Friday, April 10, 2009

Lunch

It's a little different now blogging here at VK...
Younger readers have different memories of CGHS and the surrounding community. Some will be too young to remember the old "middle building". I don't know when they tore down the middle building, but when they did, they destroyed what was a memorable routine for many readers-

Mr. L. can help me here... I know there were at least three classrooms on the East side of that building. I think there were only two on the West side because the steps and entranceway used up a lot of space... so five classrooms total?

But I'd like to discuss the basement. I'd bet if we could go back now and see that space we'd be surprised that it was smaller than presented in our memories. At lunchtime we'd file in and line the walls waiting to get to where our lunch and milk tickets were taken, then grab a tray and silverware, and through the serving line to grab our plate of food. Were there desserts? I can't remember.

While working your way around that wall, you'd look to see what was being served for lunch, and you'd watch others eat. When you got your plate you'd eat and watch the behavior of others as they filed in to take their turn. It's incredible thinking of it now, but one of our classmates, who shall remain unnamed for obvious reasons, would inevitably lean against the wall, pick his nose, and eat the treasure he found there...
Mighty appealing for those of us trying to consume fare that wasn't "five star" rated to begin with!

But for the most part DJ, Jackie B., and others served decent food to a lot of kids in a very short time. And on top of that, it was a terrific social event complete with the adventurous snacking habits some fellow students displayed while waiting in line!

Now, it's Friday. Quit gagging and leave us a comment please.

24 comments:

Rita said...

I'm pretty sure the middle building was still in use when I graduated in 77. As did the tree in the middle of the parking lot at the corner Morgantown and Stones Crossing.

I remember the discussion that as our class graduated, they would be cutting down that great tree and expanding the school. I mean after all, EVERY school has to have a swimming pool. I think that must have been the plan to get rid of the middle building. I know I had a few high school classes in the building, so it had to have been torn down in the late 70's.

To me, whenever I drove past after that, it didn't seem like my school anymore. Progress is sometimes sad.

Anonymous said...

I remember that the one of the rooms was the art room and another in our senior year was the reading room. The reading room had machines that you sat at and a light scanned down the page to time your reading speed. The reason I remember that room so well was that is where I was when the announcement came over the speaker that Kennedy has been assinated.

Also Mr. Gray had a room in the middle building. I forget what it was that he taught. But I know that I was scared to death of that man. I came out of the art room one time just as he was paddling a boy with his famous paddle. I couldn't believe how hard he hit him.

I also worked in the cafeteria. You got your lunch free and $1.00 per day. Back then $5.00 a week was really something.

But I honestly can't remember if we served desserts or not. Lunches back then sure weren't what kids are use to today. There was one menu for the day and that is what you got. No choices.

Aother room was the Journalism room. I worked on the school newspaper (I wrote a fashion column). Sure wish I had some copies of some of our old school papers. Does anyone remember what the name of the school paper was?

Also, does anyone have any copies saved of the paper? If so I would love to get a copy.

Echo

Anonymous said...

I think we had our 5th grade classes in that building. We would spend our time running and jumping to touch the door frame in the hall way. Then when we got in high school we had classes in it. I remember Mr Banks would try to teach us hisory. He tried to tells us the SOUTH WON the war.( maybe they should have) If I try I can remeber the light bread rolls we had at lunch.

Anonymous said...

Desserts, oh yeah, cherry cobbler and apple crisp. Square piece of cake once in awhile. The best yeast rolls in the world. If you were the class eating that day, you got extra rolls.
Then the Wednesday, chili, grilled cheese sandwich with carrot sticks. Thursday beef stew with corn bread. Sometimes bean soup.
Friday, fish. Not bad for 40 cents.
I spent many days, dishing food or scraping plates. Good money for back then.
Then there was the time, someone, drank his chocolate milk, only to find a mouse in the bottle. Yuck.
Oh, those were the days my friends.
I remember playing marbles, which were alway confiscated because of the big gambling problems. And rainy days standing in the building up on the stairs looking out. It used to be so dark then. Then sitting there and playing jacks instead. And on snowy days, walking in with icy shoes, only to slip and fall on our rears a good portion of the time. And the bright waxed floors and the singing heaters. The long poles to open the windows in warm weather. The blackboard relay games in Mr. Hillenberg's room.
I was honored to have been able to spend 4 years in the building and wouldn't take one day back.
The smells coming up the stairs when lunch was being cooked. Mrs. Lindley giving someone the what fors.
The holiday lunches that really were pretty good, turkey and the fixings.

Anonymous said...

