Looking Back (Again) at My Memories

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

I know when you first see a school photo at the top of the page it usually means one of our classmates has passed away. This week that is not the case. This photo is my 9th-grade school picture from Lee Junior High. 

Early last week I was looking at some old external USB hard drives I used on earlier computers and I came upon a MS Word document I wrote many years ago for an earlier issue of Lee's Traveller. I know it was a long time ago because it was written in response to a story that Terry Preston had shared with me. It seems so long that it appeared to be a new story to me, so I feel many of you might not remember it either. So, here is the reprint of the story.

The Year Was 1960

I will not say that 1960 was the best year of my life, but it was certainly a very good year and one that stands out fondly in my memories.  I finished the 8th grade at Huntsville Junior High in 1960.  At the time I had no idea that by the year’s end, my world would change in a manner that would shape me into the person I am today.  So, what all was going on in 1960 you ask?

The top five songs we were listening to were: 1. You Talk Too Much - Joe Jones; 2. Cathy's Clown - The Everly Brothers; 3. The Twist - Chubby Checker; 4. Save The Last Dance For Me - The Drifters; and 5. Running Bear - Johnny Preston.  Also in the top 10 were  Walk, Don't Run by The Ventures and Stay by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs. 

We went to the Lyric or Grand Theater to see Psycho, The Alamo, G.I. Blues, Exodus, Spartacus, The Magnificent Seven, and a favorite of our generation, Where the Boys Are.  That movie would foster the idea that we all needed to go to Florida on spring break, even though we were too young to drive at the time. I think we were all disappointed when "The Apartment" won the Oscar for Best Picture. On TV we watched Gunsmoke; Wagon Train; Have Gun, Will Travel; The Andy Griffith Show; The Real McCoys; Rawhide; Candid Camera; The Untouchables; 77 Sunset Strip; Perry Mason; Bonanza; and The Flintstones. 

It was in 1960 that we saw headlines in the newspaper with headlines including "Capt. Gary Powers U-2 Spy Plane Shot Down Over Russia"; "Khrushchev at U.N. Pounds Shoe In Anger",  "John F. Kennedy Wins Democratic Nomination", "Nixon Wins GOP but Kennedy Wins Presidency", and "Two White Public Schools in New Orleans Are The First To Integrate."

New words that first became popular were anchorman, sit-in, cosmonaut, bluegrass, laser, and compact car. We also saw the first appearances of products such as Astroturf, Librium (a benzodiazepine (ben-zoe-dye-AZE-eh-peen) that is used to treat anxiety disorders), felt-tip pens, and Rayon. Pittsburgh beat the NY Yankees in the World Series.  The Superbowl had not been dreamed up yet. And during Scouting's Golden Jubilee Year, thousands of boys earned the 50th Anniversary Achievement Award. Some 56,378 Scouts and leaders attended the Fifth National Jamboree at Colorado Springs, Colo., July 22-28.

In May, at the end of the 1959-60 school year, I still lived on East Clinton, and as summer approached I found out my family was moving away from East Clinton Street, and all my friends, including Buddy Crabtree, Mickey Drake, Bob Davis, and Mike Thompson.  We were moving to West Huntsville, and I would have to change schools.  It seemed I would be attending West Huntsville Junior High in the 9th grade.

I did not have time to worry about that too much, because I had been looking forward to the summer for so long because I knew that the summer of 1960 would lead me on one of the most fantastic adventures that a boy could ever experience.  It was in July of 1960 that I attended the 5th National Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America.  This was not just a Camporee, but a Jamboree where Scouts from all over the nation merged into one big campground for an event that only took place every ten years.  It was a two-week bus trip (three busloads of Scouts from North Alabama) and an eye-opening experience for a poor boy from Huntsville like me. I did not have enough money for the trip, but the Kiwanis Club selected me to sponsor and paid my basic expenses.  My family had to come up with the $25 spending money I would need for the trip. We headed out early one morning from the Trailways Bus Station headed west.  We stopped in Memphis for lunch and I still remember that first visit to the city where I now live.  We were given about an hour for lunch while the buses were gassed up, and we wandered about the town.  I remember a magic shop that no longer exists today, but on that hot summer day, was like nothing I had ever seen before.  I also remember that the smell of diesel fuel was the smell that would always remind me of downtown Memphis.

