More THS History

One of the things that triggered the creation of this blog was the email from Richard Hamner in which he remembered many things related to the street now named Black Bears Way.

Richard has provided more details about our history in the post below.

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To my classmates:

I blog, therefore I am.

Ask not what your blog can do for you, but ask rather what you can do for your blog.

I'm blogging! (Is this something that I need my parents' permission
for?)

I decided to use "Richard Hamner" as my blog pseudonym (blog-o-nym?) I thought about coming up with something like "Soapman" or "Bubbles", but I decided to stick with something a little less cryptic. I also thought about using something like "Jim Stringer", since he is one of the people I admire most, but that smacked a little of ID theft, so I decided against it.

So it is "Richard Hamner", with all warts and neuroses thereunto appertaining.

Your self-appointed historian has been busy doing his homework. I met Shirley Lollar, who is the archivist for the Tuscaloosa Board of Education, and she helped me fill in a few gaps on the history of THS, and here is the short version.

Before 1885, education was conducted in private homes and some churches. In 1885 the state legislature decreed that the "Tuscaloosa Graded School System" be established for the purpose of public education.

The first building for the little white chirren was the old Stafford School building (which was built that year I think - I am getting a web link to the whole archive thing soon). Black students went to school in the old Zion Church and Masonic Hall. I don't know where that was or is - anybody know?

But from 1885 to 1890, all grades went to school in Stafford School. That building was ultimately torn down and the land was used for the Stafford Hotel. I actually remember being in the old Stafford School building, which was Stafford Elementary school by then. I am sure some of our classmates went to elementary school there.

In 1890, a "High School Department" was established in Stafford School, so I guess we can say that THS started in 1890.

The High School was moved to the new building at Queen City and 10th Street in 1910. That building became the Junior High School in 1925 when the new building on 21st Avenue was occupied. (Built in 1924, which you can see over the doorway, but not occupied for classes until the fall of 1925.) I am still trying to find out when the 1910 building was torn down.

Then the building on 15th Street was built in 1954 and occupied for classes in 1955. The building on 21st became the Junior High School (where we went to Junior High) and ultimately the Board of Education office.

In 1979, Central High School was established with the West Campus (old Druid High School) housing ninth and tenth graders and Central- East (old THS on 15th Street) housing 11th and 12th graders.

The new building was built on 15th Street in 2005 (groundbreaking on 2/3/05) and occupied for classes in 2006.

That is the short version. If anyone wants to know who the superintendent was in 1903, I can tell you.

Also, Shirley Lollar the archivist said that the earliest copy of the Black Warrior yearbook that she has was the 1915 edition. I told her that one of our classmates has a copy of the 1914 edition, she almost became incontinent right there over the phone. Also, the 1961 Black Warrior has a picture of the 1911 Yearbook and a picture of the editor that year, and she didn't know that. So Class of '61 and '62 helped the archivist as well as vice-versa.

One final fact: There is a high school named for our classmate Paul Bryant! Has anyone visited it (on Buttermilk Road, built in 2002.)
Yayyyyyy!

Love to all!

Richard ("Bubbles") Hamner

Odds and Ends

This post is a placeholder to which comments can be added that don't fit a broad subject. If a long thread of comments get added on a single subject, we'll add a new post just on that subject.

So, add here random thoughts and memories by clicking on "Comments" below.

One Thing I Learned ...

What's one thing you learned while at THS that has helped you, stayed in your thoughts, been a shining beacon, or whatever, since you left high school?

For me, it's easy - Miss Joy Box's three-sentence paragraph exercises. I'm sure those who took 11th grade English from Miss Box remember these well. I don't claim to be a wonderful writer but whenever I do write, I remember what she taught us and it has helped.

Add your thoughts about a significant thing by attaching a comment to this post. This is not limited to academics. It might be a personal relationship (positive or negative), something extracurricular or even outside school altogether.

So, give it a shot.

