Tag Archives: friends

An Update to the First Grade Class Picture

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Here’s a slight update to my tentative list of names of classmates in the picture I posted of the North Charleston Elementary School first grade classes from 1952. Joanne Trotter (Kelly) and Charlene Gates (Stuart) have enabled me to identify them in the photo. After examining the picture further and also a photo of Charlene’s first grade class play (with names attached), I’ve guessed all the names I can manage. If anyone can help to match names with other faces, I would be delighted to have your assistance.

More Names from 1952 and Pictures from 1960

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Thanks to Betsy Walker Chambers I have a few names to add to my attempted identification of the kids in the North Charleston Elementary School first grade classes photo which I posted recently. As before, I would urge you to view the pictures on the largest screen possible so you can enlarge the image to see the faces more clearly. The additions to the spreadsheet are highlighted in a pinkish color. Also Teka Rogers Pierce advised that I was wrong in my guess that she was in the picture since she didn’t attend NCES until later. Likewise, Al Hall, Randy Wright, and Sherry Johnson Gooding were not in first grade at NCES so we shouldn’t look for their cute younger faces.

I would love to have names to put with all of our classmates. If you can identify others or at least point out your own younger self, I would really appreciate a brief message with that info so I can update the spreadsheet later. Carole recently was delighted to access a photo from 1920 showing and naming the staff and student body of the small school in Jackson County, North Carolina, where her grandfather was principal. Our class photo with names might make some future researcher very happy.

I also found the 1960 edition of the North Charleston High School yearbook online. Since I don’t have a physical copy of any of my yearbooks except the 1963 edition, I have enjoyed looking back at these photos from our “sub-freshman” year. I’m including the class pictures in this post in case others might also like to have a look. Fortunately names are given for these photos so we don’t have to strain our memories. I hope you enjoy remembering our classmates.

Who Are These Kids?

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Recently I posted several photos from my kindergarten and first grade school years. I had hoped that some of my classmates who saw the photos would recognize themselves and others in the pictures and let the rest of us know the identities of those kids from long ago. Several people have responded with a name matched to a picture, but most remain a mystery to those of us still searching our memories.

I decided to dig a bit deeper myself to see whether I could match names and faces. You will find the picture of the first grade classes below. I would strongly urge you to view the picture on the largest screen possible, so you can enlarge the image to see the faces more clearly. I’ve also added a spreadsheet with my attempt to identify as many people in the picture as possible. I was pleasantly surprised when I felt reasonably certain about twenty six of my classmates. Those are in cells shaded pale blue (they may appear in a different color on your device). Some of those also have a question mark following the name, indicating I thought I was correct, but was not totally sure. The eighteen names in the cells with pale green shading are my best guesses after comparing the first grade photo with class photos in my 1963 North Charleston High School yearbook. I subsequently found class photos from the 1960 yearbook online, so I also used those to make a few more guesses. I’m definitely not sure about the accuracy of my guesses, but maybe other viewers will help. I hope to post those 1960 images soon for anyone interested.

As you will see, many of the spaces in the spreadsheet are blank. If you are disappointed because I have either not identified or have incorrectly identified you or someone else you would like to see, I apologize. I’ve strained my memory in trying to reach back sixty eight or so years, but I’ve definitely enjoyed the process. There are many classmates I thought I would surely be able to recognize, but so far they have eluded me. I imagine that additional time spent examining the picture will spark other memories and maybe more names will come to me. It’s amazing how many times a name popped into my head when I saw “that look” or “that smile” or “those eyes”. If you have a similar experience, please share the result with the rest of us looking at the photo.

Some viewers may already have an original of this photo, but if you don’t and you would like to have an image with higher resolution, let me know and I will try to get a scanned high resolution image to you. You might also want to share these photos with your children and grandchildren; I’m sure they would enjoy seeing what a cute little kid you were back then.

Fond Memories of Earlier Times

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My birthday was yesterday, seventy-four years to recall in memory. As the day approached, one of the things I fondly remembered was that I shared birthdays with one of my very best friends from our younger years, Chuck Funderburk. As nearly as I can recall, we first met in kindergarten, the Funderburk Kindergarten which was operated by Chuck’s parents in a building next to their home, a few blocks from Park Circle in North Charleston.

