?

If you agree or disagree with Steve Peake, you can tell me here or tell him at his blog. But for now, you know you wanna see it - so here is the world record rendition of the "Thriller" dance.

Watch the original Thriller video here.

Nineteen Years Later - They Still Remember

It was 19 years ago today that Sheridan High School was in the news for the first time probably since our football team made it's remarkable comeback in 1986-87. However, the contrast in the two events couldn't be more drastic.

In 1986 it was victory that drew the media's attention. In 1990 it was tragedy.

On April 30th, 17-year-old Tommy Smith asked to address Rick Ward's history class. After Tommy expressed his love for a girl in the class, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, ending his life in front of a class full of his peers.

My sister was in that class. Perhaps you or someone you know was also in the class.

Andy Welch ('85) recently sent me an article he found in People Magazine's online archives that gives a brief yet thorough, honest yet non-graphic snapshot of what would finally be 4 teen suicides in just 5 weeks.

A sign on the Sheridan Pentecostal Church says, GOD NEVER PROMISES SUNSHINE WITHOUT RAIN. But though the town's 3,200 souls have endured storms, fires and tornadoes, nothing could have prepared them for the blows of this spring. Tommy Smith was the second of four Sheridan High School teenagers who killed themselves in the tiny community in a span of five weeks. It began when Raymond Dale Wilkinson, a 17-year-old senior, took his life on March 28. Smith was next. That same evening, Thomas Chidester, 19, turned a gun on himself in his bedroom. The next day, 17-year-old Jerry Paul McCool also put a bullet in his head. The four stunning fatalities added to the nationwide toll of teen suicides that claims some 5,000 lives a year. As elsewhere, the victims were bright youths who, despite adolescent traumas, seemed to have much to live for.

Read the entire article here.

Since I was away at college when this happened, it would be, well, almost wrong for me to share my own thoughts. Sure, I had a vested interest towards my sister's well being. But I knew nothing of what she & her classmates were going through. So a few days ago, I asked. I realized that I had over two dozen Facebook friends that would've been in school during this time, so I attempted to submit some questions to them, asking (respectfully, I hoped) what they remembered about "that day." Here's what I learned.

Those who were there - now in their late 30's - still remember what class they were in that afternoon... when they heard the sounds... when they were detained in class without explanation... when they worried together... cried together... questioned together... prayed together. But what seemed most evident from their testimonies was their coming together. And now - almost two decades later and spread many miles apart - they are still together, bound by their memories and their resolve to overcome this dreadful experience.

Out of over a dozen responses I received, I don't think anyone said that their lives had not been impacted by the suicides. Some are parents now, some teachers, and often reflect on their experience as they interact with their children and students. One of Tommy Smith's former classmates and friend is a social worker now who now interacts with people in crisis, doing her part to help prevent what she witnessed first hand as a teenager.

Were it possible to erase the events of their past, would they? In a heartbeat. Do they regret the many ways this has made them the people they are today? For the most part, I don't think so.

Having received about a fifty percent response to my inquiry about the suicides, I suppose that there are still those who would rather not recall the memories. One person was even honest enough to tell me that.

So, with respect towards them, thankfulness for those who did respond and in memory of Raymond, Tommy, Thomas and Jerry... I submit this blog post as a simple and insufficient memorial.

Mr. David Ward and Tommy Smith's 1990 History Class
photo submitted by Lisa Wilson Crutchfield

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV

prom

If you're still living in Sheridan and you have a junior or senior, then you most likely sent them to their Prom last Friday night. Another one of those surreal moments, right? Well in honor of Sheridan High's formal event last week, I'm dedicating this entire week of blog posts to our Prom memories.

I'll begin by re-posting these images that I originally posted back in August. Below you'll find some of the souvenirs from our Senior Prom.

Here is the small keepsake booklet we were given (or did we have to pay for these?).

This was the only thing I wrote in my little keepsake memories book.

"Went to Courtney's [Robinson] to eat breakfast & made a useless trip to LR"

The keepsake prom glass. I KNOW we had to pay for these.

And, in case you've forgotten the song...

Stay with us this week - there's much more!

Tom Petty - New Music - More Music Videos

In keeping with the baseball theme this week, here are my team pictures from at least five of my uneventful years in the Sheridan summer baseball program. Now, I'm not posting these just so you can see me. And, I'm certainly not posting these because I was a great ball player. But I am posting these because you'll find quite a few other classmates among the team members.

Also, notice the early stage of hat-wearing seen here. Basically all you see is "High Ridin' & Straight Brimmed". It's not until the early 80's that the hats evolved a bit with the single bend in the brim.

1979
Back Row: Silas Wilson, Laith Adams, Brian Williams, Stephen Hunter, Ricky Whitaker, Aaron Wilson, Justin Allen, Larry Allen
Front Row: Jay Yarborough, Landon Culpepper, John Lee Cole, Bobby Taylor, Trent Allen, Yancee Shepherd, Randall Reed

On the back of the cardboard frame that came with all team photos, was a place for autographs. Of course I wanted my first year's baseball experiene to be complete, so I had my teammates sign on the line. I'm sure I was thinking ahead: if any of these little guys ever went pro, I could sell this on Ebay for some quick cash. Right on.

1980
Back Row: James Smith, Rickey Whitaker, Aaron Wilson, Jason Jordan, Clay Hooten, Wayne Ross, Bryant Anderson, Mark Spencer
Front Row: Chris Hartwick, Waylon Whitmire, Bobby Spencer, Billy Hartwick, Shane Nugent, Batgirl Beverly Smith

1981
Back Row: Kenneth Reed, Aaron Wilson, Chris Paty, Chris Hartwick, Dale Hatley, Ricky Whitaker, Bryant Anderson
Front Row: Batgirl Amy Reed, Hollis Nutt, Wayne Hitt, Randall Reed, John Lee Cole, Yancee Shepherd, Eric Hanson, Joel Stanton

1983
Back Row: David Gartman, Roger Fowler, Chris Paty, Shawn Smith, Matthew Adkins, Jamie Gartman, James Moltz
Front Row: Brad Larue, Aaron Wilson, Brian Gartman, Andy Crouse, David Workman, Pat Moltz

My most vivid memory from playing on LR T&A is riding in the back of David Gartman's Jeep on the way to practice at the Gartman place south of town. MJ's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" was BLARING out of the speakers & I instantly became a fan.

I may have the dates of these two T&A teams incorrect. Alan Williams is in the photo below, but I can't remember the year he died. If anyone can confirm or correct these dates, please let me know.

1984
Back Row: (Unknown), Aaron Wilson, Brett Epperson, Ricky Paty, David Gartman, Alan Culpepper, Craig Autry, Brad Larue
Front Row: Chris Brown, Alan Williams, Andy Crouse, Brian Gartman, Travis Gaddis

Backmasking

image host

I usually post things pertaining to pop culture on Fridays, AND I promised that today I'd post more 9th grade photos. But due to time sensitivity, I'm rearranging some posts this week in order to pass along something I just heard about (maybe I'm the only one who's not in-the-know). The 9th grade pics will be posted Wednesday, but tomorrow night...

From the VH1 website:

They only did it once, but one time was the charm. Now, it's time to honor our favorite singular sensations of the '80s! From "Don't Worry, Be Happy" to "I Want Candy" to "Take On Me" and beyond, VH1 is paying tribute to the lone (but unforgettable) smash hits by Reagan era stars in 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s. It's everything a totally awesome countdown should be, featuring electronic beats, synthesizers galore, questionable haircuts and more... (read more)

Thanks to the folks at The Great 80's blog for this info.

watertower