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Janice Oden: Do you remember when the LA State Fair was in town and we had to endure all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) smells coming through the windows at Fair Park. It was so hard to concentrate when you could smell cotton candy, taffy, candy apples, etc. But it was great when school was over and you could walk across the street to help yourself to some of the treats! I moved to Houston in 1975 - do they still have the LA State Fair in Shreveport?
Charlie Rogers: Yes, I remember the fair. We would skip school on the First Friday of the Fair to help build the rides and shows, etc. I would assume they still have it there in Shreveport. The last time I was at the Fair was in 1987. I sure loved those Gyros.
Mac Groves: Kenneth Armstrong and I corresponded a lot around the last reunion and a while afterward but his email address is no longer good. Joyce West and her husband Lou, own a lot here in Flagstaff which they are hoping to retire to and we actually see them a couple of times a year - great fun. They were in the theatre for the first season of my show I mentioned. It was Joyce's 50th and we stopped everything, mentioned Fair Park High and Shreveport and had the audience sing Happy Birthday. I hear about Randy Davis from time to time - our mothers were very close and have kept in touch through the years. It seems like each reunion brings a flurry of emails from old friends and I'm hoping this will be the same. I'd appreciate any news at all from Shreveport - been gone too long. Thanks for the reply, Mac http://www.cal.nau.edu/theatre/mgroves.htm
Patti Scheen: Cynthia Grau- I was thinking back to some of our teachers at FP and was remembering Madmoiselle Dupont- guess that's how she spelled it. Don't quite remember that far back and my French class really didn't take me very far. Do you remember us always sitting by each other and Ms. Colon would be sooo serious and would ask us our names and we were to have thought up a French name and have to answer her using that name. You and I would always seem to get in trouble because we would get so tickled as she came to us- waiting for our response. This was her daily routine and we never seemed to quite gain control as we were to answer in our best French dialect. Then as she went to the next ones we would continue our conversation about how long you and Mark had "gone together" and if y'all would get married, laugh some more, and head back down the annex stairs to the lockers or next class!
Patti Scheen: Belinda Meacham, as summer approaches and I see the many commercials of Reeves Marine, I think of the many fun trips to the lake- camping and skiing. Do you remember that ski trip to Lake O' the Pines? It was soooo hot, not a breeze blowing, and we had to stay in the lake to cool off a bit. I don't quite remember what was going on at the lake that day- maybe some kind of construction, dam repair- I don't know- but you and I got to laughing soooo hard when the hugest "log-like specimen" surfaced and floated right by us!! You seemed to know more about that than I did! Remember???? What was that?
Robert Faust: After reading Janice Oden's flashbacks I felt I must add a few of my own. I to remember those VDP's at Dairy Queen, and I remember sharing quite a few of them with Janice. And who found those photos of the Brimstones? Surely someone can come up with a picture of Wild Country. After all, we did play at the Mardi Gras!
Patti Scheen: Robert- speaking of bands-- I can remember back to the good ol' Midway Mohawk days when you played Wipe Out at some program in the auditorium. Those too, were some great days!!
Mac Groves: O-My-God, the state fair! To this date I still have an addiction to corn dogs and when our little county fair comes around in Flagstaff every Labor Day I have to eat five or six. That's where that comes from. I loved the fair because it was often the first time in a long while that it cooled off in Shreveport. I've also lost my share of crowns on salt-water taffy - as one might guess - not as big a delicacy out here as it is down South. I got to visit a couple of years ago. It was really disheartening to see how west Shreveport had become kind of seedy in places - the pool (the South Lakeshore Swim Club) where we spent so many glorious summers was locked down and grown over. That's not supposed to happen to your home. I remember once I finally got a car in my junior year I could make it to Fair Park High in about five minutes from Yarborough Subdivision - maybe six or seven if I had to pick up the Armstrongs, Randy, Del Roy, Mary Alice, RaeLyn or anyone else who asked. Jefferson Paige Road to Hwy 80 or, the slower route via the two-lane, winding, Lakeshore Drive. Sure couldn't do that today. More than once in the springtime we'd get almost to school and decide the day was just too good to spend in class. We'd make sure my dad had left for work and take his boat down to the lake for a day of skiing, fishing or just cruising. Do you still have to ski in circles on Cross Lake?
Ron Tuminello (Class
of 71): For those of you interested in the present day Wild Country Band. Kevin Monroe
is a Doctor in
Janice Oden: Robert Faust and Patti Scheen: Patti, I remember Wipe Out at Midway, and Robert playing it. No one could play it as great as you could, Robert! Patti, do you remember trying to dance to it?!?! We thought back then you had to dance to everything, but that was one you just had to enjoy watching you play, Robert. Belinda Meacham told me you are coming to the reunion too, Patti. Is this your first time to attend? I have never been able to attend before, and I am excited about it now. What about you, Robert? Will you be there? It will be just amazing to see everyone again.
