LBDM Episode 21:
1979: 6th Grade Memories-
Making New Friends
Going to Judson my 6th grade year was an
unforgettable experience. In the last installment, I mentioned my going to a
GATE meeting for the very first time and meeting Angela Stanmore, my first
major crush. There were 30+ kids who attended that meeting, but from what I
recall, Angela and I were the only black kids there. The rest were white, for
the most part. There were both 6th and 7th graders in
attendance; I don’t think that there were any 8th graders present.
Anyway, that was the first of several GATE meetings we would have that year,
and it’s interesting to note now of how much of an influence the meetings had
on me and my future. Through these meetings I made friends with a lot of my
classmates who I probably either would have never become friends with
otherwise, or who I probably would have had a hard time getting to know since
we were “different”, generally speaking. And I got introduced to the biggest
thing in my life since the calculator…..the computer.
I made a lot of friends that year due to being in GATE
and having to take Advanced Math and Advanced English, as well as having some
of my classmates in my other classes, too. Of course, they were mostly white kids, since I already knew many of the black kids already attending Judson with myself. I wish I could name them all, and in
time I probably will, but I will focus on the ones I remember talking to the
most in mainly my advanced classes from my 6th grade year:
Paula Briley- I remember her being In English and Choir
with me- she sat behind me in English, and she was very friendly and talkative.
Sherri Earhart- The next two (including Sherri) I list
always either had lockers next to or above mine, or we sat by or in front of
one another in class- So it was probably destined we’d all become friends by
the end of the school year. Sherri was outspoken and could be a smart-mouth at
times, but I liked her. She was cool.
April Eaton- Her locker always seemed to be next to mine
every year- She was very nice and very friendly.
Cathy Edmondson- And her locker always seemed to be above
mine every year- Cathy was the total package- Very smart, very nice, very
friendly, very pretty- just one of the best people I’ve ever met-
Michael Foster- I remember him being one of the first
kids I met in my math class- His mother, who I think was a counsellor or
teacher at Judson, and him were very nice and friendly to me that year, and
I’ve never forgotten that. Another good person.
Julie Grimes- I’m not going to mention the nickname she
gave me later on during our 8th grade year, but she was in a lot of
my classes every year at Judson- She was very talented as well as smart- could
sing and cheerlead- I believe we became friends in English also-
Russell Hohlt- He was a genuine good guy, friendly and
kind of funny- I had him in FOUR of my classes my 6th grade year.
Bobby Lorenz- One of the few I was able to have a lot of
classes with both at Judson and LHS- A really, really good guy who loved cars
(I wished I could draw a car as good as him!) and who was one of the calmest
people I’ve ever met.
Rosey Mancha- She was friendly, very intelligent, and
always seemed to have a smile on her face always- That’s what I remember most
about her- her smile-
Marc Mayfield- You could tell he was going to grow up and
become a lawyer someday way back when we were in the 6th grade- That
doesn’t mean he was a bad person- He was as good as they come-
Brian Romans- He was kind of quiet, very smart,
especially in math- A good person.
Mark Smitherman- The ultimate boy scout- Strong, smart,
didn’t let anything or anyone bother him or defeat him- Very mature back then
compared to the rest of us-
Lisa Supercinski- Another one of my first new friends in
my math class, who I believe sat in front of me (we were not seated
alphabetically in math)- Very smart, very friendly, who talked to and helped me
a lot in class.
Tim Tutt- Very, very friendly, always smiling- he was
just a very nice person-
Scot Walker- He was a good person, smart, sometimes a
smart-aleck but very much a decent person-
Lee Warren- He was smart, sneaky-athletic (he really
could run fast), and like Bobby, very even-tempered and calm.
Clay Whitehurst- The mad scientist of our group, he loved
science even though he was smart in all subjects, and he was very friendly
also- I remember talking to him a lot during math also.
Jeff Hampton- We’d become better friends in the 7th
and 8th grades- He was a good person with a huge heart- Always
down-to-earth, always trying and doing his best, someone I’m glad I got to
know-
Mona Hall- She was very quiet at first, but once you got
to know her, she was very friendly and smart-
John Shiver- J.D. was one of my favorites- He was funny,
smart, just a great person to be around- I had a lot of classes with him at Judson
also and always liked talking to him-
Melanie Braun- She was very smart and outspoken also- She
always tried and did her best on everything from her classes to being in the
band, and more times than not, she was usually successful.
Jamie Ivy- She was very down-to-Earth and one of the
nicest kids I met that year - She was another I liked talking to, and I thought
that her name was pretty.
Elizabeth Bassett- It seemed like most of the girls were
smarter than the boys and Elizabeth was no exception- Very intelligent-
There were others who I probably met in the 6th
grade, or who I met when I was in the 7th and 8th grades-
Julie Swimm, Sue Lynn Tipton, Kim Russell, Kim Williams, Mike Gilbreath,
Natalina Hernendez, Jarrod King, Roland Bailey, Mike Pless, Scott Branch, Scott
Lamon, Traci Douglas, and Laura Peurifoy to name a few more- In all honesty, I
can’t totally remember when I actually did meet and talk to them for the very
first time- but all of them have been friends to this day and I’m thankful to
have gotten to know them when I did.
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