More Dances

Collins Wynn

LHS '64

Here is an invitation for a dance at the Aquatic Club from February 1st, 1964.  Perhaps some of our classmates attended and have some memories to share.  Pretty sure I went but don't have recollections of the night.  I found the name of the band to be particularly interesting - wondering if it was just an eye-catching name or a subliminal message of sorts.

Editor's Note: Also above is my ticket to the Hi-Y dance at the same place. I assume the tickets were printed by The Aquatic Club since they both are identical format. I have already written about my dance and Linda Shaffer, LHS '64. being my date. Can anyone tell us which organization sponsored the dance Collins' ticket is for?

The Wayback Machine

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

I continue to ask Mr. Peabody (a.k.a. Amazon Alexa) to play me a song from 1963 this week and collect your thoughts about the song. So...Mr. Peabody, take us way back. "What is the first 1963 song you will play?"

"Ring of Fire" is a song made popular by Johnny Cash when it appeared on his 1963 album Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. Written by Cash's eventual second wife June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore, it was originally recorded as "(Love's) Ring of Fire" by June's sister Anita Carter on her 1963 album Folk Songs Old and New.

Cash's version became one of the biggest hits of his career, staying at No. 1 on the country chart for seven weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA on January 21, 2010, and has sold over 1.2 million digital downloads. It was named the fourth greatest country song of all time by Country Music Television, while Rolling Stone listed it as the 87th greatest song of all time and the 27th greatest country song of all time.

The song was originally recorded by June's sister, Anita Carter. After hearing Anita's version, Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by "Mexican horns". The Mariachi horn sound had recently been popularized on American radio with the 1962 hit song "The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert. Cash said, "I'll give you about five or six more months, and if you don't hit with it, I'm gonna record it the way I feel it." Cash noted that adding trumpets was a change to his basic sound.

When the song failed to become a major hit for Anita, Cash recorded it his own way, adding the mariachi-style horns from his dream. This sound was later used in the song "It Ain't Me Babe", which was recorded around the same time.

Editor's Comments: To me, in 1963, "Ring of Fire" was not a pop song or a country song - it was a folk song. This was my folk music era of and this song just fit the bill. I don't remember any of the bands at the dances ever playing it, but I might be wrong. I tried my best to play it on my Sears' Silvertone guitar at Boy Scout campfires and Westminister Fellowship get-togethers but never had the "Mexican Horns" to accompany me. It is still a favorite of mine and is often played on the Oldie-Goldie radio station which I listen to. 

The Heart

Rainer Klauss

LHS '64

(Editor's Comment: This is a reprint of a story Rainer had published back in 2012.)

On the morning of March 20, 2012, I slowly made my way to the kitchen, pushing and steadying myself with my walker: I had undergone the replacement of my right knee a week or two before and was still shaky on my feet and in pain.

I kissed my wife Gudrun good morning and then made my way to the breakfast table. I eased myself into the chair and then surveyed what lay before me: a bowl of oatmeal, honey, water, an assortment of pills, and an unexpected object. I picked it up, examined it, and began to cry. It was a cedar heart. On one side it reads: “G.W. + R.K.”, and on the other “Happy 30th!” It was our anniversary that day. Because of the stress and strain of rehabilitation and recovery, I had lost track of time. Gudrun told me that she almost didn’t remember the important date herself. Maybe she looked at the calendar that morning as I was still sleeping or was reminded in some other way. In any case, my resourceful and quick-thinking wife recalled the three small hearts that her best friend had recently given her, and she found a red marker and inscribed the anniversary messages on one of them. I’ve read that the appropriate gift for the 30th anniversary used to be pearls and has now become diamonds. What I had been given was far, far simpler, but truly touching and beyond price. What I also received that morning was a pass for having forgotten the important occasion.

The gift of the heart celebrated our thirty years of marriage on that day in March, but I’ve known my wife since May of 1954. We met in Manhattan. I was almost 9, and Gudrun was almost 8. My father and I had taken my Aunt Irene, who had come to visit us for a year back to New York City for her return to Germany. Gudrun and her mother were arriving in America to join Mr. Wagner, who had come over the year before to work for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal. A day or two after they had processed through Ellis Island, my father and I drove them to Huntsville.  According to my mother-in-law’s memory, we arrived at our house in Darwin Downs at 8 p.m. on May 10, 1954. (Mr. Wagner was there to welcome his family.) Early next month our relationship will have spanned 64 years. It’s a long story, with the twists and turns of fate or the guidance of angels.