My family had moved to the area around Park Circle only a year or so before, but we all discovered it was a great place to live. Likewise the kindergarten was an ideal setting for all of the kids who attended, always warm and welcoming thanks to Chuck’s parents and the rest of the staff. At meals and snacks I believe we had milk from his grandparents’ dairy business. The upstairs room even housed a huge (at least to young eyes) model train layout, a source of great fascination to some of us. Our time in kindergarten provided our introduction to formal education and the socialization experiences that came with our group activities. For many of us kindergarten was the place where we formed our first friendships beyond the circle of our immediate families. Most of my fellow students there continued as close friends throughout our elementary school, high school, and college years until time and other places called us away.

As incredible as it seems in today’s world, at the age of five I was allowed to ride my bicycle the mile or so from my home to the kindergarten. But then, we rode our bikes everywhere, at least from our time in kindergarten through the end of elementary school. Cars frequently relegated our bicycles to the garage once we were able to get our drivers’ licenses at age thirteen in South Carolina. Until then, on foot or by bike, we covered the area of a circle about two miles in diameter, more or less centered on Park Circle. If we didn’t have something else to do, we would say, “Let’s ride over to ________ (fill in the blank) and see what they’re doing.” We usually could find someone or something to occupy us until time for supper. We visited at friends’ houses, enjoyed various sports and other activities at Park Circle or in backyards and vacant lots, explored the undeveloped woods and marshes, walked along the train tracks, examined houses under construction in new neighborhoods, and created all sorts of other adventures for ourselves. Chuck and I (and I believe some of our other friends) even became young entrepreneurs and set up stands in front of his grandparents’ home on Montague Avenue to sell used comic books and perhaps other treasures and Kool-Aid. Like some later business ventures in my life, that effort was lots of fun but not particularly rewarding financially.

Memories tend to wander around, one recollection leading to another and then heading off in a different direction and this one has been that way for me. I started with a shared birthday and have revisited a number of other events and people and places in my mind over the past few days. I’m sure the pattern will continue and I look forward to recalling my past experiences and the people with whom I’ve shared them. I may not still be with those people in those places, but they certainly continue to be a part of my life.

I knew I had some special photos from those earliest days which I wanted to share in case some of the folks who were part of that time might enjoy recalling their own memories. I’ll attach a few kindergarten and first grade photos and hope some readers will find them interesting. It’s amazing to me looking at the faces of so many of those five- and six-year-olds that I recognize them, recall some memory about them, and in many cases remember their names even after seventy years; I don’t do that well with lots of people I met last week. Take a good look at each face and see what comes into your mind. If you see yourself and are willing, please let me know where you are in each photo. If you recall names of other classmates, I’d be happy to receive those also. And if these words and photos spark other memories or remind you of early photos you have, it would be great for you to share those as well. Most of all, just enjoy looking back at some special earlier times.

 This must have been a performance of some sort (I can’t recall what) and perhaps our graduation also since we appear to be holding rolled certificates.

Aren’t we cute?

Our first grade classes at North Charleston Elementary School.

Our first grade class play. I still remember my Frosty the Snowman song and dance (such as it was).

A Christmas play with all of us in authentic Middle Eastern costumes.

A May Day celebration in the playground area behind North Charleston Elementary, possibly later than first grade. What a lovely setting!

Thanks to the Female Friends of My Youth

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I am very grateful to the girls and young women with whom I shared the first twenty-plus years of my life. You meant a lot to me during that time. You contributed much to my development. You had a tremendous impact on my beliefs, my attitudes, and on the person I have become.

Many of you were my closest and most special friends during the years we were together. I bonded with you. I respected you. We worked and played together. We helped each other. We challenged each other. We could share strengths and weaknesses, admit them in ourselves and point them out in each other, and maybe help each other to use that knowledge to build upon.

You demonstrated that you were intelligent, self-confident, caring, sensitive, articulate. We could talk about ideas, cares, concerns, hopes, dreams, sorrows, plans. As you grew into young women, those important characteristics grew as well.