Jim

Favorite Links

This post is just to point out the "Favorite Links" item in the sidebar on the left side of the screen. As of today, there are three:

• Official Class of '62 web site where you will find lots of information about our class and scheduled events. This is maintained by Scotty and the Local Class of '62 Reunion Committee. They have done a super job.
• 45th Reunion slide show where you will find lots of photos taken by Jon Rey.
• Alma mater history information with reference to Sara's aunt (this is the Class of '60 site - click on "Our Alma Mater" when you get there).

If you have others you would like to add, send them to me.

Jim

Let's Talk Sports

We've not had much talk about sports, so here's a starting point for discussion about any sport. I've kicked off the discussion by adding a comment to this post.

Jim Stringer
P.S. The best thing I like about the above program is that it listed my weight as 195!

Black Bears Way Ceremony

Allen Apperson provided these photos taken at the street renaming ceremony. The second includes Coach Tommy T. and Mrs. Roberts.

Buildings We Have Known

Blog Administrator's Note: During the discussion of Black Bear Way, a topic was created related to buildings used as THS and TJHS.

Thanks to all for sharing the memories. It has been a joy and a blessing.
And, thank you Jimmy for agreeing to administer the blog. I look forward to reading and reflecting on our wonderful years as Black Bears.

I am pleased that the City of Tuscaloosa has renamed 17th Street between Hackberry Lane and 10th Avenue Black Bears Way and I wish that I could have been there for the dedication. From my perspective the memorial street has been located exactly at the right place; however, others have a different opinion. Several months ago when we first heard that the City was considering this action, I was in a discussion with friends and relatives who are 10-15 years older than we are. It was their opinion that Black Bears Way should have been located adjacent to the old high school building where they attended high school and where we attended junior high.

For many years, Tuscaloosa High School was located in what we knew as Tuscaloosa Junior High. Does anyone know the first year and the last year that Tuscaloosa High was located in our old junior high school building? I assume that the words in our Alma Mater, "underneath the old oak trees" refers to the oak trees at our old junior high building.

When our junior high was Tuscaloosa High, does anyone know where the old, old junior high was located? Stella O.'s father was the coach and physical education director at the old, old junior high. As a five year old boy, I lived one-half block away from the school and coach O. became my friend. He was kind and patient with me as I stayed near him and bombarded him with questions all day while the boys would play softball during P.E. I loved to chase foul balls and occasionally when a foul ball would go down the storm sewer in front of Marjorie M.'s house, they would send me into the pipe to retrieve the ball.

Perhaps like some of you, my long term memory is better than my short. So, I'm looking forward to hearing your stories.

Blessings,

William T.

Eating Establishments

Blog Administrator's Note: During the discussion on the alma mater, this subject came up. so, I started a new post. The ad below is from the 1962 "Black Warrior".

I don't know who wrote the Alma Mater words, although I probably have it on music - I've never thrown any music away and have a huge file of now "vintage" music - but I don't have time to search for it to enter Sara's contest.

I have another memory though, that nobody has mentioned. The McDonald's on 17th Street must have been one of the first to be opened when the chain went national. I remember that they had a sign saying how many burgers they had served. I think it started in the tens of thousands, progressed to the hundreds of thousands and into the millions while we were at THS. Like Richard, I didn't eat there often, but I do remember the sign. It really gave us a glimpse into the power of franchising back then. Remember the Doghouse? Possibly a victim of the franchise mania -it went through several lives as a restaurant, but is now student apartments (maybe condos). Remember the first Hardee's with the 15-cent burgers? Or was that a Kelly's. On University Ave near where the Baptist Student building now stands.

Mary Beth

Class Song

Some comments about the alma mater also referred to our class song. Here is a reprint from the 20th Reunion Handbook.

Jim Stringer

Alma Mater Question

One more piece of history that I bet most of you don't know (and I do!).

Do any of you know who wrote the words to our alma mater? Send answers and we will see who wins. If you don't guess I will let you know.

Sara Duren Porch


Blog Administrator's Note: Below is a picture taken from our 20th Reunion Handbook.

