The following article by Charles Hartley was published on 17 Apr 2016.
This week's article is a bit different, and will include lots and lots of names. It is taken from the November 1948 issue of the Shepherdsville High School newspaper titled BUZZ. First of all, we offer a big thanks to Don Hawkins who donated the paper to the Bullitt County History Museum.
The major headline read, "School Band is Organized." With donations from the Lions Club, Woman's Club, and the school P.T.A., the band would be supplied with instruments selected by Mr. Owens who was to be the new Band Director. He appeared to be well qualified, as he was a member of the Louisville Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.
The paper reported on several improvements to the school over the summer, including a new fire escape for the old school building, a new floor for the gymnasium, a fence around the ball diamond, and a new tennis court.
High School class officers were listed. For the seniors, the officers were President Gabe Summers, Vice President Lee Stuart Secretary Myrna Jackson, Treasurer Hazel Quinn, King Coleman Robinson (not sure of the significance of that title), Cheerleader Emogene Shepherd, and the two Sgt-at-Arms were Billy Hardy and Arvel Morris.
Junior officers identified included President Charles Wood, Vice-President Prince Ryan, Secretary Emma Jean Sadler, Treasurer Lucy Rice, Queen Joan Wise, King Bobby Huffman, and Cheerleader Betty Berman.
Continuing down the list, the sophomore officers were President Bobby Roby, Vice-President Billy Howard Smith, Secretary Billy Earl Weller, Reporter Patricia Stamper, Queen Audrey Gent, King Clifton Lutes, and Cheerleader Billie Williams.
The freshman officers were President Charles Barnes, Vice-President Margaret Robinson, Secretary Joanne Rennison, Treasurer Jeanine Higgins, Queen Nancy Kulmer, King Jimmy Brown, and Cheerleader Patty Brooks.
Arthur Lee Moody, a former S.H.S. graduate, was the coach of the school's first eleven-man football squad. The team's captain was Bill Newton with Clifton Lutes as co-captain. Other team members included Bobby Roby, Frank White, Arvel Morris, Floyd Price, Robert Holsclaw, Bobby Wigginton, Lindsey Croan, Sonny Crowe, Carl Brooks, Terry White, Harvey Johnson, Bobby Stallings, Thomas Thornton, Kenneth French, Roger Holsclaw, Bill Joe Wigginton, Charles Barnes, J.D. Garr, Jimmy Brown, Robert Miles, and Hoyte Bynam.
The BUZZ staff included Editor-in-Chief Mary K. Higgins, Managing Editor Emogene Shepherd, Business Manager Jimmy Stansbury, Sports Editor Bill Newton, Literary and Feature Editor Henrietta Bishop, Advertising Editor Arvel Morris, and Grades News Editor Thomas Thornton. Other reporters included Charles Wood, Patty Ann Cruise, Lucy Rice, Patsy Thornton, Marilyn Miller, Jean Sadler, Norma Gay Layer, Delores Bradbury, Kenneth Masden, and Willa Louise Burns.
The Alumni Activities column reported that Headie Lee was working as a timekeeper at Henry Vogts, and Lee Waters worked there too. Other alumni included Helen Marcum Smith who was teaching at Nichols Elementary, Mona Whiteman who was attending the University of Louisville, and Mary Lee Brooks who was a student at Eastern Kentucky.
The paper identified a number of new teachers at the school including Vernon T. Jones, Jr. (P.E.), Pauline Mise (Home Ec), Walter Lee Crady (Commerce), Pauline Sims (Math), Marjorie Lafferty (Science), Lois Estridge (English), Ann Sanders (Geography and Civics), Arthur Lee Moody (Math), Fae Masden (Third Grade), Joe Owens (Music), Christine Cruise (Third Grade), and Fern Garner (Third Grade).
Mr. Crady helped to organize a Glee Club with Mary Acker Bealmear as the pianist. About 40 came out for the first practice.
The F.F.A. Chapter was busy cleaning their new shop and classroom. In the past season, several had earned awards including Gale Ratliff, Arthur Hilbers, and Leason Ratliff.
The paper reported on the town's growth, and stated that Henderson and Hardy had enlarged their building, George Quinn had opened a new hardware store, and Maramans had enlarged their dry goods store.
The F.H.A. elected club officers including President Audrey Jent, Vice-President Billie Williams, Secretary Mary Frances McCubbins, Treasurer Pauline Dever, Song Leader Dorothy Harris, and Reporter Patricia Stamper.
The Ways and Means Committee of the school P.T.A. included Stanley Lee, Theodore Cook, Maurice Kulmer, Roy Carpenter, Lewis Hatfield, V. T. Jones, and Clyde E. Roby.
The paper reported that Rev. Cleo Skelton, a missionary from India, spoke to the assembled school at the school's first chapel exercises in the school gym.
Several recent marriages involving former S.H.S. students included Mildred Crump and J. C. Reynolds, Edith Cox and Samuel Gentry, Audrey Cox and Jim Foley, Pearl McElvain and George Gentry, Bonnie Dawell and Bruce Carver, and Delores Farmer and Owen Graham, Jr.
And a couple of humorous inserts shared what the ideal boy and girl would have. The boy would have Thomas Thornton's build, Arvel Morris' brains, Stuart Lee's hair, Gabe Summers' eyes, Wayne Kalwat's smile, Sonny Crowe's wit, Bobby Huffman's personality, and Bill Newton's athletic ability. The girl would have Roberta Franke's figure, Hazel Quinn's intelligence, Henrietta Bishop's hair, Lucy Rice's eyes, Delores Bradbury's smile, Mary K. Higgins' personality, and Emogene Shepherd's athletic ability.
There was more humor and a bit of silliness in the back pages of this school paper, but by and large it was well done and a pleasure to read. I'm sure quite a few readers today have recognized names of days gone by (and perhaps even their own). I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
Copyright 2016 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Sep 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/memories/buzz.html
