150406 April 6, 2015
Coach William Adolphus "Bill" Godsey
December 4, 1930 - March 21, 2015
William "Bill" Adolphus Godsey, 84, of Madison, AL, passed away peacefully on the day of his 57th wedding anniversary with Jerry, his wife, by his side. Mr. Godsey was born in Haleyville, AL, where he was a multi-sport standout. He played quarterback in the Alabama-Mississippi East-West All Star game and was a pitcher for the Alabama State All Star game. After high school, he was drafted as a pitcher for the Boston Braves and Texas Rangers before serving in the Korean War as a medic. After he was discharged from the army, he attended The University of North Alabama on an athletic scholarship for football and baseball. At UNA, he was a pitcher, halfback, kicker, and chosen co-captain of the football team his senior year. He was inducted into the Winston County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1958, after marrying Jerry and graduating, he coached at Butler High School in Huntsville and was then chosen as the first head-coach at the new Lee High School. In 1963, he was hired by State Farm as an agent, later became a manager, and retired from State Farm in 1995 after 32 years of dedicated service. In addition to his wife, Mr. Godsey is survived by his children, William Jr of Madison and Lee Renfroe and husband, Ben, of Muscle Shoals; and grandchildren, Izabella and Hubbell Godsey, and Olivia, Averi, and Laura Renfroe. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Godsey, and his brother, Jim Godsey. Pallbearers are Hubbell Godsey, Mike Jones, Ben Renfroe, Robby Rowan, Louis Vaughn, and Don Webb. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Thomas M. Griggs, Truman Mabee, Larry Osborne, and Bobby West. Mr. Godsey was a loyal and active supporter of his college, The University of North Alabama. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bill Godsey Memorial Scholarship, phone, 256-765-4757 or mail to UNA, Box 5113, Florence, AL 35632, or Valley United Methodist Church.
The Day I Turned 16
By Glenn James
LHS ‘65
I turned 16 on Saturday, November 3, 1962. I planned to do nothing special for my birthday. At the time I was living at Barrywood Road, Huntsville, AL, along with my parents, two brothers and one sister. I could describe my parents as typical middle income. I considered myself cool, but shy.
My best friends were Jimmy Davis, Terry Hughes and Nancy Oliphant and my favorite fun activity was listening to records, dancing, and bicycle riding. I loved to watch Shock Theater on our 21-inch Dumont black and white television, and my favorite type of music to listen to was Rock and Roll. My favorite type of movies was Westerns.
I was looking forward to turning 16 because I could get my driver’s license. Up until that day, my best vacation ever had been to Alexandria, LA. Our family car was a 1959 Cadillac Sedan De Ville, but my primary mode of transportation was my Western Flyer bicycle.
My favorite food was hamburgers, and if I could eat anywhere I wanted to eat I would go to Hardee’s. My favorite beverage was Coke.
My favorite subject in school was Mechanical Drafting, and I thought I wanted to be an architect when I graduated from high school. A memorable décor item in my room was my model cars.
I had a crush on Lynn Hughes. If I wanted to look good I would wear my Madres shirts and jeans, and I would put on English Leather to smell good. My first kiss was on a church hayride.
My favorite group/organization to which I belonged was Explorer Scouts.
To get your own set of questions to tell you own story click here.
Memphis, TN - I had a few replies to my 16th Birthday questionnaire, but would still like to have a few more to stockpile for future issues. This week I am printing the first one I received back. When I was looking for a song to go with this week's turning 16 story by Glenn, I came upon the video clip above by Chuck Berry. While I was watching it I made a mental comparison between the showmanship of our generation's artists and today's musical celebrities. The first thing that jumped out at me was the lack of outside media influences. There were no fancy stage props, no fireworks, no glitter or special lighting. Back in those days, the artist themselves were required to find their own ways to entertain the audience when they performed. I had almost forgotten about Chuck Berry's "Duck Walk" while playing his guitar. Though we now know the songs were lip-synced, back then we didn't even think about it. It should have given us a clue when we saw their electric guitars were not plugged in and they had no microphone to sing into, but those were simpler times. I remember when I went to the Beatles concert in 1966, it was just the four of them on the stage with their normal amplifiers and no special props. We went to hear the music and see the personalities, not all the extra curricular activities going on around them.
On a more serious note, it is sad to see the passing of Coach Godsey. Even though I was not an athlete, I had my moments with him. I specifically remember one day I was walking down the hall with a few of my friends and I kicked the heal of a boy in front of me, making him trip himself. I did not know Coach Godsey was behind me and when I did it a second time, he scarfed me up by the back of my neck and escorted me into his room where he proceeded to take out his paddle and give me a strong whack. (Shades of this moment came back to me during my fraternity initiation in college.) I know I was not the first nor the last to feel the sting of that paddle.
I remember another story about Coach Godsey's paddle. Between his classroom and Mrs. Parks' classroom was a small little room we all called the fish bowl. The only access to the room was from either Coach Godsey's room or Mrs. Parks, with no door from the fish bowl to the hall. It was called the fish bowl because it had glass windows on both adjoining walls so one could see through it from Coach Godsey's room to Mrs. Parks' typing room.
One day someone did something in Mrs. Parks' room and Coach Godsey saw them do it. I don't remember what it was, but Coach left his room and came through the fish bowl and gave the offender a couple of licks with his paddle. Mrs. Parks got offended that her domain was invaded, so the next day she got newspapers and covered all the glass wall on her side of the room and virtually cut off the ability of Coach Godsey seeing what was going on in her room. Since we printed Lee's Traveller in the fish bowl room, she said it was study material for how to lay out a paper, but everyone knew the real reason the newspapers were there.
Lee Lunch Bunch
Meets April 30th
The next Lee Lunch Bunch Get-Together is scheduled for April 30th, 11:00 a.m. at Logan's on Balmoral Drive. We meet in the "fireplace" room - the far left hand corner of the restaurant. If we have 35 people attend we can usually have the room to ourselves. So if you think you will be able to join us, please let me know so they can set the room up accordingly. Now go mark those calendars right now!
Hope to see you there,
Judy Fedrowisch Kincaid
