Memories
of Ramsay
1/24/02 I don't see the names of some
of the more famous Ramsay graduates. For example,
where is Shorty Maples? I remember his contribution
to the football team when he faked an injury on the
30 yard line in a game against Lee of Montgomery to
try to stop the clock. Last time I saw him he was a
pharmacist at Romeo Drugs on Clairmont. Also, Buddy
Floyd was with BASS in Montgomery. I ran into him at
the B'ham airport a few years back. His contribution
to my life experiences was totaling his car with me
in the shotgun seat. I'm trying to remember his last
name, but there was a guy named Mike in V's chemistry
class that gave me a piece of regular paper and a
piece of carbon paper during a test. I took the test
and, foolishly, gave him the sheet so he could check
his answers. Instead he wrote his name at the top of
the page and turned it in as his test. I think we
saved Mr. V some time on his grading that day.
Maybe its worth running a list of who
hasn't been located. At least it will bring back
memories and maybe we can locate some more missing
people. On the other hand, maybe they want to stay
missing. - Woody McNair, '67, mcnair_cpa@hotmail.com
1/20/02 I had an excellent education
at Ramsay. I remember particularly my teachers and
classes in geometry, physics, chemistry, english,
history and social studies. Sam Adams was my physics
teacher and Mr. McIntosh taught social studies; other
names I don't recall but I can picture the teachers.
I also have fond memories of shop, R.O.T.C.,
mechanical drawing and track. - James McLennan, '42, ljm3@lehigh.edu
12/05/01 For the first three years of
my high school life, I was trying to find my niche in
life. I chose to be a black leather jacket hoodlum
(in appearance) after seeing all the "Blackboard
Jungle" type movies of the time. I became a
member of the Cobras, Ramsay's short lived gang. I
guess since I didn't fit in with the fraternity boys
and was no athlete, I had to be somewhere. I was very
fortunate that there were some people at Ramsay that
were caring enough to see that what I was portraying
was not the real me. The first person to vocalize his
thoughts about my future was Fox DeFuniak. I will
never forget him taking me aside, sitting me down,
and telling me that he knew that there was more to me
than a black leather jacket. He encouraged me to
break that pattern and shoot for getting a college
education. I guess having someone that I respected
take the time to tell me this made quite an impact on
my life. I did away with the hoodlum style and
seriously applied myself to my school work. The other
person influencing my life was David Wininger. We
happened to end up in Mr. Varnell's all male session
room. For some reason we paired up and became close
friends, and I'm happy to say that our friendship has
endured and thrived over the last 40 years. David and
I started to Samford together and shared rides to the
campus. We became fraternity brothers (Pi Kappa
Alpha). If it had not been for David and Fox, I might
have been much later coming to my senses. I will
always be grateful to these two guys. I am extremely
proud that I was fortunate enough to attend dear old
Ramsay. I have enjoyed every class reunion and hope
we have more. - steve davis, jan 1959, reno696@mindspring.com
11/28/01 In 1962-63, my junior year,
I skipped school 14 days in one six week period. When
Mr. Alley, boys advisor, caught me, he took me to his
office and wrote out a pink slip to suspend me. He
was an absent minded old cuss and during the middle
of suspending me, he got called to the Principal's
office. While he was away, I swiped the pink slip and
put it in my pocket. When he came back, Mr. Alley
said,"Stinson, what are you doing here?" I
said, "I forget", left his office and
skipped the rest of the day. It's all true. Doug
Stinson, class of '64.
11/02/01 Remember
when. Thanks to Peggy Berndt McMichael.
08/24/01 IN 1965, ROD POWERS AND I
LANDED A JOB WORKING AFTERNOONS IN THE ELECTRIK-MAID
BAKERY ON HIGHLAND AVENUE, JUST OFF OF 20TH ST.