Ah the memories, Mrs. Lindly's bark was much worse than her bite, but I never knew fir sure if she would or would not bite, that's what kept us in line while working in the dish room. DJ remember Glenda P getting a guick shower with the dish sprayer??? Ah thoes were the days.
Desserts, were the best, trading food with your classsmats and all the straw papers on the celing, a quick dip in the cherry cobbler and shoot it to the celing.

Anonymous said...

Echo,

Several issues of "The Trojaneer" from '65 & '66 are archived in the files section of the CG 66 pages on Yahoo Groups. There is a link to them in the right side column of this page.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/centergrove1966/

You'll have to join the group to get access to the files but anyone with a connection to CG is welcome.

Rita said...

Echo: I took that Journalism class when I was a Freshman. I remember one of the first things they taught was to write straight news articles, When, Where, Why, Who and How. They were not to include opinion. Boy, that lesson must not have been taught to the journalists today.

In 1975, CG's football team was amazing and I remember writing a piece that mimiced Paul Revere's Ride. It was excellent, if I do say so myself. The Student Editior decided NOT to put my name as a byline.

Years ago I had a copy of it, but I'm sure it's long gone now. Too bad.

Cissy Apple said...

I remember the time they served us split pea soup and I'm pretty sure that's when the cafeteria was in the middle building--later we went to the elementary school's cafeteria. Anyway, nobody in their right mind would eat split pea soup. Every bowl of the nasty green stuff got handed right back when we turned our eating stuff back in. Green stuff sloshing everywhere.

The desserts were served in the small beige melamine bowls. The apple crisp was my fav. I also loved their corn bread. For some reason, the browned top always peeled off with just a little effort. Peel off the crust and eat it, then gobble down the rest.

The tenderloins and hot dogs were pretty nasty, but I'd always eat half just to stave off hunger.

I wrote a column for the Trojaneer..."Senior Society". I was a co-writer with Denise Doty. I've still got a few issues in my cedar chest. I'll have to dig 'em out.

We had choir in the old middle building. The old building wasn't great for singing, but it's all we had. Later on, we had choir and Debtones in an old block building not attached to the school. The sound was better there.

In seventh? grade I had a history teacher. Was his name Mr. Hunter? He was a boring, stodgy old teacher, but nice. He'd always stop at someone's desk and stick three of his fingers in the inkwell hole. He remarked once that he was going to flunk me because I never participated in class--never mind the fact that my test/quiz/and homework scores added up to an A. So I started holding my hand each time he asked a question. That did get me over my shyness to participate in class.

In eighth grade, we had a new teacher in the middle school named Mr. Llewellen. He never should've been a teacher. Our class set out to get rid of him, and he was gone in a year. One class locked him in the closet. One day I stood behind him the entire class and he never knew I was there. I guess he'd finally had enough of being made a fool. I don't remember him ever teaching us anything. He was too busy trying to keep every one of his classes in line. Funny how kids have an instinct about a teacher's weakness. We wouldn't have dreamed of doing anything to Mrs. Lysko or Mr. Bridges. We respected them from the first day--something about the way they just carried themselves demanded respect. But poor Mr. Llewellen was doomed from the first day.

Anonymous said...

From Mr. L:
1958-59(Your sixth grade at CG)
MIDDLE BUILDING:
West:N to S)
Mr. Engleman(6th Grade)
Rest Room
Entrance
Rest Room
Mr. Hillenberg(6th Grade)
East(N to S)
Mr. Stewart(5th Grade)
Mr. Legan(6th Grade)
Mrs. Hicks(6th Grade)
1959-63:MIDDLE BUILDING used as a middle school. I taught junior high math to 7th and 8th graders and social studies. In 63-64 the middle school moved to the new annex on east north end of the high school in which I taught junior high math.
Cafeteria: Our family still makes the CG chili, nothing better.
Those were the good "ole days".
I would also like to thank Bo for the nice postcard I recently received from AZ. Mr. L

Rita said...

Oooooh, Mr. Engleman. There were too many not so good stories about him.

And I think I just remembered the name of my Journalism teacher, I think she graduated from Center Grove and was really young when I had the class, so some of you may recognize the name.

I'm pretty sure it was Mary Ann Kegley. Don't know how that name popped into my mind. I really liked her. Anyone remember her? She might have graduated with some of you. I don't know if Kegley was a married name or a maiden name though.

Greybeard said...

Thanks Mr. L.
I'd be interested in that chili recipe if you'd like to share it here, please.

