Jim Smith:  

At Richwoods I began as a pole vaulter - then later I became a worthless hippie. And I would have gladly remained a worthless hippie had it not been for my father, who sent me out looking for work 2 weeks before graduation. "Get out ahead of the crowd, Jim" he would say, "God knows you'll certainly need the head start!". Having landed a position as one of the first male telephone operators ever to haunt the switchboards at Illinois Bell, I was forced to give up any notion I may have had about becoming a *professional* hippie at the tender age of 17. During those school years the crew I hung out with most included Bob Wendle, Chris and Greg O'neill, Randy Potts and Doug Habben. Although others came and went throughout that time (and I apologize if I've neglected to mention anyone here), I think this may have been the core group of buddies I knew best and trusted most at Richwoods. At lunch, we occupied a table against the north wall of the cafeteria, farthest east from the windows - a slot we maintained all throughout those school years. I was far too shy to talk to girls in those days: my pulse would race, my face would flush and I would suffer from a terrifying shortness of breath anytime a person from the opposite sex said anything to me. I did know a few girls, though, primarily from the old neighborhood - you know, the ones that are stuck with you because they've known you since grade school. Among them were the likes of Janis Blessington, Karen Cervenka, Crystal Etter and a few others that attended Bergan High rather than Richwoods. I had a number of really great teachers at RHS including: Driscoll, Riley, Hammerton, Johnston, Deatheridge, Seible, Rogers, Brown and many others too numerous to mention here. Oddly, I never met my counselor until a few weeks before graduation when she called me into her office for a little chit chat. Prior to RHS: I was born in November of 1955 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. I did not attend kindergarden. I attended 1st through (half of) 3rd grades at Irving Grade School in Centralia, Illinois (my teachers were McMacken, McClellan and Hamilton). I attended (the second half of) 3rd through 4th grades at Rolling Acres in Peoria (Duncan and Day). I then attended 5th at Northmoor (Norgart), only to be bussed to Sipp for 6th (Wheaton). Finally, I attended 7th and 8th back at Northmoor again; junior high - I remember Taylor (science) and Huson (math), but the names of the two other teachers escape me. If you went there during this time and happen to recall their names (social studies and english, both women), I would be grateful if you would please drop me a message with the low-down. In hindsight, I guess we were bounced around a lot in those days, but my recollection is that it was just the normal course of events for us baby-boomers. After high school graduation, I worked in Peoria during the day and partied heavily at night for perhaps 10 years. During the daylight hours I scaled telephone poles and slithered down into manholes in search of telephone cables that needed splicing (a perfect job for a young man minus a mission, BTW). At night I ventured out into Peoria's nightlife in an attempt to meet women. Often staying out far too late, I burned the candle on both ends as my father used to say. After a few of those years zipped by I emerged from the fog momentarily and found a calling when I began working with minicomputers in the early 80s. I received a promotion (somehow) and moved to the Big Windy to work for AT&T. While in Chicago, I occaisionally ran into some of my old classmates from RHS (sure - some of them had become fat and balding like myself, but interestingly enough, not all of them). Like many young singles moving into the area, I chose to live downtown rather than attempt to assimilate to that nasty suburban train schedule. The Loop was pretty bleak in those days but those of us who...Expand for more