Black Bears Way

Blog Administrator's Note: The event described below has obviously already occurred. However, it triggered many comments so it was placed here to serve as the start of a discussion thread.

Dear THS '62 Classmates:

The Tuscaloosa City Council has planned a ceremony for the renaming of the portion of 17th Street that runs between Hackberry Lane and 10th Avenue as Black Bears Way. (That's the part of the street that ran behind our Tuscaloosa High School, also home of the first local McDonald's.) Council members along with news and broadcast media will be present.

This event will take place on Monday, October 20, at 11:00 a.m. at the corner of the new Black Bears Way and 10th Avenue in the parking lot of St. John the Baptist church. I know many of you are out-of-town, but if you can, please join us for the ceremony and the unveiling of the new sign. Bring your own chair for seating.We look forward to seeing old friends there!

Class of '62 Local Reunion Committee

Class Luncheon Plans

Our lunch earlier this month at the Olive Garden in Tuscaloosa was a success! We had around thirty or so classmates plus a special guest, Coach Tom T.!!

Another lunch event will be held in the spring. We look forward to an even bigger crowd!

Send suggestions for other gatherings by commenting on this post.

Thanks.

Class of '62 Local Reunion Committee

First Post!

Welcome to the Tuscaloosa High School Class of '62 Blog!

This purpose of this blog is to share information among class members, reminisce, stay up to date regarding class activities and just have fun. We could have well over 100 class members accessing this blog so this first post is dedicated to a discussion of the blog itself and to setting a few ground rules.

The blogging tool we are using is provided by Google at no cost to us. There are two basic types of entries that can be made to this blog:

• The primary entry is the "post". Posts appear on the main web page of the blog in reverse chronological order. Pictures may be included in a post.
• The secondary entry is the "comment". A comment is "attached" to a post. They do not appear on the main web site page but can be accessed by clicking on the word, "Comments" found just below a post.

Unfortunately, only a blog administrator is allowed to create a post. Anyone can create a comment; this process is initiated by clicking on the word, "Comments", below a post. Think of a post as the beginning of a "thread" with comments attached to that specific thread. Comments attached to a post thread should relate to the original topic of the post. If a new topic is desired, a new post is in order.

Here are some procedures we'll follow for a while until we get a better feel for how we'll use this blog.

1. Identifying ourselves - We want to know the authors of posts and comments but if you prefer not to use your complete name, use enough of your name so class members will know who your are, e.g., "Jim Str...".
2. Initiating a new post - if you want to initiate a new post, send the text and any pictures you want included to the administrator. Click on "View my complete profile" on the left sidebar and you'll see an email button. The administrator will create the post.
3. Initiating a new comment - You can create comments yourself by clicking on "Comments" below a post. You'll see comments that have been added already plus instructions about adding your own. Comments cannot include pictures.
4. Unmoderated comments - When you create a comment, it will be added to the blog withing a minute or two with no review or approval by anyone. We'll try this for a while. If problems arise, we'll switch to "moderated" mode. If you run across a comment that is in poor taste, send an email to the administrator. Anyone in the world can add a comment but we're hoping this won't be a problem.
5. Links - Links to other web sites in the left sidebar and in posts will probably be safe. However, links in comments may not be. Don't click on a link in a comment unless you feel secure regarding its author's intent. Again, anyone can leave comments and virus downloads can be disguised as links.
6. Picture gallery - You see a rotating slide show in the left sidebar. Larger versions of the pictures are available by clicking on the slide show. If you just want to add pictures, we can put them in the slide show rather than a post. Email them to us and include a short caption for each one. Of course, this requires converting them to a digital format. If you can do this, great. Make them about 800 pixels wide. If you can't do this, send an email to the administrator describing what you have. We'll see what we can do.
7. Older posts - Eventually, older posts drop off the main web page as new ones are added. You can still see the older posts by clicking on "Older posts" at the bottom.

We'll add additional discussion to this first post as needs arise.

Let's get blogging!