The community where we lived and the schools we attended were major factors in the attitudes we developed and the nature of the relationships that followed.

An important part of the lives of many of us during those earlier years was Park Circle and the variety of programs offered by the community center located there. The playground sports programs which were a popular part of the activities at Park Circle were available for both boys and girls beginning at elementary school age. While the leagues were separated by gender, the girls’ programs were given equal emphasis and were well-supported and well-attended. The girls’ athletic abilities were respected. Boys attended and cheered for the girls’ competitions and the girls did likewise for the boys. When we moved from playground to high school sports, the girls continued their participation and received the boys’ enthusiastic support.

The schools also had a profound influence on our development and our attitudes. North Charleston Elementary School and North Charleston High School valued and encouraged educational achievement. In classes both girls and boys were among the best students. The same group was usually together in most classes, girls and boys together, learning together, challenging each other, helping each other, respecting the abilities and accomplishments of each other. We enjoyed each other. Outside classes both girls and boys were involved in leadership and support roles in school organizations and clubs. The successful functioning of all the school activities depended on the contributions of girls and boys working together.

Because of these and many other early experiences, I never had any question about the equality of the sexes. I knew that females were at least as able as males. Sometimes boys came out ahead at something and sometimes it was girls who were ahead, but usually it was a mixture. It wasn’t one’s gender that made the difference in performance; it was one’s individual abilities and how they were applied that mattered.

When the women’s movement became a prominent force in the 1960s, there was no question in my mind that the changes sought were, of course, long overdue. Too frequently our society has relegated females to second-class status and has made it more difficult for girls and women to gain the recognition, respect, and rewards they merited. I knew that girls and women deserve to have their abilities, achievements, and value acknowledged by all of society. The importance of the girls and women with whom I had lived in North Charleston had always been abundantly clear. And in the years since my youth in North Charleston my spouse, my daughter, my granddaughters, my daughter-in-law, and numerous other girls and women have reinforced the lessons I learned during those early years.

While talking with some friends recently I’ve had the opportunity to tell them about the special relationships I shared with girls and women during my early years in North Charleston. I’ve not been in contact with most of the people I knew back in North Charleston, but I really wanted to tell my female friends and acquaintances from those days how much you have meant to me. I thank all of you and am forever grateful for the influence you have had on my life. I expect you have continued your development into even stronger individuals than you were during the years I was with you in North Charleston. And I hope that you have received appropriate recognition for all your achievements and true respect for your abilities and your contributions to those around you.

Visits from Our Closest Friends and Neighbors

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Living here at the end of the road, we can’t see any other houses, except one a few hundred feet away which is only visible in winter when the trees are totally bare. That house is occupied during its owners’ occasional visits, but most of the time we’re the only people around. If a vehicle is coming down our road, either family members are coming for an expected visit, a package is being delivered, or someone is very lost. But we do have plenty of friends and neighbors who come for visits every day.

The first visitors of the morning are the juncos, chickadees, tufted titmice, and nuthatches. No doubt they are close by each night for they are here almost immediately when I replenish their supply of cracked corn first thing each day. Who can tell how many there are; it’s impossible to count them with all the coming and going.

Downy woodpeckers and the larger hairy woodpeckers are soon attracted by the activity and come to join in breakfast at the suet feeder. The red-bellied woodpeckers do not appear quite as early nor do they show up every day (perhaps they have other stops on their rounds to add more variety to their diet), but they are reliable enough that we know there are two pairs.

Usually by now there will be at least one grey squirrel, if not all eight of the nearby clan. Frequently the lovable and less skittish little red squirrels will beat them to the food. The few fox squirrels we’ve seen in the past year have made it to our driveway a time or two, but haven’t come up yet to see what’s available to eat. We look forward to getting a closer view of those rare creatures; most live nearer the coast with smaller populations here and in a couple of adjacent counties.

Bluejays swoop in usually by mid-morning, one whole family of six and sometimes their relatives. They can be a greedy and fussy crowd, trying to dominate the available food. The squirrels are pretty good at holding their places though and the smaller birds are fast enough to dart in to grab a bit and fly off to a quieter spot to eat.