We ended up at a large ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado, where we camped for a week and did all those Scout things.  We traded patches, had competitions, and had many campfires.  I wrote earlier that I got to see the Sons of the Pioneers there.  I also got to stand by the road and see and wave to none other than “I Like Ike”, President Dwight David Eisenhower.  It was quite a privilege to see him.  On the final night’s campfire, I experience my first candle lighting ceremony where the first candle was lit at the front of the assembly and we each lit our candle from someone and then turned and lit the others behind us.  When done, 50,000 flickering flames made up one of the most inspirational moments of my young life. I remember writing a letter on that trip to Barbara Seeley, who I had met at Carter's Skateland.

I returned to Huntsville and to my new home but dreading the school year that would eventually make me attend Butler, the high school that I hated the most in Huntsville, instead of Huntsville High where all my friends would head after they finished junior high.  Shortly before the start of the school year, I got my reprieve when my family made the second move of the summer, landing us on McCullough Avenue, next door to Ray Walker.  This move paved the way for me to start riding the school bus to Lee Junior High. I was unaware on that first day I would eventually join my 9th-grade classmates as the first graduating class of Lee High School four years later.

On the first day of class, I found I had Mrs. Parks for my English class, and she was given the task of starting a school newspaper. I had worked on the paper at Huntsville Junior High, and so I quickly volunteered for service on the new paper.  Woody Beck came up with the name “Lee's Traveller” named after Lee’s horse. I was given the title of Managing Editor, and given the opportunity to learn how to use the Guestetner mimeograph machine.  Early in my days at Lee Junior High, I was asked to give a speech to the Kiwanis Club about my Jamboree experience, which I did without a thought.  I never realized that I should be stage shy, and that speech was the foundation for my speaking abilities and an event that I attribute to leading me to earn a minor in Speech in college.  Mr. Fain was in the audience, and he made an announcement about it during the morning announcements over the P.A. system. My work on the school newspaper was instrumental in my road to earning a degree in News-Editorial Journalism at Memphis State University.

Early friends at Lee were Barbara Seeley, Pam Grooms, Dianne Hughey, Carolyn McCutcheon, Ginger Cagle, Kenneth Burkette, Sherry Adcox, Vance “Rusty” George, Mack Yates, Connie Mullins, and Gary Helms.  I remember Jerry Brewer in a class along with Jerry Schultz and Bob Walker (who was still going by Robert then).  I remember a girl named Gloria Matthews in Mr. Blackburn's class, who was a beautiful girl and was very well endowed for a ninth grader and who usually wore low-cut or open-neck tops to bring home the point. I also remember that during that first year at Lee, Mrs. Parks had us do a play in English Literature. I was cast in the lead role opposite Linda Pell, who in my opinion was one of the most beautiful girls in Huntsville at the time.  The highlight of my acting career was that the script called for me to kiss Linda. Now I had kissed girls before at the boy-girl kissing parties we had back then, but I had never kissed a girl in public in front of an audience - especially not one as pretty and as popular as Linda. Still, the show must go on. Was this the start of my acting career?

Yeah, 1960 was a pretty good year.

"𝄟 Will-Yam, Will-Yam Bon-ney

Da-Da-Da-Da, Da-Da 𝄟"

Jim McBride

LHS '65

How did I miss the Davy Crockett story in last week's Traveller? This a rhetorical question (for my former LHS English teachers who think I always slept in class and fellow Lee Generals who hold a degree in that field) which I will now answer by saying, "I don't know."  However, as a lifetime late bloomer, usually late for the party, I would like to join the conversation about the legendary Davy Crockett. 

