Tour of “Old” Central High School

When the reunion organizers proposed a tour of the “new” Central High School, there was a clamor for a tour of the “old” Central High School, because that’s where we built our memories. The Class of 66 scheduled a breakfast in the cafeteria at 9 Saturday morning. They and the other classes got to prowl the school later.

Table-dancing skills prove useful

Vicky Seabaugh asked me to shoot a photo of the Class of 66 after breakfast.

Some of the students are partially hidden because they didn’t heed my admonition, “If you can’t see ME, my camera can’t see YOU.” Some of the folks with apparent prior table dancing experience used their skills to become more visible. (No hips were broken in the making of this photograph.)

That’s my locker

Bill Stone said he was lucky enough to share a locker with a small-time local hoodlum. “Nobody messed with MY locker,” he said. Our old tan lockers have been replaced by spiffy orange ones.

Auditorium seats have been recovered

I don’t know if these folks are looking for their initials or what. The auditorium looked as serviceable as ever.

Terry Hopkins shows his prowess

I kept telling Terry Hopkins that I needed him to do one more rep to make sure I got a good picture, but he finally wised up.

We got to walk across the gym floor

Walking across the gym floor was taboo when we were in school. You just didn’t do it. Not more than once, at least.

Standards must have been relaxed, because Terry Kitchen led us right on to it. (Go here to here Terry’s account of the Ghosts of the Trophy Case.) He’s the fellow in the orange and white shoes at left.

The ADA brings elevators to CHS

Janet Zickfield had to depend on other students to carry her up and down the many stairs at Central High School when we were there. Today’s students can use an elevator.

Photo Gallery of CHS tour

Here’s a photo gallery of our tour. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left of right side of the photo to move through the gallery. We’re not done yet. More photos are coming.

Central High’s 60’s Reunion, Day 1

The Central High School 60’s Decade Reunion is over. These pictures are from Friday’s events. I’ll have photos from Saturday’s tour of the high school on Monday. I may post more pictures from other Saturday activities on Tuesday. Then we’re done for at least another five years.

It was better than expected

Friday night was spent wandering around trying to read name tags to see if you recognized anyone. Frequent contributors Bill East (blue shirt) and Terry Hopkins (bleep-eating grin) are here.

I have to admit that I wasn’t sure I was looking forward to the reunion. I haven’t kept in touch with my old classmates, and I hadn’t enjoyed the two reunions I had attended.

People at the 20th were still trying to impress each other. (OK, I was guilty of that, too.) The 2005 reunion had music that was played so loudly that it was almost impossible to talk, and everyone was packed so tightly together that it was hard to mingle.

What you need for a great reunion

  • The organizers this year told the DJ to keep the volume at a reasonable level.
  • The tables were far enough apart that you could maneuver around them.
  • There were interesting displays around the outside of the room.
  • The event wasn’t bogged down with a program and lots of announcements.

Because of the setup of the room, it was possible to have more, longer conversations with classmates than ever before. I had the feeling that we’re all hitting the age where we’re interesting in connecting with each other and our pasts more than in previous years.

Here’s what I look like

My wife took this and insisted that I put in at least one shot of me if I was going to show how gray everyone else had turned. That’s Sherry Huff Swanson in the middle and Joe Snell on the right.

Sherry just about induced a heart attack when she pulled me over to the side and said we should go outside to her convertible where she’d take her top down. Holy Cow! I missed the 10th reunion where skinny dipping was alleged, but the 2010 reunion sounded like it might be memorable.

Turned out my hearing is slipping. We went out to her convertible, but it was the CAR that had the top down. And, all she had in mind was being photographed IN the car. Alone.

My favorite reunion photo

I ran this as a placeholder yesterday, but it’s my favorite reunion photo so far. It captures the spirit of our decade. We may have some miles on the odometer, but we can still rev it up when we need to.

Photo Gallery

Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the right or left side of the photo to move through the gallery.

 

Central High School 60s Reunion Rel. 1

If the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, I must be about half-way to Heck. I had hoped to get Friday’s 60s’ Decade class reunion photos up on Saturday, then follow up with Saturday’s activities on Sunday.

