'57 YELLOWJACKETS: POST #51

One of the great blessings of my life in being raised at Herman Junction was getting to go school at Bay, Arkansas. At one time there was a school at Herman Junction housed in one building across the railroad tracks from our house. When we moved there the school had already closed and we rode the bus as little folk to the school in the big city of Bay. To me it was a HUGE school and I may as well have been in New York City even though at that time I didn't know that there was a New York City.

Miss Una Pounds was my first teacher and it was called the 'Primer' class. I guess it was similar to a kindergarten class today. Miss Una taught that class from the beginning of time I guess. I know that she taught Noah's grandchildren after they got off the Ark. She was known and loved by everybody in the country. I moved from that class to the Second grade after the first year, skipping the First grade. I don't know why that was but it was OK to me. That is why I graduated from High School at barely Seventeen years old and several of my classmates did too.

Most of my early classmates and I went all the way through High School together. Our society was not as mobile as it is today and moving around was only from one to another share-cropping place but we stayed in the same school. Not too many moved away and not too many moved in it seemed to me. It was such a blessing to go to school with children and young people who would be dear friends to this very day.

Every year now there is a reunion at Bay of the '57 Yellow Jackets. There are only about three or four of our classmates that we cannot find and about Seven who have passed away. There were 46 graduates in 1957 and we usually have about 32-36 at our reunion and we really enjoy it. You know, when you get our age you need to have your reunions often because you don't know when you might be called for a funeral instead of a reunion!

Our class was made up of some really good people. Oh, we had our differences but that was OK. Gladys Jean Hines asked me in October 2008 if I was still spreading that church of Christ stuff around. She wasn't being mean, just showing her hard-shelled Baptist feelings. We talked about church quite often and argued about dancing, etc. but we loved each other in spite of our differences. Shirley and Peggy Ashlock were neighbors and both of them in my class. I told the church where Shirley attends that when we were youngsters we fought nearly every day and she started every one of them! We don't fight any more though. One classmate told me recently that the two of us had a fight once because I was trying to keep him from fighting with Jimmy Isbell. I don't remember that but he shouldn't have been picking on Jimmy anyway. I remember one time we were at a basketball game at Marked Tree and we were outside the gym during the girls game. Some guys wanted to fight us and one of the Marked Tree guys said, "I have a brother in High School." Dalton Weaver said, "I have a brother in the PEN!" That was the end of the fight and I sure was glad. I don't remember when Walton got out of the pen but he has been preaching now for about 50 years. (Now, he wasn't really in the pen...Dalton was just joshing.) I could tell a thousand stories but some of them would accuse me of not telling the truth on them so I will just hush before I get in more trouble than I am already in.

Yes, I am really proud to be a part of the '57 Yellow Jackets and look forward to seeing them time and again. In fact, I hope that I am the last one to leave this earth because I would not want to think what some of them might say if I go before them. May God bless you dear friends and may we have many more good times together.