Wednesday, April 12, 2006

TROJAN CHALLENGE

Ok get your year books out, shake the rust out of your heads and sharpen your pencils.
Todays challenge: how many of our 140 students of the 1965 graduating class, spent all their
years at Center Grove Elementary and Center Grove High School.

I have spent some time looking through
the year books and think my number should be close. The number might surprise you. GIVE IT A SHOT. I was puzzled
that one name in particular wasn't on the list. Maybe I missed something....

As I was working on this project, I came across some names that sounded familiar from our first grade class, Dickie Farrington,
Fred Heger, Sandy Burns, Eddie Claus, Ronnie Mason, Alfred Green, and Sirona Morton.
About half way, in the seventh grade, Ronnie & Donnie Cummings, Judy England, Mike Jones, Mary Kottkamp, Gregg McClain,
Sharon Napier, Sandy Ruoff, Donna Cunningham and Judy Willoughby. Even though these classmates were not in our '65 graduating class,
they will always be in our memories.
You too will have some classmates of your own that will jump out of the year book.
I've been rattling on......Don't forget the challenge!

26 comments:

Flygirl said...

Since I was another late arrival to CGHS (not until 6th grade), I don't have a clue as to the elementary classmates?

First grade would have been 1954...I'd guess, and I do mean guess, that our little farm school had 75 that started and graduated as True Trojans! Am I close????

the golden horse said...

Put me down for 86

Carol said...

Since I don't have a year book any more, (don't have a clue) but what the heck - gonna guess anyway, just because. My guess is 101. Wow - can you believe only 140 kids. Look at the size of todays senior class of graduates. There is no way they can have the closeness of other classmates that the class of 1965 had and has.

In my spare time (lol) I work on my genealogy book, the class of my mom and dad was 19 kids, when they graduated in 1933 from the 8th grade. It wasn't until later, the number of years to graduate went to 12 years.

Does anyone else work on their genealogy??

If you don't, I would suggest you talk to all your living family and find out all you can from them now. You may decide one day you would like to know the history of your family. I wished I had asked more questions while mine were still alive.

During my searches, its amazing how many ways the census has spelled our last name. I've found out that we have been spelling our name wrong since 1940.

BoMarGirl said...

Sharon Parker, Koffie Montgomery are also two people that didn't graduate with us. I'll guess that about 80 went 1 through 12.

Purple Tabby said...

Put me down for 98.

I have a 6th or 7th grade photo of a girl from our class who didn’t graduate with us but I don't know her name.

The photo somehow survived years of moving around by hiding in my jewelry box.

I will add her photo to the Trojan Trivia game

Greybeard said...

I didn't start getting a yearbook until fourth grade, so this will be a SWAG.....
My guess is half......70.

Sharon Parker is a distant cousin. She moved to a little town North of Nashville, Tennessee.

Dickie Farrington moved to Beech Grove.

Many of the rest, Sandy Burns, Sandy Ruoff.....ended up in Southport, didn't they?

I can remember discussing Koffie Montgomery's name. Her father liked the name of a Pacific Island he had spent time on in WWII.

Purple Tabby said...

Remember Nancy something-or-other? Pretty girl with dark hair and dark green eyes? She lived out on old HWY 37 I think. I think she was a cheerleader in the 6th grade or so. Wonder what happened to her?

Purple Tabby said...

LUCUS!
Whew! That was hard thinkin'!

Carol said...

Hey Greybead - How in the world is Sharon Parker related? She is also one of my relatives. OH MY???

Sharon's Dad, Ray, worked for my dad when they lived here in Indiana.


Have you kept up with Sharon and everything she has been through? She was married to Westley Fox for several years, they adopted a boy (who's in his 20's now). One day he informed her he was gay and left her never to be heard from again. (That was good for Sharon) She is now married to a wonderful man Donald Jenkins, they live in a newly built log cabin home off Dobins Pike in Oak Grove, Tennessee. She teaches grade school at Clyde Riggs in Portland, Tennessee (that is where we were all born many years ago, in Portland) A couple of years ago she had to go through chemo and surgery for cancer. She is doing very well now. And, she is very happy with her new husband.

Greybeard said...

Okay Carol, didn't you say you were into geneology?
Does it say "Greybeard" anywhere in that tree?

Are we cousins?
Interesting!

the golden horse said...

Flygirl,
You may have been late to arrive to our class, but certainly not too late to entertain us. I used to look forward to the 6th grade and see what huge story you had to tell about being late, forgetting money, or homework. Always it involved your sister or brother and sometimes shoes. You would go into this long excuse and it was always to cute.
Great memories, what a breath of fresh air. Thanks.

TwoDogs said...

I really don't have a clue what anybody is talking about!!!

Greybeard said...

Carol....
My Mom, who lurks in the shadows and loves to read blogs, emailed and said Sharon Parker's Grandma Parker was first cousin to my Paternal Grandmother's mother. Her name was Trammel.
Seen that name anywhere in your searching?

the golden horse said...