SOUTH. ROD, WHO WAS NEVER KNOWN FOR HIS SERIOUS
DEDICATION TO RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH GAINFUL
EMPLOYMENT, AND I WHO WAS EVEN LESS KNOWN FOR ANY
UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANICAL POWER SUPPLY. ANYWAY, OUR
JOB IN THE AFTERNOON CONSISTED OF MOVING ALL THE
TABLES AND CHAIRS OUT OF THE DINING AREA, HOSING DOWN
THE PLACE TO REDUCE THE DONUT FROSTING BUILDUP. WE
WOULD WET THE FLOOR, WASH IT COMPLETELY AND USE AN
ELECTRIC VACUUM TO REMOVE THE EXCESS WATER FROM THE
FLOOR. NOW, OLE' ROD, WHO HAD KNOWLEDGE THAT THE
VACUUM MACHINE CORD HAD A FRAY, NEVER BOTHERED TO
INFORM ME, WHO HAD HOLD OF THE MACHINE ON THE WET
FLOOR. AS THE 110 VOLTS PASSED THROUGH MY BODY, ROD,
IN HIS SORDID SENSE OF MIND, WOULD ALLOW ME TO BE
ELECTROCUTED JUST LONG ENOUGH NOT TO LOSE
CONSCIOUSNESS, THEN PULL THE PLUG AND AS I RECOVERED,
PLUG THE DANG THING BACK INTO THE WALL OUTLET TO
ENJOY YET ANOTHER MOMENT OF THE "GRESHAM
ROAST." ROD LATER WAS GIVEN PAYBACK AS HE AND I
WORKED FOR LEM ALFORD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY. ONE DAY,
ON THE APARTMENT JOB SITE UP IN THE CURVE BEFORE KEY
CIRCLE. WE WERE CARRYING IN 3/4" PLYWOOD DECKING
TO BE PLACED AS SUB-FLOORING. SEEMS THE GRESH FAILED
TO TELL ROD OF THE MISSING FLOOR SECTION AND AS ROD
WALKED ONTO THE FLOOR WITH PLYWOOD BETWEEN HIS
EXTENDED ARMS, SUDDENLY ROD WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND,
JUST THE PLYWOOD LYING UPON THE FLOOR. I WALKED OVER,
LIFTED THE SHEET OF PLYWOOD AND A STORY BELOW WAS ROD
LYING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING. WE SHARED THAT PAYBACK
STORY FOR MANY YEARS, JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS. I HOPE IT
BROUGHT SOME JOY TO YOUR DAY, AS ROD DID TO MINE, SO
MANY YEARS AGO. - BILL GRESHAM, '65, WPGRESHAM@AOL.COM
07/27/01 Ramsay was a great time in
my life. Many friendships were made and good times. I
have lots of memories but I guess being on the track
team was a memory that stays with me today as I still
like to run. I am even entering the "Senior
Olympics" ( ME?? you have got to be kidding,
that old?) in 2002. Coach Lawson was my favorite
teacher and a fine man. In fact I even taught history
and coached basketball for a few years before I
changed careers. Hello to all my friends. - Norman
Gillaspie, '70, inkman71452@aol.com
07/12/01 Hello. I've living in a
small town out in Oregon since 1986. It may be
America, but even after all these years it doesn't
feel like home. The one thing that the so called
Great Northwest does not offer me is much of a past.
Just last week I moved across town after ending a
marriage of 17 years and was startled at how the old
anuals and pictures affected me as I moved them to a
new "shrine" of Alabama and Birmingham
memorabillia. My favorite memories; George Pruitt
running across tha room and then jumping out the
window of Ms Bledsoe's (?) deadly dull math class.
She never seemed to even notice a thing. The rule
against girls wearing pants to school. The milk that
would come out of Bobby (or was it Billy) Barker's
nose when Bloodworth would torment him at the lunch
table. The Time Lloyd Mehaffey showed me a quart of
whiskey in his locker and how to stick your head in
upside down in order to get a sip. And best of all my
being a nerdy guy who didn't date much so the some of
the cheerleaders felt safe in getting Scott Naftel
and I to drive and/or escort them to away games. June
Borders' Villager and Pappagallo wardrobe. Coach
Reynolds war stories, Ms Gasden and Ms Burgess'
ability to stimulate sexual fantasy. And of course
those (sometimes gaud-awful, sometimes great)
assemblies with the invariable standing ovation. Best
wishes to all. Harry McDermott, '70, h_mcderm@rosenet.net
07/09/01 How we all were afraid the
first time we started at Ramsay and saw Ms Childs the
girls advisor. How much fun it always was at School /
even with Ms Childs there . HAHA - Janice Marie
Hutchinson, '71, jmhamilt@its.uab.edu
7/03/01 Read Vicki's comments here.
