Cheering at My High School Pep Rally

 Greenville Sr. High School

Greenville, SC

I never have "liked" football, so I only attended a few games during my high school years. Besides not being a fan of the game, I lost all true "school spirit" when I was forced to transfer from Greenville Senior High to Wade Hampton High, starting with the 11th grade. It broke my heart and spirit. 

I loved going to Greenville Junior High and was thrilled with being able to attend Greenville Senior High. During my 10th grade year, my parents moved out of the district. Even though we went to the Superintendent of Greenville County Schools, pleading with him to allow me to attend Greenville High for my final 2 years, it was not in the cards. 

Anyway....Pep Rallies at Greenville High were great fun. I only attended the "big" Greenville-Parker "Turkey Day" game, but I was a big "Red Raider" supporter. Go team!

Greenville Senior High Pep Rally 

1964/65

(Yes, I am in this picture!)

Then came the move to a new school....Wade Hampton. There were some friends from my Greenville Jr. High days who were there, and that was nice. But school just wasn't the same anymore.

Wade Hampton High School

(It didn't even look like a school! At least, to me.)

Like everyone at Wade Hampton, we attended Pep Rallies for the "Generals" and though those rallies were fun, they didn't mean anything to me. 

However, in going through some of my things from those Wade Hampton years, I ran across a scrap of paper. On this paper was scribbled a cheer we did a those Pep Rallies. I remember having so much fun doing that cheer! I guess I didn't want to forget it, so I wrote it down. It's the only truly "fun" thing I remember from being at Wade Hampton. Sad, huh?

Here's the cheer, written as I remembered it, though I am sure there are variations out there.

Ma-hey, ma-hi, ma-ho! 

Hum dum, ninny cat, ninny cat...so, cat, rat! 

Hobble, gobble, ricker-rack! Hobble, gobble, firecracker!

Hobble, gobble, razoo! Johnny plays the bassoon!

Siss, boom, bah!

Wade Hampton, Wade Hampton!

Rah, rah, rah!

'Junior High Mirror' Oct. 31, 1962 Newspaper from Greenville Jr. High School in Greenville, SC

I kept many of the school newspapers from my years at Greenville Junior High School on Westfield Street in Greenville, South Carolina. I decided here would be a good place to store a digital version, just in case something happens to the paper versions. 

From my 8th grade year at GJHS:

Junior High Mirror

Vol. 13. No. 1

Wed., Oct. 31, 1962. 

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Not Quite Topo Gigio .... But Kinda Cute

This cute little guy is the real Topo Gigio.

Topo Gigio was the lead character of a children's puppet show on Italian and Spanish television in the early 1960s. He became popular in the US and the world after being featured on The Ed Sullivan Show. 

As a kid I just loved watching Ed and Topo Gigio together, especially when Topo would ask "Eddie" to kiss him. I loved that Topo would make stone-faced Ed smile, and even laugh a little. It was so endearing. I still love watching video clips of those two together. 

So, on Saturday morning, I couldn't resist picking up this strange little Topo Gigio-like Christmas mouse at Miracle Hill on Pete Hollis Blvd. It still has the original paper label showing it was made Japan and trademarked by T. K. R. 

Topo was an Italian creation of artist Maria Perego. The official Topo Gigio website is at this link: http://www.topogigio.it/ 

Given Topo's Italian "heritage", and the colors in Italy's flag, red, green and white, it was very easy for Topo....or this Topo imitation...to become a Christmas ornament or decoration.  

Anyway, I've never seen one of these and it was, to me, such a novelty that I just had to bring "Fake Topo" home!

The Gene Autry Show at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

One memory that has always stood out in my mind is the time Mama took me to the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium to see Gene Autry and Annie Oakley. I am pretty sure that the year was 1956. I had never been to a show like this, so it was a big deal for me. It was probably a big deal for Mama, too, as she was a real Gene Autry fan. Even though I was so young, I always cherished my Souvenir Program from this show and, after being stored, moved, and thumbed through for 58 years, it's still in pretty good condition!

Though I don't remember anything about the show itself, what I do remember is when Gene Autry rode his horse, Champion, down the aisle from the back of the auditorium and right up onto the stage! Boy, was I impressed! Here is a picture from the February 5, 1956 Spartanburg Herald-Journal of Gene riding Champion down the aisle. 

Here is the article that was with the above picture.

Inside the front cover of the Souvenir Program was this ad for Gene Autry merchandise. 

