Sheryll Melinda Hooven:  

What a life! After graduation, I headed to UGA along with a few others from our class (Zoe Ann Irvin, Tommy Poole, Edward Loudermilk, and Len Dalton). It was indeed a different world when my dorm held about twice as many girls as the entire student body at SHHS. It did, however, not take long to make new friends and feel at home in this new place. I fell in love with this school, cheering for the DAWGS, my sorority, and the guy who would become my hubby, Lynn Buckelew Hooven, It was a time when many of us witnessed changes in our lives and the world around us. The times changed on campus from girls being only allowed to wear dresses or skirts in class to wearing anything including your PJ's under a raincoat. I witnessed a change from a very conservative campus to one where students streaked across the green lawn of North Campus and protested the war and the murder of students at Kent State. It sometimes felt as if our generation was destined to see everything around turn upside down. By the end of my freshman year, I had selected Biology as my major, and there were hours spent in lectures and labs. There was still time on the weekends to enjoy all the fun in Athens. After meeting thanks to Tommy Poole, Lynn and I had four quarters to enjoy UGA together on campus before he graduated with a forestry degree in June of 1969. He was fortunately hired by the Georgia Forestry Commission and placed in the office in Newnan, GA. Unfortunately, in October he was one of the final groups of guys to be drafted into the Army. Two weeks later, the first lottery took place; he would have been number 305 for the draft had the letter not been delivered. He surprised me with an engagement ring on my birthday in November while we visited his parents in New Jersey before he reported for duty at Fort Knox in February. We were married on June 26, 1970, at First Baptist Church in Cornelia while Lynn was on a 3-day leave after completing his first AIT at Fort Belvoir in Alexandra, VA. We made our first home there until October when he was transferred to Fort Hood, Texas where he, fortunately, remained working as a cartographer until the Army began to rift individuals due to our decreased involvement in Vietnam in the spring of 1972. I had completed the last year of my degree by commuting back and forth between Fort Hood and UGA, alternating quarters with Lynn and a dorm room at school. I added a minor in secondary science education and even did my student teaching at Habersham Central since that allowed me to live at home with Mom and Dad. Lynn returned to his job with the GFC in the Statesboro office in March, and in September 1972 we welcomed our first child, Laura Elizabeth Hooven. Over the years we have moved with the commission and lived in Millen, Newnan (that we loved and hated to leave), and finally, Macon that is truly now home. Our son, James Buckelew Hooven, II, named for Lynn's dad, was born in Newnan in 1975. Macon(1979-present) was our final destination because it is the state headquarters of the Commission so Lynn was allowed to be promoted several times without a change in location. By the time both children were in school, I decided I was ready to begin my career outside the home, For six years, I was a substitute teacher for Bibb County, and by the fall of 1986 both Laura and James were attending Tattnall Square Academy, a private college-prep Christian school (grades pre-k through 12th). I was offered a position with TSA teaching math the first year (like Mrs. Bates) and then science (like Mrs. Barron, Mr. Cash, and Mr. Chandelor); that sealed the next 27 years of my career. I have taught everything from pre-algebra to life science, earth science, biology, and environmental science. These years were wonderful because until the kids both graduated we went to school together every day, my fellow teachers became some of my very best friends, and we were all totally involved as a family in every aspect of the school. I retired in May 2013 only because Lynn and I wanted to spend time with our most precious blessings--the four grandchildren. Lynn (lucky state employee) had retired with full benefits on October 31, 2001, since they counted his time in the military and any unused sick days ...Expand for more