6/30/01 In response to Dick Vaughn's
12/10/00 "old skunk trick": Dick,you may be
right about the skunk in Mr. Alley's office window
but as I remember the incident, it was Ms. Weaver's
class window it was pitched in. You have to realize
that was 45 plus years ago and "old
heimers" probably has more than a toe hold on
me. But at any rate I remember the incident. Do you
remeber who did it. - Bob Snider, '57, swiftpilot@home.com
6/30/01 So glad to find this site.
I'm sorry I won't be able to attend the July 2001
reunion. I saw a stunning picture of Ramsay at night
on a Bill Moyers program on PBS a few months ago.
Brought back some wonderful memories. After working
on it for 12 years I finally had my first book
published. It's called Regression Modeling Strategies
and is a statistics text. I am already up to the
500,000th top selling author in the US according to
amazon.com, right behind "A History of Nausea
and Vomiting in the Rural South." I dedicated
the book to several people including three closely
connected to Ramsay: Rick Jackson, a wonderful guy we
lost to hemophilia in 1970 (remember his alternate
proof of the Pythagorean Theorem that Ms Bledsoe
disallowed?), and two fantastic math teachers at
Ramsay, Ms Gaston and Mr Christian. If anyone knows
the whereabouts of those two I would appreciate
hearing about them. Best regards to all!! Frank
Harrell '70, fharrell@virginia.edu
06/27/01 For Memories of
Ramsay-forever I will remember Coach Smith's Biology
lab the day we killed the chicken. Wouldn't PETA get
us now for that?! I will never forget Thomas Whiddon,
Bobby Boyer calmly chopping the head of the chicken
off and blood spurting out in an arch. Then the
carcass was put into a vat of boiling water to singe
the feathers off. It was horrible, a smell I still
can smell. I beleive my sister was in the same class
or maybe did the same lab and she was horrified. It
left me with a new appreciation for the pioneers who
had to get their food like that. Today there is no
way such a lab could be done. I have students who
object to using microscopic invetebrates in lab. Can
you see Coach Smith's reaction if we were to object?
- Catherine Cain Newsome, '70, newsomec@elon.edu
6/18/01 Who remembers the Starlight
Drive In (the 3rd row -sitting on the front fender)
---- the Pig Trail Inn (everyone going from car to
car) --- the Varsity Drive In (best FF's in 10
states)--- playing Red Light (I would have killed my
children) --- AIR RAID FRESHMAN (we had stress too)
--- skipping (and getting caught climbing up the wall
behind the tennis court) --- I could go on and on. My
Mother always told me these were the best years of my
life and, as usual, she was right! - Linda Whitten
Hanback, '60, linda_hanback@hotmail.com
6/10/01 I can remember when Coach
Smith caught me getting a note from Jack Farris
(boyfriend then) during bread and before Biology lab.
