The Woodrow Years -10th grade

     In September of 1972, the class of 1975 started high school. Back then, the powers that be passed what was called “The Uniform School Rule” which meant school started the day after Labor Day and was finished by the first week in June. I am sure people wish that ruling was in effect this year. Some of the people that we went to Junior High with moved away. Once again, we had to make the adjustment to learn how to go to school with people that were once considered rivals, when we were in junior high:  Park vs Beckley, Beckley vs Stratton, Stratton vs Park etc. East Beckley kids verses East Park kids, church rivals Mt. Zion vs New Hope.

     We all now went to one school. There were two buses that ran in our neighborhood bus 117 which was the early bus and bus 110 that came around 7:00AM. That meant getting up at 6AM for me. This would be a trend for the next 35 years, getting up early to go to school or to go to work, I rode bus 110.  Which picked up at the end of Barber Avenue, it also picked students up at Stratton, and we were off to school. Riding the bus was OK. I sat up front. The seniors sat in the back.  We had music on our bus, because someone had a portable 8 track player on the bus.

     When you got to Woodrow, you either went to the cafetertorium or stood outside and gossiped with your classmates until they said it was time to come in. The first day of school only the tenth graders went. I can see why, there were around 570 students that had to be processed, assigned homerooms, lockers and given their schedules. All of us piled into the cafeterium and met the principal, the vice principals etc.  I was in homeroom 10B with a Mrs. Cook. I was the only black student in that homeroom. I was determined to be quiet and do my schoolwork and not get into any trouble. I did stay out ofm trouble. I had Mr. Crews for Biology, this is where Miss Amoto’s teaching us how to keep a notebook came in handy. Most of his class was lecture. I had Miss Webb for English, Mr. Elkins for choir.

     I don’t remember many more of my teachers that year, there were too many other things to remember. Like if your last class was in D section and you had a locker in C section how do you get to the locker and get your stuff before your bus leaves. What I used to do is after lunch ease up the C section, get my stuff for the afternoon and run like a bat out of torment to get to my next class, was American Studies 2.  In the winter I drug my coat around.  They told us to beware of people selling elevator tickets etc. I remember going from  F which was the gym, to E and crssing one of the halls in C hear two seniors talk about all of the sophomores that were everywhere. We were.  That Friday when I got the lunch periods mixed up, I was so embarrassed walking into English class late. I did go home and have a Marsha Brady melt down “I hate high school”. 

     I remember The Eagle Dispatch our good ole school newspaper. One of the articles I remember to this day was “I’m 17, I can’t really be dead”. It was talking about a teenager who died in a car crash. The reason why I remember this so vividly was that there were four ninth grade girls who use to live in the Crab Orchard  MacArther area who were killed by someone either drag racing down the four lane or just driving too fast. I also remember Mrs. Lou Manning “Way to go ace” was here favorite saying and Mrs. Edna Phillips from gym class.  There were two things I remember about gym, the curtain that separated the boys from the girls, and “the car wash”. Only a few brave, proud girls used the car wash. The rest of us took showers. 

     During the summer of 1972, I was so excited about entering high school, that all I talked about and dreamed about.  One of the teachers who taught at my elementary school saw me and she talked to a buch of us. She had had some of them in first grade. I didn’t go to that school until second grade, her name was Helen Jones. Mrs. Jones told us that high school would be the best years of our lives. She advised us to get involved in the clubs and activities. She told us not be a loner; which is exactly what I was for the most part. I was trying to live like a Christian; therefore I didn’t go to dances, or the Friday night football games. There is nothing wrong with that on the surface, but I didn’t trust the people who wanted me to go to some of the thimhs with them. They would say things like; ”I would love to see how you are drunk”. That was when I mde up my mind that I wasn’t going anywhere with them. My mom had told us a story about when she was about 16 or 17, she came to Beckley with some of her friends and they went off with their boyfriends leaving her stranded to get back to Mabscott. My dad were in Beckley at a dance and saw to it that she got home, he called a cab and paid for it. I was well aware of what could happen. Also I was younger than most of the people in my class. I was 14 at the time.

     Racial incidents were still kind of high back then. Something would set the black students off or some incident that happened at the football game would cause trouble at school. I tried to stay under the radar for all of this.  People were upset because none of the black students were represented on the “Homecoming Court” or “Miss Flying Eagle”, so it was decided and I am not sure  by who;  that the black students have their own court. Thus “Miss Afro” was born. This court was to be presented during halftime at a game in February which is designated as Black History Month. I looked this up and Renee Shepard class of 1973 was the first Miss Afro.

     There were other battles like this that went on over the years at Woodrow and I am sure there still are. Racism will never end as long as people on both sides keep passing it on to their children. In Gods eyes we are all the same. If we can send a man to the moon, why can we not learn to get along?  I had my own battles to fight. I was bullied about not being black enough. I should dye my hair or wear an afro. I tried wearing an afro the last day of school in 9th grade. I looked like someone that didn’t comb their hair.  I was also bullied about having what I call being abundantly blessed. I eventually went to one of the deans about the black thing. Mr. Roy Dawson had been at Stratton, he had taught my mom and dad. There were some albinos that went to school with my mom and dad,  he listened and told me he would take care of it, I am not sure what was done, but I was never bothered about that again. I hated to do that, but I felt that I didn't have any other choice.

     I survived 10th grade. I only missed one day of school that year. It was when our church went to Pittsburgh. We didn’t get back until 3 AM on a Monday morning. I missed school that day.  I was a decent student.

     11th grade was coming, my best high school year……