In my eight-year-old mind, Davy was about the coolest guy ever. I was caught in the vortex of all things Davy Crockett, as all my buddies were. I don't recall if I had the coonskin cap but I know I had the Davy Crockett wallet. I'm sure I don't want to see what the wallet is now worth on E-Bay since it went the way of all my childhood treasures. However, I took the Crockett craze one step further. If I may, I will quote from my book entitled "Lines About Life". I wrote my first song about William Bonney (Billy the Kid). What has that to do with Davy Crockett? If you are not already bored, I shall now begin my story.

"Not being able to come up with a melody of my own, in truth, I only "invented" the lyrics to the song. Fortuitously, a song about Davy Crockett had been a big hit a couple of years earlier and I liked it a lot. It had a very catchy melody so I "borrowed" it from George Bruns who wrote it. Next, I threw out the original lyrics, written by Thomas Blackburn about Ole Davy, and wrote some new ones. In doing so I learned my first lesson about metering. Metering is the way the lyrics lay upon the melody. Billy the Kid was not in sync with the music. It sounded awkward and hurt my ears when I sang it. However, the writing muse said to me "Try using The Kid's pseudonym". Voila! "William, William Bonney" fit just like "Davy, Davy Crockett" over the melody. My "invention" was of course never recorded or on the radio, so, there was no reason for Mr. Bruns to sue a 12-year-old kid in Alabama who had no knowledge of copyrights and such. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then I flattered him real good. In any case, I was hooked from that day forward, although, it would be several years before I made the move to Nashville to be a professional songwriter".

So, thanks Davy for being you, and a tip of the coonskin hat to Mr. George Bruns and Mr. Thomas Blackburn as well. To the aforementioned English teachers, please, do not grade my grammar, or punctuation. I do, in fact, carry a poetic license, though not in my long-lost Davy Crockett wallet. I wish. God bless us, everyone. 

The Wayback Machine

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Last week's poll on whether or not to continue The Wayback Machine to remember the music of our school days was unanimously positive to continue those songs. Thanks to all who participated in the poll.

This week I asked Mr. Peabody to play me a song from 1960 to go along with my story above. Here is what I got.

"At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Sun Valley Serenade (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US Billboard pop music chart.

In 1960, rhythm and blues singer Etta James recorded an arrangement by Riley Hampton that improvised on Warren's original melody. Etta James' rendition was the title track on her debut album At Last! (1960) and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Most recently, Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also had chart successes with the song.

In 2012, Christina Aguilera was invited by Etta James' family to sing "At Last" at James' funeral. At the funeral, Aguilera stated that James was her idol and inspiration and that in honor of James she performs "At Last" at every concert.

Although there were not a lot of responses to my question about continuing the Wayback Machine Music, there was a 100% positive response from those who took the time to answer. Therefore, we will continue looking back at our music.

I hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July holiday. Looking back at my early years I cannot remember any Fourth of July holiday prior to the summer following my graduation from Lee. I was working at a Y.M.C.A. camp and we had fireworks for the campers, including shooting off a lot of confiscated firecrackers.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, and Comments

Dianne Hughey McClure, LHS ‘64, "I failed to get my response in about Davy Crockett. When I was a young girl we went to Texas to visit family. While we were there we went to the Alamo. It was hard to imagine what it must have been like for the ones fighting there. I watched Davy Crockett faithfully after that, I even had a coonskin cap. Also, I am very sorry to hear about Lucky Sandlin. My sister and I visited the Sandlin home often. He was a good man always willing to help if he could."

Tom Gilbert, LHS ‘67, "Tommy, yes please continue with the Wayback Machine. On another note, sorry to hear about Lucky. On Troop 66, to which I belonged before Lee. We moved to NW Huntsville, and could not get there. But I joined Sea Scouts. I remember my Order of the Arrow initiation up on Monte Sano. That night after we all pitched our tents and went to bed, a torrential rainstorm started and where our tent was located the rain made a small stream and ran through our tent soaking everything."

Lynn Vanpelt, LHS ‘66, "That young man (in the coonskin hat in last week's issue is my grandson.