Vivian L Dawson:  

I was born to an Irishman of small statue...but don't let that fool you...black hair & black eyes made him loom......And to an American Indian Mother, with dark auburn curly hair and eyes of green, with just enough French in the mix to be interesting. I consequently retained the Olive complextion from both my parents and dark curly auburn hair with green eyes from my Mother. But make no mistake I was raised All American! Growing up in South Memphis during and after WWII was the Greatest! Truth be told, we were poor...but we had riches of another kind...Life long friendships from K-Nine....And then not having enough we went Sophmore to Senior in treasured time.There was Mallory Heights...then A B Hill...Longview Heights...and then...the long awaited...South Side High School. A period of innocent days when you could make a brown bag lunch and ride your bicycle to Riverside Park....Spend lazy days at the Rosewood Drug Store drinking chocolate cokes,or going to the Saturday matinees and having a zero bar at the Rosewood Theatre...where "The Thing" scared me so much...but then progressing to the back row with a Friday night date and not caring what the movie was.... And Oh! those glorious summers at the Pine Hill swimming pool...the Saturday night dances at the Pine Hill Community Center with John Taylor...oh, we practiced so much in my kitchen...and for Wink Martindale's Saturday Dance Party on Channel Five, or the Bellevue Drive In on a hot summer Friday night...In Sammy's father's little red borrowed pickup truck with the frozen fish from the market for peddling the next day....But equally important to be seen at Leonards BBQ with Sammy Locastro (Class of 1957), the star football player...having a BBQ sandwich,a bean pot,and lemon ice box pie in a borrowed green and yellow 1953 Buick Special from his Mother...especially after winning a football game at Crump Stadium. Yes, those were the days of transition! Many Friendships and Dreams that will last a lifetime...For you see... Of all the gifts that life can send, There is none more precious than a Friend....Much like John Taylor, my dance partner, who has never left my side as a loyal Friend...Carolyn Pfeffer, Ann Taggart, Kay Bunch, Jan Holly, Wilma Durham, Yvonne (Olree) & Shorty Rogers, Louie & Dot (Monger) Dalton, Joe Cooper, Billy Fletcher...just to name a few...But a Special thank you to David Ruddle, for those velvet kisses on Dison Avenue, when just kissing was enough ....Friendships that stand the test of time...Footprints in my Heart. Our Beloved South Side High School gave us years for graduation, but there was no year that kept us apart as Friends...after all we had known many from kindergarten all the way through.... As some of us moved on to Memphis State University...we had a wake up call...as freshman again...trying to cope with the vastness of it all, and being seperated from our friends...as we seemed to be going in different directions...For an education was why we were there.... I was fortunate to be recognized...but caught up in the drama of it all...I did't realize that an education was more important...than being a beauty queen. And then there was Sammy returning from Greenland as he completed his tour of duty in the Army...After all the wine and dining...we decided that California was too far away...and the time was too long to wait... So, we eloped...but couldn't wait for California...so, I became Mrs. Sam J. Locastro in Santa Rosa, New Mexico in November 1960.... Our first enchanting experience of married life was in San Pedro, CA, at Fort Mc Arthur...but then the papers came to report to Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, CA...for Sammy had been trained in Missle Control.... I found a job in Redlands, CA. So, we moved because I could walk to work, and Sammy could drive the car to the base as he worked sw...Expand for more