Here is the rest of the souvenir booklet. On any of these pictures, you can click on it to make it larger and more easy to read.

GENE AUTRY

ANNIE OAKLEY

THE AUTRYS OFF THE RANGE

BIOGRAPHY OF A CHAMPION

PAT BUTTRAM

THE CASS COUNTY BOYS

CARL COTNER

THE STRONGS - RUFE DAVIS - AUDREY HAAS 

and

 THE CYCLING VILLENAVES

GENE'S WARDROBE

Salem Cigarettes Sample Packs and Memories

Why yes, back in my youth, sometimes you really could get something for nothing! In this case, 4 free cigarettes. For a time, cigarette manufacturers gave away sample packs of cigarettes, like this one pictured.






We found this empty Salem cigarette sample pack in our attic. I don't know an exact year to date sample cigarette packs. There is no Zip Code on the package, so it would be from before 1963, the year zips became "required". There is a health warning on the package. 

I imagine cigarette manufacturers had tables set up in grocery and other stores to distribute these sample packs, much like they do food samples in stores now. My parents both worked in grocery stores and I remember them bringing home samples of various brands of cigarettes.  

Each package contained 4 cigarettes. This Salem package is a "flip-top" box and I believe the others I remember were in the same type package. 

Salem was my brand of choice when I smoked, so this package brings back memories. Back in the mid 1960s, my best friend and I would go shopping downtown on Saturdays. We would take smoke breaks in the ladies lounge at J.C. Penney's. That was about as rebellious as the two of us ever were. Neither of us smoke now.

Junior High Mirror - Greenville (SC) Jr. High School Newspaper - May 1963

This is my copy of the the May 23, 1963 issue of the Junior High Mirror, which was the student newspaper at Greenville Junior High. Sadly this school, and even the building itself, no longer exists. It was located on Westfield Street in Greenville, South Carolina, atop Prospect Hill. I attended the 7th through the 9th grades at GJHS, and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed...actually loved...this school. It was here I became a "full blooded" Greenville High student. 

This is an image of how Greenville Junior High School looked in 1937. When I attended GJHS from 1961-64, it looked the same! The interior was quite dated and there were actual "potholes" in some of the hallway floors on the lower level. It was a great school though, and it felt like "tradition", which I liked a lot. 

Above is page 2 of the Junior High Mirror. As you have probably already discerned, this May 1963 Mirror is the final issue of the 1962-63 school year. As the final issue, there is the "Last Will & Testament" of the 9th grade class, bequeathing a "portion of their worldly goods to the rising eighth and ninth graders".

Page 3 contains the "Class Prophecy".

Page 4 contains the Ninth Grade Class History and an article listing students with perfect attendance for the 1962-63 school year.

After attending grades 7-9 at Greenville Junior High, I was excited to be promoted to the 10th grade. In 1964, I would get to go to the "school on the hill", Greenville  High!*

*After attending Greenville Senior High in 1964-65, my parents moved us out to the "boonies" of Greenville County and I was forced to attend Wade Hampton High School. I graduated from WHHS, but never felt that I belonged there. I'll always be a "Greenville High girl".

Santa and the Easter Bunny use Western Union

Going through a box of Barbie doll clothes, I found two papers folded up in the bottom. I was surely surprised at what they were. Western Union Telegrams, addressed to me! It seems I just don't remember getting these at all, but there they were!

The Santa-Gram was the oldest, but not by much, dated December 1959, and sent to me at 111 Lowndes Hill Rd. in Greenville, SC, our address at that time. With an origination address of "North Pole", the telegram said: "From the land of snow and ice, with a pack of presents nice, my trusty deer are bringing me down, your house will be my first stop in town.= Santa Claus ="

The next telegram was the Easter Bunny-Gram, dated April 1960, and sent to me at 10 Dale Dr. in Greenville, SC. With an origination location of Bunnyland, this telegram said: "A little Happy Easter wish that's coming just to say: Sure hope a real fine girl has a real fine Easter Day.= Peter Rabbit =" 

Besides finding precious papers that my parents had taken the time to be sure I would receive (You do know they talked to Santa and Peter Rabbit to get this done, right?), I also got valuable information in the dates of the telegrams. Those dates, December 1959 and April 1960, tell me that it was at the first of the year in 1960 that we moved to Dale Dr. from Lowndes Hill Rd. I had often wondered just when we moved but had no way to pinpoint it.