The bluejays stir up enough commotion to capture the attention of our wonderful crows if these smartest of birds haven’t spotted the spread earlier while flying over or surveying the scene from one of their nearby perches in the treetops. We love to hear their varied calls announcing to the family that it’s time to dine. At least one crow always sits apart to watch for danger while the others strut around or hop over each other to get to what is perceived as a better spot to get at the food.

Each group takes its turn at the table, some staying all day, others coming and going as their appetites dictate. In the past year 2 to 24 doves have joined in the gathering, though they are much more gentle and definitely less pushy than many of the others. They tend to wait until things clear out a bit and then cautiously come to pick through the remnants for their part of the feast.

Depending on the time of year, the year-round crowd is joined on the deck by Carolina wrens, warblers of various sorts, eastern phoebes, goldfinches, purple finches, evening grosbeaks, rose-breasted grosbeaks, catbirds, thrushes, towhees, song sparrows, cowbirds, starlings, indigo buntings, grackles, and hummingbirds. We’ve even had hawks sit on the corner of the deck or in a tree a few feet away to see if a squirrel was foolish enough to venture out at the same time, but they have always flown away after a few minutes when no one showed up.

In winter the birds have always been our main feeding population. The healthy chipmunk tribe we have around in all other seasons is no doubt snuggled away in their numerous underground burrows, enjoying the sunflower seeds and corn they hauled away in preparation for the cold weather. When they were out gathering, there were usually three or four at once at the food bowls stuffing their cheeks to maximum capacity, then running off to sequester their supplies in their winter homes. They are also thoughtful enough to plant some of the seeds (especially sunflowers) in lots of spots in our garden for us to enjoy the beautiful golden blooms in the summer and fall and for the birds to have some extra sunflower seed heads as well.

Raccoon families have joined us on our deck since we first built it many years ago, usually coming after dark, though one young raccoon mama and her kids started coming as early as 1:00 pm this past year to avoid the rush and the bigger, grumpier older raccoons. They would even dine on one end of the deck while we sat fifteen feet away on the other end and enjoyed watching their antics. Over the years we’ve had as many as thirteen eating at once. Younger generations appear to come back in subsequent years, bringing along their kids to a favorite place to eat out.

Possums also come to visit with their unexpectedly charming pink ear tips, noses, and tiny little feet and toes. They enjoy most foods that they find waiting for them, but are especially fond of leftover baked sweet potatoes and baked butternut squash or pumpkin with remnants of butter and brown sugar.

This past summer at least three different adult skunks also started checking us out. Each had different coloration and markings: one black with a few white markings vertical on its sides, one white with black stripe down its back, and one black with a white stripe down each side of its back. One of these was kind enough to grace us with bringing her two babies for visits. All were some of the most beautiful animals you could imagine.

We see plenty of rabbits around, but only one ventures onto the deck from time to time to get a little snack. Less frequently seen, but ever present and often heard moving through the meadow and woods are wild turkeys; if we are very fortunate, we get to see two or three adults leading up to a dozen young ones on a foraging expedition. As might be expected, there are also lots of deer hereabouts, but they are so stealthy and so well camouflaged that we don’t catch sight of them very often. However, a few years ago during a particularly difficult winter when lots of lingering snow made it hard for the deer to find food, we saw nine searching to the east of the house and nine more on the west side of the house. We put corn out overnight and the next day at least eight came again, ate the corn, then lay down in the sun and rested for several hours about fifty to seventy-five feet from the house, a treat for them and us. And while we have made no effort to feed the black bears, on at least two occasions we had a bear enjoying the contents of a bird feeder in the front yard about fifteen feet from the house. Then there was the time a bear was on the deck while I was in the living room about ten feet away separated only by the sliding glass doors; needless to say the bear and I were both startled.

So while we may not have many people coming by the house daily or stopping in for a visit, we have lots of company. We could enjoy watching them for hours and do whenever other things don’t keep us from doing so. We absolutely love being able to share this place with our delightful friends and neighbors. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Hopefully they wouldn’t either.