Category: Central High School

Central High School had activities to appeal to just about every interest. The Chess Club, for example, didn’t have cheerleaders, but the 1965 Girardot yearbook pictured 16 members.

Knitting Club

The Knitting Club had 17 members in the yearbook.

Co-Operative Education

C.O.E, as it was better known, gave students a chance to work with local businesses. About 75 students participated in the program. Paul Reitzel, left, and Vicki Berry, right, received the J. Doyle Summers Award for outstanding achievements in Co-Operative Education in 1965. I don’t know who the man in the middle is.

Art projects

I don’t know if these objects were the product of the Art Club (24 members) or Art classes.

Central High School maintenance staffers like James Criddle might as well as have been invisible to most of us students. When I went back for a walk through our high school in 2009, I was impressed at how well maintained it was. Every wall and floor shined just like when we were there 45 years ago.

The new generation of maintenance workers must be carrying on the tradition of the ones who were there in 1965: Jack Snider, Harold Brown, Leonard Reed, Richard Ware, Leonard Mayberry, James Criddle and Mrs. James Criddle.

[Editor’s note: Walter Lamkin notes in a comment below that the name of one of the maintenance workers was misspelled: it should be Leonard Reid, not Reed. I copied the names from the 1965 Girardot and checked them against the 1964 Girardot. There was no listing for a Leonard Reed in the 1969 City Directory, but there was a Leonard REID. Mr. Reid lived on Thilenius St., along with Elodie and Larry (a student). Based on that, I’m going to vote with Mr. Lamkin and complain to Girardot Editor-in-Chief Nancy Jenkins.]

Nancy Jenkins Wilson posted a comment wishing my mother a belated happy birthday. That reminded me that I had scanned some pictures of her before leaving for Cape.

Editor in Chief of The 1965 Girardot

Nancy was editor in chief of The 1965 Girardot and I was head photographer. We went to a week-long seminar for high school journalists at Missouri University the summer before we tackled the book.

At that conference, I got an inkling that (A) Nancy was going to be a great editor to work with, and (B) the Missouri University School of Journalism and I had very different ideas about photojournalism.

I was right on both counts.

Nancy turned out a great yearbook and I never considered going to Columbia.

Nancy in 2010

I found out that the years have been kind to my former classmate when we met at this summer’s reunion. She still has the smile I remember so well. Actually, it’s close to the expression she would get on her face just before she’d say, “You want to run a picture of WHAT?”

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Mother and Wife Lila said I should have used one where she was smiling more. Making them happy is a very important thing to my continued well-being. Happy to oblige.

Back in May, I published a gallery of photos of shop classes at Central High School, along with some of my musings about my mechanical ability. It didn’t get much response.

I just found more photos of what I assume is auto shop class. I don’t remember Central having this large a workshop, so I’ll let someone tell me what school it is if it’s not Central.

Gallery of auto shop photos

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