High School Years*

Prologue, 7-12.

The class comprised of 150 students. About one quarter of the students were from the farms. The majority of families were middle-class laborers, factory workers and shopkeeper’s children, some from very poor families; a few black and Hispanic families. It was great diversity of religion, Catholic, all varieties of Protestants, a few Jewish families and a few Holy Rollers. Everybody got along, regardless of background. So many success stories. Great teachers. Great coaches. Great summer jobs. For so many, the sky was the limit. (Greenville High School, 2021: second rate teachers, few, if any, students admitted to top colleges. Drugs an issue. Unsafe neighborhoods.)


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High School Campus

A). Seventh Grade. The seventh grade was getting out of the North End, riding my bicycle to school and maintaining a C+ average. The important point was that a teacher, Mr. Donald Mehan saw the talent in our class. He taught a number of courses all the way through our senior year. The year was rather uneventful. I guess the high point was meeting such wonderful new friends, a talented group academically and athletically. The bonding experience. It was also a new world, downtown became the new playground.

 

B) Eighth Grade. The eighth grade was most interesting because we spent the majority of the year in Naples, Florida. Dad had bladder cancer and sold his company, Warrens Stores. Eighth grade comprised of 20 students. Naples was a little fishing town with a fleet of shrimp boats. It was an education in that my friends were Mitchell Cannon and Buzzard Row. Mitchell's Dad had a shrimp boat and Buzzard Row lived in the Everglades. The varsity football team was six men. The teachers and education was very second rate. The high point was that classmates had girlfriends and could get a driver's license at 14 and then drive to the beach and make out. While academically far behind Greenville, culturally years ahead. Dad and Mother spent their winter's in Naples for the rest of their lives. (If Dad had only bought an acre or two of swamp!).

C) Ninth Grade. Got my average up to a B. But flunked typing. Was on the Student Council. High point was summer after freshman year, I went to Culver Military summer school. It was a great summer. I was in the Navy in West Barracks. I learned to sail and play tennis.

D). Tenth Grade. In the 10th grade, I played on the reserve football team. I was captain of the tennis team. (High point was when I made the second round of the district tennis finals. I then lost 6/0, 6/1, to Barry McKay, who later was for a brief time, the number one tennis player in the world. Had better than a B average. The high point of the 10th year, however, was a great trip to Europe in the Big Red Lincoln.

Photogallery

Index