More Seasonal Memories - The Progressive Dinner Concept

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

On December 15, 1963 I wrote in my journal about something that happened on that Sunday evening way back then. I wrote" That night at Westminster Fellowship we had a Progressive Dinner.  We started at one house with appetizers, then on to another house for the salad, then the main course, then the desert.  We finally got finished at about 9:00 P.M."

Twenty-five years later, in my book 'A Million Tomorrows...Memories of the Class of '64" I expanded on that reflection. 

The biggest activity of the day was the progressive dinner held by the church's youth group.  It was the first one of those events that I had ever attended and I thought it was a great idea.  It was one big party, held at three or four different places.  My house was not one of the houses which the group visited.  We had neither the room nor enough food for the entire crowd.  If I had been selected to feed them all, I would have had to take them over to the Rebel Inn where my grandmother worked and fed them hamburgers.  I couldn't afford that either.

The church group was made up of about fifteen or so high school students.  Most of them went to Huntsville High, but a few of us had transferred to Lee.  It was the typical clean-cut group you would expect to find in a church-related activity.  Of all the groups in which I was involved during high school, this one was the straightest.  It was even straighter than the Scout group.

We were not really into church activities as much as you would expect.  The activities were more designed to help teenagers understand themselves than to understand God.  Usually the programs were "anti" things that teenagers did.  There were programs against smoking and drinking and stealing.  We never had an anti-drug program.  There were no drug problems to speak of.  It would be left to the groups later in the decade to have to worry about those types of problems.  Other programs that we had covered friendships, courting, and helping others.

On this night, the program was eating.  That was something all teenagers could relate to.  We ate in shifts.  The houses where I visited that night were not the same type of house as mine.  Most of them were big houses in nice neighborhoods and inhabited by real families.  There were mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters.  By that time in my life, my home family was my grandmother and myself.  It would be a few years before I lived in a family like the ones we visited on our eating frenzy.

I can't tell you when the last time was that I enjoyed a progressive dinner. It may have been the one I wrote about above. But I always though it was a great way to spend an evening. This was a younger crowd and no one drank alcohol so driving between houses was not a DUI risk. Of course anytime you hit the road as a teenager you run a risk.

In a sidebar to this story and to fill in some of the players, after writing about singing in the Christmas Parade with the Central Presbyterian Children's Choir, I got this email from Phyllis (Miller) Rodgers.

"Reading your article today tweaked my memory of choir days at Central Presbyterian Church. My mother listed some of the names on the reverse of the photo. Perhaps you, with your excellent memory, can place names to the faces. I’m (two eyes, nose, and hair barrette) on the third row back, to the left of Carole Sue Bradshaw. Thanks for the memories."

  Include with her email was a torn photograph I had never seen before, but was able to use Photoshop to restore as best as I could.  The rip went through the face of the boy facing the wrong way between me and Buddy Crabtree on the back row, so I had to do a lot of plastic surgery on him (whoever he is.)  He was still facing the wrong way in the original photograph so I didn't do that. Included was an additional image of the back of the photo with the names listed in no particular order it appears.

So, it was many of this crowd with whom I enjoyed the progressive dinner a few years after this photograph was taken. I still remember a lot of them, but as I wrote last week, a lot of them headed to Huntsville High and I lost track of them over the years.

I now ask you to share some of your own memories either about the people in this photograph (or their names) and anything you can remember about progressive dinners in your 

Still looking for some Christmas ideas. Perhaps you would like to tell us what Christmas song memory you best recall. I remember buying a 45rpm copy of Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley, and wondering why someone didn't do a record of Blue Christmas on one side and White Christmas on the other.

Again, The emails to JKBUSHART@cableone.net and mgurley@sc.rr.com were both identified as not being deliverable and will be removed from my list. Sorry.

Comments on Last Week's Issue

Pam Grooms Smith, LHS ‘65, "Tommy I appreciate every single thing you put in the LeeTraveler. Just because it's Christmas would you please reprint RSomers account of the LBS band trip to the Orange Bowl . Thanks Pam"

(Editor's Note: Pam, or anyone who can help, I do not see an article by RSomers. It would help if you can supply me with a full name for my research or maybe an approximate date it was published.. I have several stories about the trip I can reprint, but I need a little more info to find what you are looking for. 

Photographic Memories - Who Are They?

Each week I plan to share a group of photos from the 1960 "The General" yearbook without disclosing the names of the individuals. You may stop and try to identify them here, and when you are through you may scroll to the bottom of this page to see the identities of your classmates in the photos.

Slow Song Selections

You Picked in the Past

Roses Are Red – Bobby Vinton

"Roses Are Red (My Love)" is a popular song composed by Al Byron and Paul Evans. It was recorded by Bobby Vinton, backed by Robert Mersey and his Orchestra, in New York City in February 1962, and released in April 1962, and the song was his first hit. It reached No. 1 in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and the United States, and was a major hit in many other countries as well. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on July 14, 1962, and remained there for four weeks. Billboard ranked the record No. 4 in their year end ranking "Top 100 Singles of 1962"

The Identites of the Classmates in the Pictures Above