Trey Lovett: I believe it was our senior year when the football team played New Iberia in the play-offs. The school sent a busload of us down to root for the team. I had ingested some, errr, non-prescription "medicine", and was sitting behind the pep squad and band up in the stands, watching the lights dance as the world turned to paisley, when some drunk guy from New Iberia entered our side of the stands and started getting in various peoples face trying to provoke a fight by saying '%#&* Fair Park!" in everyone's face. Everyone keep their cool, but eventually this young hooligan made it up to where I was sitting. I was prepared: higher than a kite and infused with bad judgment. In nanoseconds after he snarled in my face, I snarled back "&^%* YOU!" and proceeded to hit him right on the nose. I then jumped (down) on him (a defensive posture…) and we rolled half-way down the bleachers. The local cops started blowing their whistles, and we let go of each other and ran. I hid under the school bus off the ground till after the game, and at the last minute slipped into the bus and away we went. On the way home Clancy and Kevin (Monroe) and some others kept singing "Judy Blue Eyes" until slowly my world returned to normal, alas, and we were home.
Corinne Kelly: There are so many wonderful memories of Fair Park. The football games...watching Danny Boyette make some very incredible catches from quarterback, Chuck Fremel (sp). Mr Tubbs' journalism class. Making the deadline for the POW WOW. I still have some of the old POW WOW papers but lost my yearbook. Building the Tee Pees for the BIG game against Byrd. Anyone else remember Miss Mason, Miss Hilton & Miss Robicheaux...PE teachers? How about Mrs. Melton in Algebra? Remember Danny Joy painting his name on the tower? Sooooo many wonderful memories....
Patti
Scheen: Janice,
yes I do remember that while Robert Faust played Wipe- Out. We thought you
were so cute, Robert, and like watching one of the Beatles. ha! We did
have some great times. Janice, I went to the 10 yr. Reunion and had a great
time. My dad died the yr. of the 20th and much was going on then,
and my family had plans the next one. I do plan to try and make this one,
depending upon the birth of my first grandbaby. I do look forward to
seeing everyone again. Janice, or anyone?? Do yall remember that crazy fad we
had when the girls were all wearing those boys track shoes and we got them in
different colors??? I saw a pic in a catalog not long ago and I thought of
all of us thinking what a cool fad and wearing those track shoes and trying to
pull the tags off the back of the guys shirts- fruit loops we called them. We
were not hard to entertain then, were we?? Corinne, I do remember
those Beat Byrd days and staying up half the night building teepees and dressing
in all our Indian garb. I remember some great teachers and lots of fun in Mrs.
Turner's class and Mr. Tubbs too. Sonia Lea came in one morning in Mr.
Tubbs' class, after experimenting the night before with hair color and she
looked like Cleopatra her hair was sooo jet black. We laughed sooo hard
and Mr. Tubbs wasn't so entertained. The dye was still on Sonia's hands.
Now Mrs. Watts, the typing teacher ,was the one. She always instructed
that we must use the paper release and have all those timed typing tests and
we'd try to get a candy cane on the board at Christmas time for speedy typing
results. Some of us got such a thrill out of NOT using the paper release,
but instead jerking the paper from the carriage and it making that loud,
screeching noise, then watching little ol' Mrs. Watts jerk her body around in
horror to try and catch who would've treated one of her typewriters that way. We
all stared straight ahead , pretending to be the courteous, conscientious
students we were. Now Pep Squad was a fun experience also- practicing, getting
the correct hash mark to stand on in all those fancy formations Mrs.
Smelley would come up with. Then there was the select few of us who
weren't as serious as Linda Payne thought we should be, and we'd get demerits,
have to march around that stupid basketball court and then we'd get more
demerits while we were marching off demerits for laughing and not taking it
seriously. How serious could one be in those outfits with our gold ascots.
Go all you Fair Park Arrowettes!!! hahahha- We couldn't do anything else that
great so we just continued to march with the band and Cleby Brumble(sp) running
out on the field leading, kicking those stiff legs out in front of him, with
that huge baton- Join with me Indians "Go Fair Park High School, we
your praises sing. Our Alma Mater, may we ever cling. To thy high
principles, may we ever be, and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, for all that's right, and
march to vic- to- o - o- ryyyyyyyyyyyy!!
hahhahha- something like that anyway- I can just hear all of us belting that out
and getting set for the big games!
Charlie Rogers: I was talking to a friend of mine today that lives in Chicago. I brought up a news broadcast I saw last week about their "Lady of the Underpass". When I said the words, I had a flashback about the woman that lived under the Market Street bridge in Shreveport called the "Cat Woman". Does anyone remember that. We would get drunk and go down there looking for her. I don't think we ever saw anyone.
Lamar Wilson: Lynette, what was the name of that teacher we had our junior or senior year that you kept me in trouble with all the time. I still have bruises from you pinching me.
Jack
Culpepper a Love Story:
Charlie, this is a
ten year reunion flash back. Back in
1980, I wasn't sure if I wanted to attend the 10 year reunion. My wife at the
time didn't know anyone from
You
never know what might happen at a Fair Park Reunion!
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