I also was on the staff of "The Trojaneer", and Mrs Myers(?) was the Journalism teacher at the time, I think.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Greybeard,
The Chili recipe is in my other home in WV, but plan to get it when there. I will get it to youi either by e-mail or by regular mail, then you can put it on Vandy's Kids, if you like. Mr. L

Cissy Apple said...

Mary Ann Kegley was a couple years older than me. She had an award-winning smile and a personality to match. Very sweet person.

Our journalism teacher was a transplant. Her first name was Paula.

Rita said...

I'm glad someone knew her. I really liked her. That was back when Jane Pauley was on WISH news and I still remember her talking about how good she was.

Wonder whatever happened to her.

Rita said...

Hey VKer's. Cissy and I will miss your next few Friday posts. We'll try to remember to toast you with some fine Italian wines and homemade pasta while you post away.

Ciao!

Greybeard said...

Don't neglect us...
I'm sure there'll be computers in hotels or other spots where you can drop a quick note.
Check on us and leave us a message so we can know you're safe and having fun, please!

Anonymous said...

GB and VK's,
I have to tell you that one of my most vivid memories of the cafeteria was check out time....when we had to take our tray and they scraped the food off into that hole....instant GAG REFLEX for me! I also have a vivid picture in my mind of garbage in large glass jars. I thought at the time they were to be served as leftovers! HAH! More likely they were taken home for the farm animals....

Since our President's dog has been named "Bo", I think I'll sign with my full name!

Love to all,
BoMarGirl

Greybeard said...

Bo, I think your namesake in the White House is cute as a bug, as are the Obama daughters... a wonderful distraction from controversial politics. I see no reason for you to change your nick.

And I understand a low-threshold gag reflex all too well-
Sara Jean gags when we walk into a stable full of horses... one of the most comforting smells there is in my mind.
The idea of that cafeteria garbage being put to good use is also comforting to me, so I guess we disagree on that point.
I see pickup loads of bread leaving the thrift stores and know exactly where it's headed, and that makes me smile.
Waste nothing!

Anonymous said...

Dear GB,
I AGREE with you! Leftovers for farm animals are the best! However, as a 2nd grader I thought the jarred leftovers would be our next lunch....don't you remember how gross it looked? UGH! and GAG!!
I held my breath through that process for 11 years - HAH!!
Bo

p.s. I do like the cute little Portugese Water Dog....love to have one myself.

Greybeard said...

Bo, about Bo:
Someone today asked about the irony of Ted Kennedy giving President(?) Bozama a water rescue dog!
(Mary Jo Kopechne was still unavailable for comment.)

Anonymous said...

The best damn chili with the cellophaned saltine cracker packages and the associated tradeable twinkies and the often circular filed famous split green pea soup that had very, very few takers... I had an art class in the middle building with Mrs. Ford. I believe that was her name. Striking white haired woman with a little too much make-up and lots and lots of red lipstick sometimes exceeding the vermillion borders.... In those days Alex Girdley, my neighbor, teamed up with me against my two brothers and the four of us had some pretty good highly competive two on two baseball and foot games in the open fields between our houses. We broke a few bones in those games(literally). The fresh cow piles and sometimes those piles with deceptively hard crusts over their tops made the games a little more interesting. The only thing better than sliding into a cow pile was watching Alex or one of my brothers sliding into a bigger pile.... I miss those days .... I miss Vandy .....

Anonymous said...

Shame on me but for many years I have called Sen. Kennedy "Splash"...now that he is so ill I feel guilty about that...but it does seem fitting and appropriate that he owns water dogs.

Bo

Samarpan David said...

Other memories of the basement cafeteria in the Middle Building. We had those pyramid shaped paper milk containers and some joker (I don't think it was me?) decided to slam his fist down and splattered everyone with milk.

I remember heated conversations about which was best Ford, GM, or Chrysler, but all agreed that the big three would always be the world leaders of the auto industry. Times have changed.

Cissy Apple said...

Those triangular cartons of milk are why I don't drink milk today. The brand name was "Golden Guernsey". Due to their shape, they could be stacked so that all the cartons fit together.

Anyway, the reason I quit drinking milk...the logo on the milk carton consisted of a circle with a cow. As I was drinking my milk one day, I looked at the logo on the carton and it suddenly struck me where that milk actually came from. It grossed me out so much that I quit drinking white milk. Chocolate milk is different however. It does NOT come from cow udders. I don't know where it comes from, but it definitely does not come from udders, and that's why I love chocolate milk. Are you buying that story?

Remember when the school started selling the 10-cent milkshakes? We loved those things.