TD
Don't feel bad, I think there are about 4 conversations going on at once.
I think this is a olio of items today.

BoMarGirl said...

twodogs,
Don't feel bad, I thought oleo was margarine, but I guess goldenhorse said olio which is something else.
By the way do you remember Flygirl teasing the back of goldenhorse's hair during class in 8th grade? Now THAT was the TRUE beginning of the Big Hair craze!

the golden horse said...

Bomar and TD

Yeah, olio, as in a miscellaneous collection, like what we have going here. I am not that smart, I looked it up lol.
I love all the conversations going on, keeps me on my toes.
Yeah, someone was always teasing my hair, I think they were trying to tell me something, I am just not sure what. But if it kept Flygirl entertained, I don't mind the sacrifice. Like one Sunday afternoon, when SR. and YH came over and held me down to tease my hair all over. Looked good when she was done and started me on a new path of hair care.

Carol said...

Hey Greybeard -

Did you get my email I sent to you? Did you ask your mom about the Clairborne name?

Hawkeye said...

The number I came up with is 72.
The one name in particular that I couldn't find was Marty U. Maybe he was absent the day they took school pictures. He wasn't on the absent list. comments ?

Yes, I have done some work on my genealogy. Every time I find an answer I end up with two more questions.

the golden horse said...

Marty started out in the first grade in Mrs. McKenzies's class.
That is a pretty good number. I bet most schools nowadays sure can't claim that amount. Good job there Hawkeye.

Greybeard said...

So Hawk...

Tell everyone what I've won!

Hawkeye said...

Well I guess the number changed to 73. Marty U. must have miss picture day in Mrs. McKenzies's class.

flygirl had 75 and greybeard had 70. What the heck you all invited to sunny Nashville for the weekend of April 29. All of you Trojans are winners!

bomargirl, Did I talk to you on the phone the other day ?

Carol said...

Does anyone remember Connie VanSleen?

We were in the 2nd or 3rd grade together. When I first moved to Houston, Tx. (around 1979) she and I lived across from each other. One day we were walking our dogs, on the way to the mail boxes, I asked her where she was from. She laughed and said a small po dunk town in Indiana that no one has ever heard of. I told her I was from Indiana. Bargersville she said, we both laughed. When we returned from getting our mail, she pulled out an old year book. Sure enough, there was the both of us in the same class. (We have been best friends since.) She moved from Center Grove district and finished school at Whiteland.

Years later we both ended up back living in Indiana, at different times. When I moved back from California, I had left one of my cars back in Calif. Connie flew out there with me to drive the car back. We had 2 weeks of exausting fun. We stopped at all the "Points of Interest" along the way back. One of our stops was Vegas (she had never been) and ended up staying a few more days then expected. She met a black jack dealer and he was showing her the TOWN. Four months after we returned home, she ended up selling her house, quitting her job and moved to Vegas and married the black jack dealer.

She works at the MGM, she is very active in scuba diving, she has ski dived and sent a tape to be on Survivor. She's got more nerve then I.

On one of my visits to see her, she got us this 1500 SF suite to stay in. On the day I was to fly out, I went down to the tables. It was early, I had told her I would be back in a few and we would go to breakfast. Hours went by and she contacted the security since I was not answering the pages. She thought something had happened to me. It did, I was on a winning streak and didn't hear any of the pages and lost all concept of time. When I realized the time, I had missed my plane. I cashed out and ran to the room. She was furious and relieved. It took her a few days to get over that one. Then I had to call Tracy and tell him I would let him know what time to pick me up at the airport and would explain all when I returned home.

Thank God for friends forgiving friends. She and I have stood up with each other on our last marriages. Tracy & I got married in Vegas & she planned our wedding.
When we got to the Little White Chappel Tracy just wanted to go through the drive thru to get married. Connie wouldn't let him, she had planned for this and he had to do the full formal procedure.

Guess I've gone on long enough -

Happy Easter to ALL.

Carol said...

Her name wasn't VanSleen in school(that was her married name) Her name in school was LaFerry or something like that. Don't know how to spell it.

BoMarGirl said...

Yes, Hawkeye. We had a nice talk on the phone. I remember another girl that left our class. I think in 8th gr. Her name was Nancy something. She had blond hair and blue eyes. All of us girls were upset when she moved. I wish I could remember her last name. I can see her face....can any of you remember?

Hawkeye said...

We had a girl in our freshman class name Nancy Bennett. She was gone our sophomore year. Might be the one you are thinking about.

BoMarGirl said...

Carol,
If you are in touch with Sharon Parker, please tell her I think of her. We were friends in 6th gr. and she took me to Effie's. I thought it was a great place. I think I bought a little doll there. We didn't have any "cool" places like Effie's on Fry Rd did we? I was so disappointed when Sharon moved away.