As it turned out, I stayed later at the high school tour than I thought I would. (When Linda Stone and Tricia Tipton invite you for a literal walk down memory lane – OK, Themis Street – I’d have been a fool to turn them down. Then, I had a great conversation with Gerald Love over lunch, so IT went long.

Nap magnet strikes

I started editing the first couple hundred photos when the nap magnet reached out, grabbed me by the arm and flung me flat on my back. I learned a long time ago that fighting the nap magnet only tires you out more and is counterproductive, so I played dead until it released me.

This is just a long way of saying that this is all you’re going to see until Sunday. It’s almost 1 a.m. and I’m tired and retired.

After all, what are you folks gonna do, fire me?

Rialto Theater Roof Collapses

Wife Lila was having breakfast this morning with a gaggle of her 1966 classmates when Bill East casually mentioned that he had heard that the roof of the Rialto Theater had collapsed. (She’s the one on the left in this 1966 Girardot ad, by the way.)

I had a hard time believing that because I had been inside the place in March. I was in the Old Town Cape offices trying to convince them that CapeCentralHigh.com would be a great place for them to advertise (they said they were non-profit. I said I was worse than non-profit. I was losing money, but that’s another story).

The Rialto holds special memories for me

I mentioned to Toni Eftink that the building next to their office, the old Rialto theater, had special meaning for me, because that’s where I met my future wife. (You can read the whole story by following this link. It involves Jim Stone, a coin flip and the world’s worst movie.)

Because Jim Stone was dating Carol Klarsfeld, whose mother owned the theater, we had the run of the place. Jim loved popping the popcorn (which had real butter in those days, by the way) and we got to watch the projectionist swap reels on the fly.

First a bell would ring signaling it was getting close to the end of the reel (not every projectionist stayed awake during the whole movie). Then there would be an almost imperceptible flash on the screen. When you saw a second flash, you started the second reel running, stopped the first reel and turned off the carbon arc that shined through the film.

Seats got carted out

Toni said I should have been there last week, when they were carting out the old theater seats because they had gotten  wet and moldy when a sump pump leaked.

I talked my way into the building. It was pitch black. The only light I had was a small pocket flashlight that kept me from tripping over anything. I pointed my camera into the darkness and let flash. I didn’t have a clue what I had taken a picture of until I got back home. That’s why there are some crazy angles in the photos.

Looking back toward the projection booth, lobby entrance and bathrooms

The place was pretty much gutted. The projectors had long been removed, but you could still see where the concession stand had been.

Decorative mirrors still there

Walking toward the theater, you passed a mirrored wall, then had a choice of the left or right side of the seating.

The outside of the Rialto looks nice

The exterior of the building looks as nice today as it did in this photo shot in October 2009. I drove completely around the building looking for any evidence of damage, but didn’t see any.

Just before I dismissed the tip as some kind of Bill East caffeine-induced fantasy, I decided to check the buildings on either side of the old theater. The Old Town Cape folks were out doing whatever Old Town Cape folks do, because their offices were dark and locked.

The sky (or roof) IS falling

I walked into the business on the other side and asked for the Person in Charge of Rumor Control to quash a rumor that the roof of the Rialto had collapsed.

The rumor – apologies to Bill for doubting him – was true. I asked if there was any way I could get a photo of it. Nice Rumor Control Lady said the only way to see it was to go upstairs and stand on her desk.

I did.

Blame it on a storm

The roof collapsed around 1 p.m. on June 17, possibly as a result of a storm with high winds and heavy rain. No one was injured and the adjacent buildings weren’t damaged.

Lots of palm sweat in that place

Now that I think back on it, not only did I meet my future wife at the Rialto, I think my first real high school date took place in the theater. I’ll have to check with Shari Stiver to confirm that. (I’m sure it was less memorable for her than it was to me.)

If every other adolescent male was like I was, it’s no wonder why the sump pump failed after all these years. It must have pumped a Mississippi River of palm sweat from nervous high school boys.

Gallery of photos

Here’s a collection of photos over the years. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left of right side of the photo to move through the gallery. I’d have written more, but I’m already an hour and 13 minutes late to the class reunion.

Homecoming parade passed in front of the Rialto

You can see the front of the Rialto in its heyday in these photos of the 1964 SEMO Homecoming Parade.