I didn't know what was in the note, so I proceeded to
tear the note up as he calmly followed me around the
room. I gave anyone a piece of the note that would
take it. He retrieved every piece of it, put it
together, and placed it on the bulletin board outside
his room. Jack had a pet name for me which was
"Bozo" because my hair was flipped up high
like Bozo's I suppose. I was so embarresed when I
read the note. I never lived down the name Bozo. My
children know about the incident and have enjoyed
hearing about it. Well, that's the way it goes. I
really enjoyed my years (except that incident) at
Ramsay. Barbara Shirley McDaniel, '66, barbara.mcdaniel@att.net
03/20/01 I graduated from Ramsay in
1991. Aa freshman cheerleader, we were required to
learn the fight song, stand in the aisle of the
auditorium during pep rallies and sing the fight song
and dance to it. I think we were the only ones in the
school who really knew it. Over the next four years,
we weren't required to perform it quite as much nor
did each class of new cheerleaders learn it. But I
remember it well and can remember the words, tune and
maybe even the dance. The words are right that are
posted. Let me know if I can be of any help. - Amy
Williams, '91, amyatc@earthlink.net
12/10/00 It was 1955 when a car
"shot the ramp" and threw a dead skunk into
what was then the boys advisor's office. Anyone else
old enough to remember that? - Dick Vaughn, '57, dickandmarg@pcola.gulf.net
11/28/00 I would love to find others
from my graduation year. - Amanda (Mandy) Hayes
Hudnell, '92, ahudnell@netdoor.com
11/27/00 Ramsay struck fear into the
heart of this 13-year old in 1962. Imagine living
across the street from the elementary school...now I
had what seemed to be a twenty-mile hike most
mornings to high school. Changing classes proved a
tough row to hoe...never enough time between...will I
make it on time? I must admit the faculty did a
commendable job keeping us pointed in the proper
direction. It seems someone was always looking after
each student like we were their own children. We all
turned out pretty good after all, eh? - Mike
McClellan, '66, mikemc@telepak.net
11/27/00 ...When during the 1986
talent show cameron evans, patrick johnson, joe
felder, and michael howard rocked the entire house
with a 1 hour-old musical comosition, showing that
the hip hop oriented freshmen were a force to be
reckoned with! - Patrick Johnson, '90, pjohnson@GetLiveEnt.com
11/19/00 Having really enjoyed being
on the planning committee, going to the friday night
and Saturday night bashes in August, I have reflected
on the interesting manner in which hwe have all
survived. Did any of us truly believe that we would
get to be grandparents, or have close friends who
share ttheir grandchildren? The good Lord has been
watchful over me and those II care for most. Now we
are waiting for this strange election to come to an
end. My personal hopes are for Mr. Bush. Have you
wondered why those exit poles have indicated that
regular church goers consistently voted for G.W.? My
prayers go out to all who shared time at Ramsay. As
we all slowly head towards retirement, please think
of ways we can contribute our skills to bettering the
lives of those younger people , who will continue to
work and pay our social security. God bles us all. -
ward watson, '64, wwatson@primis.com
11/02/00 My eariest memories of
Ramsay start before I even became a student there
myself. I followed my older brother and sister by
several years. I remember all of the talk about the
1st day of integration and how 1 black boy was taken
to school and dropped off. And I thought how lonesome
he must have been. What a strange contrast to our
senior year when we couldn't even have a senior prom
because of all of the controversy between the black
kids and white kids over what band would play. Nixon
was president and Viet Nam was in full scale
fighting. I remember POW/MIA bracelets and writing to
some of the guys that had the misfortune of being
sent over there. Happy memories were Mrs.Yarbrough's
Driver's Ed class. (how to drive safely through a
drive through at Jack's.)Sorority meetings and
lead-outs,Miss Praytor's English class (did she
really think that rubber plant was her mother
reincarnated?). Mr. Barnes government and economics
class (what a joke that class was) He never could
figure out how everyone in his class got 100 on all
of his tests.(no we didn't cheat we just had really
good study sheets). Mr. Whitehead's Chemistry class.
Falling asleep in Coach Smith's biology class (only
once) and being woken up with the loud rap of that
ruler that he kept in in his hand all of the time (or
was it a dawl stick)Steve Mann eating a raw oyster
for extra points in his class and immediatly loosing
it on Coach Smith and then asking for another one.
(Man, he really wanted those extra points) Miss
Shell's typing class. Thank you Miss Shell for today
because of your wonderful teaching I can type on a
computer with my fingers resting on the home keys.
