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1928 - Alderson High School - 1968 |
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Remembering Ike and Bess |
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Johnny McCurdy's article about the
Mitchell's brought back fond memories. I liked all my teachers in the
Class of 49, but Mary Bess was my favorite. When a professor came around
to recruit me, he said my principal gave a glowing recommendation and
since I never took any classes from Ike, of course he was repeating Mary
Bess. I always got good grades from her and she never punished me even
when I deserved it. There was one time in particular when I deserved
rebuke, for stupidity if nothing else. We had to give a certain number of
book reports. I loved to read but sometimes ran out of time. Occasionally
I would make up a novel and "report" on it. But on the occasion that I'm
remembering now, I took a short story and expanded it as a novel. Stupid
me, I picked one by Edgar Allan Poe. I should have known Mary Bess would
not be taken in. She made me do it over but didn't punish me. (If it had
been Mr. McVeigh, he would have flat out given me an F along with a polite
but caustic tongue lashing. Lucky for me, I had chemistry not English to
Mr. McVeigh)! Mary Bess even seemed amused by my attempted deception. I
really loved that woman. She and Ike attended all our reunions. They both
aged gracefully. I thought Mary Bess in her maturity looked like Kathryn
Hepburn. Ike wasn't a bad looking guy either, though I thought he looked a
little like the "man in the moon." Of the 1949 Alderson High School
faculty, the Mitchell's ranked near the top. and in contrast to later
years at different schools, despite their niceness, there was no lack of
discipline at AHS. |
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