1965 Football Season

My senior season was one of the best teams Hillcrest had ever dressed out. Whenever we have a reunion, several teammates always bring up our great senior season and what it meant to them. I am afraid that some of those memories are starting to fade and I really want to get them down in writing and hope others can remember and share some of the great times
Our Wildcats were seven wins and two defeat. The two losses were to the two teams that won the state title in their divisions... Lower Richland and East Clarendon. I cannot remember too many of the other games, but some of the plays of these games have stuck with me for over 40 years.
Let me see if I can remember the players. I played right guard, George Woodsby was center, Clarence Strickland was tackle and I Rick Ransbottom was the right end. On the other side of the center was Charlie Stubbs as left guard, Don Roberts as tackle and Chappie McCown as end.  Not this was on offense. I am a little fuzzy about defense. I know I played left end, then Don Roberts as tackle, I think Charlie Stubbs was also left guard. I think George Woodsby was center and Kris Shekitka was right guard, Clarence Strickland was right tackle and I can not remember who was right end.

Now the backfield was often changing. I know John Kelly was always the quarterback. The Lindler twins, Bill and Dick were often in the backfield as was Charlie Craven. I think we had others in the offense as well, but I cannot remember. In out defensive backfield, I think we had Kelly, the Lindlers and maybe Craven too. Someone has to help me out here.

I entered Hillcrest my freshmen year and had never seen a football game in my life. My first one was at Lamar and I had not a clue what was going on. I really did not learn that much by my sophomore year, but I went out. Hillcrest teams had a reputation of never having a winning season. If they won 4 games it was a victorious season. I figured I would probably play a little. I was athletic and in good shape. Later that year I made the varsity basketball team and the track team. But apparently I did not take to football too well, or at least the coaches did not think so. We only had about 23 players on the team. I went to most every practice, ( except the 4 days I missed while in the hospital for being dehydrated) and dressed for all be two games.  However, I never was sent in to play one play all season...not once!!! I have never forgiven those coaches....never.  The next season I started every game and almost played every minute all season.... go figure!

I bet Chappie, Don, Charlie and Clarence remember the games and the season. I have memories of the East Clarendon game when I had to punt because Kris Shekitka was hurt. I was terrible. I may have cost us the game. I recall Lower Richland because we played in the Sumter City Stadium and both of us were 6 and 0 at the time. Mooney Player, their coach ran a trick play in the beginning and we did not catch it!  They scored on the first play and we never recovered. We lost 13-7 I think.

I want to say that my year with those guys were the greatest. We became a team and great friends that have stayed that way until today. We sweated, showered, and slaved together on the hot summer, dry field of the HHS practice fields. We were respected in the school, in the community and among parents. I think that season gave us all a sense of pride that many of us still have today. My hat off to you guys! And the girls who cheered us on and dated us too.

Couples Holding up HHS Walls

The fun thing about this blog is that whenever memories of HHS come into focus, I can just jot them down and share.

Halls at HHS. Ever since I was a freshman, the halls have been held up by dating couples that find a favorite place and lean up and share sweet nothings with each other. HHS had no other place for folks to do this. There was no kissing and little touching, cause the teachers did not allow such PDA. However, between classes, during lunch hour, before school and when ever the chance allowed, couples would maybe hold hands, face each other and hold up the walls of the hall. Right now, I see Patty Davis and a red headed guy. Tim Gipe and Margaret maybe, but Timm would never hold still for very long. Wait... I think I see Dot Way and Dave Shelton and Don Roberts and Anita McClellan. I am sure I see Beth Ann Casey, but she is hiding her man's face as is John McTamney and Adrianne Rockhill! John and Adrianne invented PDA!

Fun... over the years I can remember so many couples and few are still married. The earliest I remember were Jack Earter and Mary Ann... they are still married. Jack a lawyer and Mary Ann an English teacher in Sumter. What a long time romance. Please folks add some names. Add your own if need be. No... not me!

Hillcrest Jr Sr Prom

Everyone remembers the life around the Jr Sr prom, especially at HHS. The prom of 1965 was one to remember and the one of 1966 is one for another post.

So... planning, fund raising, decorating, dressing, attending and after parties was one of the great events of the class of 66. Now I do admit that I had a part in it as the class president of the Jr class was responsible for managing the big event and that year it was me. I always wanted to be a class president, but maybe not the Jr year. What did I do to deserve this!!

