My Memories of Kirby Smith
by Donna Parrish
I started Kirby Smith the day of the Halloween Carnival in 1945. Halloween was on Wednesday that year. World War II was over and my Dad (step-dad) got his discharge the 1st day of October. We left Oklahoma (He was a gunnery instructor for the Army Air Force at Ardmore.) and went by way of Massachusetts back to Gainesville where he had a roofing company before the war. I didn't have a costume and didn't know they were having a carnival until I got to school that day. So I went wearing a "twinkle..twinkle little star" outfit from a first grade play.
When they found we were leaving Oklahoma, they skipped me over the second grade. When we got to Kirby Smith, I had to read for Mrs. Metcalf before I could be placed in third grade. My first teacher was Mrs. Thompson (?). I remember they were writing at Kirby Smith and we were still printing at Davis, so I had to play catch up. We put on a play that year (1945-1946) based on the Grasshopper and the Ant. We sang "O What a Beautiful Morning". In black crepe paper, I was an ant. I remember Mason Carmichael being one of the flowers (poster board cut with petals and a hole in the middle for faces).
At Kirby Smith we had a morning recess and an afternoon recess. Also at lunch we had an hour and when we cleaned our plates we could go play. I remember the playground as dirt but there were big covered concrete areas where we could play if it was raining. The schoolyard was not fenced and if the ball went in the street, you had to look for cars before you could go get it. In big boxes in the covered area where the buses picked us up, there were balls and bats and jump ropes that were handed out to play with at recess. The girls would bring from home their small jump ropes and their jacks. The boys brought their marbles and their pocket knives to play mumbledy peg.
4th Grade (1946-1947), I believe the teacher was Mrs. Lenahan (?). I was very sick the last six weeks of school with viral pneumonia and my dad had to take me in to take finals to get promoted.
5th Grade (1947-1948) I had Mrs. Seay. I remember it that in the afternoon you had chorus. If you weren't in Chorus, the girls had sewing classes and the boys had shop.
6th Grade (1948-1949) Mrs. Williams. I didn't take chorus that year, but instead of sewing, she let me go in the cloakroom and get a book on Greek Mythology. I remember her letting Gayle Wilkinson draw (Gayle was so talented.)
During the time I was at Kirby Smith I had Brownies and then Girl Scouts. I have a picture of the Brownies in my troop.
The names weren't on the back, so someone will have to help me out.
Standing at back: Sarah Baughn? with flag, Madonna Clark (adopted to Leary in 5th grade), ?????, Mary Elizabeth Goin
Middle Row: Dodie???, Virginia Bevis?, Mary Lois Goolsby, Deanna Saltzman?, Mason Carmichael, Patricia Leland?
Kneeling: Barbara Hall?, ?, ?, ?, ?
We used to go to the Duck Pond to roller skate on the sidewalks. We had to take our bicycles down to the police station and get a permit tag on them.
We had cheerleaders for the football team. I remember Jo Ann Ferrazi, Janice Dickinson, Sara Spencer.
One of the cheers we really liked was:
Go back, go back, go back to the woods. Go back, go back, you ain't got the goods.
Remember the jump rope verses?
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs....
Cinderella, dressed in yellow went upstairs to see her fellow......
My best friend was Yvonne Sheppard (Lindsey and Barbara's sister).
The guys I played with on my street were: Gene and Charles Sauls, Donnie
and Elwood Joiner, Buck and Stingaree Kite, Darryl Layfield.
The girls I played jacks and paper dolls with were Anita Bryan? and Ruby
Wigglesworth.
The boys I played touch football with were Lindsey Sheppard, Robert Cheatham
and ??.
Mr. and Mrs. Cary Williams were our Girl Scout Leaders. We met at the Methodist Church Scout Hut.
I couldn't find any school pictures. I left Kirby Smith for Gainesville
High in 1949.
The only school pictures I could find were for my brother and sister...1953
forward.
Did they not make school pictures???
Donna Parrish
Email: donna@donnaparrish.com