Elaine Goller:  

Don't let it throw you. I really did graduate from Dixie Hollins High School in January 1973. And then 10 years later I went "back" -- to Daniel Boone High School, in Gray, TN, to be exact -- as a journalist to find out what high school was like a decade later. Undercover as "Rose McKee" I made a lot of friends, who, interestingly, were idealogically similar to the group who had made me feel a part of something special when I was at Dixie. It resulted in a series of articles for the Johnson City Press Chronicle and printed elsewhere through Associate Press. Yes, I was at Dixie Hollins during the riots. What a sad time that was. Couldn't figure out how people could be so close-minded -- after all it was 1972, a time of awareness, of peace, love & harmony, at least in some sectors of the planet. For me, it was a culture shock, having lived in Philadelphia before returning to the West Coast of Florida. Despite the turmoil, I had a some wonderful friends and fantastic teachers. It's odd that despite moving back to my adopted home town, I rarely encounter other Rebels. Perhaps through this venue.... I also attended Walters State Community College in Morristown, TN, from 1976 to 1977. Loooong story as to how I happened to land there, but I remain in almost daily contact with one of first people to befriend me there, Ric LaRue. I was a Humanities major, active in the school's first theater projects(before the new building was even dreamed of, we turned a chorus room into a theater!) modeled for art classes (wonder if there are any of those sketches still out there), was PR director for the Student Activities division under Dean McElroy (one of several true mentors I found a...Expand for more