I just looked up in my annual to see who were the officers that year and to see who did all the work! Dave Shelton was VP! Dave must have left by then, cause I do not remember him in any of the activities. Marion Jackson and Connie Neal were the other officers. I know that Connie and I worked together because she was treasurer. I do remember going to her house in the evening to settle some finances. This was fun as many had the hots for Connie and I think I found more than one reason to go to Connie's house to settle either the finances or my interests in her!

We did all kinds of fund raisers , cleaning houses at Shaw, washing cars, running a flea market in Rembert. I remember the Rembert event as we had few folks show up so we all played around with trying on the clothes that were donated.

We had to raise about $3000 to pull this off. This included the band, decorations, food and damages. Yes there were some damages as our fountain on the half court line at the center of the gym leaked and the court always had a little rise where the fountain was as it got wet and swell up a little. Coach Pringles has never forgiven me!

I am thinking Roman Holiday was our theme, but I can be corrected. Building all the decorations was so much fun. I know from some of the photos in our annual some of the folks that helped. Someone must have been taking photos during this time, besides someone from the annual. I wish we could find some and at least post them on this blog. We have that one photo in the annual with Louie Galvin climbing up the tallest ladder in Sumter with looks like me and Chappie holding this decrepit, bending ladder. If any teacher had seen this we would have been whipped!

I had to get the rotating glass ball hanging in the center of the gym from a teacher at Ebenezer High School who had one he rented. He came and hung it and got it wired and working. This was one of the first times I really had any relations with someone from one of the local black schools in Sumter. It actually made me think about the segregation that was happening in our lives. Hillcrest was the first segregated school I ever attended.

I cannot really remember much from the prom. I took Kathy Harris and did not treat her too well. I was still worried about all the happenings, including the food, the band, the process, photos and everything. Probably why I have blanked out so much from this great night. Kathie did berate me for not paying any attention to her and she was right!! I asked her about this at the 2006 reunion, but she does not remember!! HA!

I know many had fun that night and I would love for folks to leave some comments here. Please share. I wish someone would tell me what I did or did not do

My two kids, Alle and Collin both went to their school proms and things are really different now. The kids pay to come and there is no fund raising by the jr class. I think the fund raising brought our '66 kids together. Today... dates are not so important. Girls and boys go in groups or by themselves. I always felt sorry for the many girls who did not get invited to come to the prom. Our class had so many great looking girls that just did not have the opportunity to go to the prom. Many of the guys were just to shy to ask someone.

So like all of the posts of this blog, it is about my recollection and that is what I post. I would like to here from some of the folks I remember planning and doing the prom like Don Roberts, George Woodsby, Marian Jackson, Connie Neal, Dave Shelton, Kathy Harris, Anita McClellan, Bonnie Fisher, Kris Shekitka, Barbara Dunn,Dorothy Way, Patty Wright, Don Wilson, John McTameny, Adrianne Rockhill, Liz Riddle, Gary Murphy, John Kelly, Linda Matheson, Lana Jerden, Kay Hopper, Claudia Taylor, Mary Holsopple, Linda Hankins, Nora Harris, Ray Griffin, Brenda Gordan, Louie Galvin, Herman Ford, Susan Eckweiler, Beth Ann Casey, Anna Cerda, Terry Crowell, Jane Dennis, Kathy Burrows, Vic Cabas, Lou Ann Busselles, Nancy Bradshaw, Sherry Artrip and Roland Alston.... these are some of the names that come to me. There are more and I want to hear from everyone.

From Cotton Field to Golf

In the summer between my Jr and Sr year I decided I was too old to just be cutting grass as I had been doing for a couple of years to earn my spending money. I had been cutting grasses at Shaw and around Oakland Plantation, but was bored and needed more money. I did work a while at the Peach Packing Plant of Barnett's farm. Several of us HHS folks worked there for a dollar and hour! Bad thing about it was we were only paid when we were running peaches. While waiting for the peaches to come from the field we sat around, slept on mattresses and told stories. Sometimes we waited till 2 am for peaches to come in. If we left we were fired!

I learned about how manufacturing worked. Many of the women packed the bushels so that the good peaches were always on top and others loaded. It was hot and itchy with all the peach fuzz. The peaches were still hard and not yet ripe, so there was little eating of them! I had a good job for a while of putting the bushels full of peaches in the water cooler machine. It was cool on those hot days. I quit after a few weeks and went to the farm job. I do remember the song Satisfaction was out this summer and it was our work song about little money and hard work.

My next job that summer was working on a tractor, spraying cotton on the Claremont Farms for Sam Gillespie, father of Weezie and Sambo. I had to learn how to drive a big tractor and get around on a farm. It was boring sometimes going up and down long rows of cotton spraying those boll weavels, but I learned much about farming and that was good. Much of the farm I sprayed is now the golf course in Stateburg, Beech Creek Golf Course. We play here during out reunions.