On October 18, 2014, our son, Lucas, married Meredith Crain in Concord, North Carolina. They met in Brooklyn. I was honored to give the father-of-the-groom toast, and I did my best to extol them both. By way of ending the toast and extending it to all the couples in the room, I sang the final lyrics of my favorite song from the musical Cabaret  called “Married”: “If you wake one day, / Look around and say: /’Somebody wonderful / Married me.’” If I’d had my wits about me that morning in March, that bit of song would have been my anniversary present to my wife.

Thanks again for my dependable classmates who continue to contribute stories for Lee's Traveller. I always like to share the thoughts and ideas of people rather than hanging to come up with all the content by myself.

More Photos from the Key Club Sweetheart Pageant of '66-'67

Max Kull

LHS '67

Here is a slideshow of some of the photos I took at the Key Club Sweetheart Pageant from '66-'67.  The ones where Brenda Christian is being crowned were from some other pageant.

Another Memorial Day Photo

Collins Wynn

LHS '64

Like Tommy,  I wear my uniform only a very few times each year, always in honor of others who have served.  This photograph is from the Memorial Day ceremony at our Spanish Fort Veterans Cemetery in Spanish Fort, Alabama in 2022.  My father-in-law, Jack Mullins, a decorated combat veteran Marine from the South Pacific in WWII, and his son, Jack Mullins Jr, also a Marine are both interred here.  Also, those who have seen me sometime in the last 25 years are aware I have a mustache and a small beard - even if it's permissible I can't bring myself to wear my uniform with a beard so I remove it each and every time I wear it.  Besides, I can grow it back in a week or two. Rest in peace, my brothers and sisters.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, and Comments

Collins Wynn, LHS '64, Here is the notice for Dave Bess's  LHS '64, wife.  She was not a graduate of LHS but married to one.

Barbara Bess

April 5, 1946 — May 29, 2023

Barbara Hodges Bess, 77, passed away on May 29, 2023, peacefully at her home in Birmingham, AL. She was born on April 5, 1946 in Greenville, MS, to Lunceford (Red) Hodges and Margaret Hodges and was the second oldest of six girls.

Barbara graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis, TN and received a full scholarship to attend Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University. Her college education was interrupted when she married Lt. David Bess on October 28, 1967. Barbara and Dave were married for over 55 years and had two daughters, Jennifer Alison and Robyn Melissa. In 1980, Barbara started her 15-year career as a Director of Religious Education (DRE) at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church in Huffman. She then worked at Our Lady of Sorrows in Homewood as DRE for seven years. Beginning In 2003 Barbara served as Pastoral Care Assistant at Cathedral Church of the Advent in downtown Birmingham and retired in 2011. In retirement Barbara was a dedicated volunteer at Holy Rosary Food Pantry in Gate City. Barbara had a very outgoing, pleasant personality and brought enthusiasm, efficiency and joy to everything she did. She was always well-liked and respected by her work family and thrived most while helping others. She enjoyed reading, and rooting for Alabama Football "Roll Tide Roll", watching her favorite television programs, and cooking for her family. Barbara is survived by her husband, Dave, and her daughters, Alison (San Antonio, TX) and Melissa (Crozet, VA)

There will be a isitation for held on Monday, June 5, 2023, at 11:00 am at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home and Gardens in Trussville. Memorial with a prayer service to follow at 12:00 p.m. Donations can be made in Barbara's name to Holy Rosary Food Pantry, 7414 Georgia Road, Birmingham, AL,35212. A Memorial Mass will be held at a later date with the location to be announced.

Johnny Roberts, LHS ‘66 "Ah, yes… the Key Club Sweetheart Pageant. As a member of Key Club, I remember at least two things. How beautiful the girls were and how impressed we members were with ourselves on how well the events came off. Not too bad for amateurs. Does anybody know how long the pageants continued?"