Pep ralleys, and the school bank and gazing out the
window up at Vulcan. Hot classes in the fall and
spring (pre A.C.) and dark cool halls with multitudes
of students hurrying to the next class before the
tardy bell rang.Staying after school to make banners
for the football games. I could go on and on but I
won't. I hope that there will be more to register
from the era of '69 to '74 it would be great to get a
reunion together for those that graduated during that
time. - Ibby (Elizabeth Ann) Meadows White, '72, ewhite5662@aol.com
10/30/00 When I think of Ramsay, so many memories
began to resurface. So much was going on in the world
back then and yet at Ramsay, the enviorment seemed to
somehow rise up a little above most of the world's
insanity and gave us a great place to call our
school. I'm sure that time is allowing me to focus
now more on the good things, but for some reason I
seem to have a lot of good things to remember. We had
classmates that also became our friends and we
certainly can see that with the reunion results. We
had a wonderful facility that had character, a great
view of the city, history, and to some a nice 4th
floor swimming pool. Add in the excellant faculty and
Administration and the result was a terrific
enviorment. The one memory that stands out in my mind
and has impacted on me ever since was the first time
I met Coach Reynolds. I was a freshman who had just
moved in from Florida and was starting Ramsay without
knowing anyone. My parents had just divorced and upon
starting school I wanted to play football. When I
approached Coach Reynolds about playing he told me
that he would welcome me to play but that I needed to
know that I had to earn the right to represent the
school. By that he meant that I had to be the type of
student that was worthy to represent us regardless of
it being football or chess or debate. I know it
doesn't sound too profound, but it was. That concept
was the basis with which he ran the athletic dept and
all things were built on that. By my senior year my
football coach was also my baseball coach, was also
my Biology teacher, and probably most important was
also my Sunday School Teacher. He played a huge role
in my life and helped me thru some tough times. I
have been fortunate to play a lot of sports and have
been blessed with athletic children and have been
thru a lot of sports with them. It seems in this
country we have a tendancy to place coaches on a
pedestal and I've seen a lot of them but, I only know
of one that really had the basics correct and
therefore deserved to be on that pedestal. He used to
tell us to have fun and play hard and the winning and
losing would take care of itself. Just a few years
ago, Charlie MacRoberts and I were fortunate enough
to get to go to Montgomery to see Coach Reynolds
inducted in the Alabama Hall of Fame(you see the
winning did take care of itself). Guess what? We ran
into a host of his players from the 50's, 60's, &
70's. What a thrill! I seemed to have rambled but, I
guess I can't say Ramsay without somehow thinking of
Coach Reynolds and at least from my perspective, I
believe he helped to shape that wonderful place we
call Ramsay and I feel so blessed to have experianced
it. - Marvin Hodge, '66, mlhodge@lucent.com
10/13/00 I have numerous memories of my 4 years at
Ramsay; some good, some bad. I guess the first
thought that comes to mind was the day Ramsay became
an intergrated school. I will never forget the
turmoil and unrest of the entire school at that time.
"Day One" made front page news with
pictures of "white" students walking out!
One black student to face the "white
world", Richard, I think his name was. The
memories that come to mind of this period are quite
unsettling. I have often wondered if the
"hecklers" remembered their crude remarks
and unfair treatment to this lone black student. One
of the more unpleasant memories I witnessed during
this time was the day he was in a stairwell and
someone ran by intentionally knocking his books from
his hands. Several onlookers laughed, shouted
obscenities, and ran. I stood there watching in
disbelief and will never forget the pain etched on
his face. I bent down to help him retrieve his books;
no words were spoken but I saw the appreciation in
his eyes. - Judy Hickman Marshall, '66, jhmarshall@pacesettergroup.com
10/07/00 I have many great memories of Ramsay and
I could never begin to list them all. One thing I
know for certain, and the 2000 reunion confirmed, the
people were so special. It was a tough time period,
Vietnam War, intergration, assasination of President
Kennedy, and I believe that perhaps those tough times
helped to form the deep rooted bonds we share today.
So the memories are not all "rose" colored,
however, there was some great times in spite of the
time period. One thing I remember so vividly and I am
sure this will jog some memories - I was an office
aid first period and had to call all absentees to
verify they were home and sick. I was the most
popular girl in school - my phone would start ringing
at home every morning about 6:30 alerting me to the
"cuts" and I would sit and call the weather
for the entire first period. No one ever got caught
and it was great thinking we were pulling one over.
Mr. Alley and Mrs. McPhaul probably knew, just chose
to ignore it! - Nancy Denty Onorato, '67, nonorato@ozline.net
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