It is a gas to walk up and down this course with my classmates. Years ago we had about thirty classmates out for a round. 2006 we were smaller and only '66 folks showed up. These are all somewhat serious golfers, especially Don and Rusty. Nancy is the best female of the Hillcrest golfers.... and this may be a challenge for the next reunion in Myrtle Beach in 2010.

Don Roberts, Chappie McCowan, Rusty Atkinson, Nancy Bradshaw Atkinson, John McTamney

Photo by, Sometime Golfer too... Bob Noe

2006 Reunion at Beach Creek Golf Course

Two A Days Summer Football Practice

Football practice for high school students begins today in SC. This bring back terrible memories... the smell, the heat, the yelling, sweating, heavy breathing and again... the smell.

We always wondered if this was the year we would win. Hillcrest did not have a great record of winning!

I can so remember these hot days on the scruffy fields of HHS. I had been working out to prepare by running, lifting weights and tossing the ball around. But no one told me of that running on all fours and pushing that damn sled.

I can hear Coaches Bradham, Pringles and Kolb just yelling over and over to quick lollygagging and be a man. Coach Pringles was telling us to forget our social lives...forget girls! He said, " there are as many girls in the world as there are pebbles on the beach." Amazing how we remember these little things 40 years or so later!

Guys like Don Roberts, Clarence Hodge, Charlie Stubbs, George Woodsby, Chappie McCowan, Kris Shekitka and Bruce Shelton were with me as members of my class just struggling, yelling, sweating and cussing ( under our breath) every one of those two a days.

I know some of you girls may be reading this and are thinking how crazy this was and they are glad they did not have to go through this. YOu are damn right.

As I write this I am also reminded of the smell of cut grass and my face in it! The smell of BO and that salve we put on ourselves for all the sore muscles we had permeated the air.

Best of all was the little store we had on the corner of 521 and 441 across from the school. They had the best, coldest drinks! What was the name of this place. What happened to it? I do not think it was there in '65 when I was whipped after practice.
Any other memories>
Bob

Lunch with Mrs Freeman

I was at a bakery today and when seeing the cinnamon buns, I could not help but think of Mrs. Freeman and some of those good foods. Some folks brought their lunch, but for the price of ours...maybe 25 cents what a deal.

Now I would like to just talk about some of the highlights of our lunches. Fried Chicken... Now that was good food. Am I right to think it was on Wednesdays? Cookies.. now I loved the peanut butter cookies that weighted about a pound. Many folks did not like the cooked tomatoes and rice, but it was one of my favorites... let's see... spaghetti, collards, yeast rolls and of course, cinnamon buns.

One of the unique things of Hillcrest in the 60's was having the K-5 kids in the hall waiting for lunch in the morning. Those kids ate about 10:00!! I remember walking the halls and seeing those kids lined up with their teachers scared to talk knowing their teacher would slap them if they talked to a teenager or anyone!

My daughter would love the green trays we used. Even at 30 she still does not like her food to touch. The sectioned trays would be great for her. I do remember that the athelites were given extra food in the line. This was good.

I taught school for a few years after college. I always made a habit of quickly knowing the cafeteria manager and the head custodian of the new schools. Having a good relationship with them could really make life better at any school.

I also remember that little bus that Ms Freeman drove.It was the first one and no one could move their bus, until she did. As a bus driver, I remembered that we sat their gunning our engines and just waiting. When she started for the gate entrance, everyone took off to be number two... We were crazy!

Charlie the Custodian

Many of you remember Charlie, but most do not remember his last name. I don't. I talked to him often and once or twice I took him home to a little house just north of HHS on 521. He never really complained and he had reason to!! He had to clean the boys and girls bathrooms with all the smoke, butts and junk in there!  I do not even have a idea how old he was. Heck, he was probably as old as I am now, but he did look old and did move slowly.

Did anyone ever see him run, or move quickly. Maybe some of the HHS folks who started first grade at Hillcrest remembered a young Charlie.

I want to offer a toast to him. He never complained, kept a clean school, was always friendly to all students and teachers... yet we called him by his first name and did not know his last. Maybe it was just me. My memories are of him wearing a long sleeve green shirt with dark pants and suspenders. He always had papers folded in his pocket and I think he smelled of chewing tobacco or snuff. It was not distracting... Just a Charlie smell!

  

Please write your memories of Charlie too!