George Fore:  

Classmates Story See update 2018 "Hello to my Classmates". Classmates was started by Randy Conrads in the mid 1990's and he sold out about ten years later and started a Christian ministry. I added Coffee's Classmates school site to his format and classmates is still a good place to connect with old friends and make new ones. Share your history and let old friends know how you are, “Classmates” has helped reconnect me with many of my friends in Elementary, High School, College, and the Military. It lets me see how some of you have gotten old like me. Old is good if we are prepared for the future. Thanks for your comments and enjoy life. UPDATE 2018: SHARING MEMORIES After 55 years: 55th year Reunion of the Class of 1963 and High School Memories: While cleaning out the attic after my Mom died several years back, I found a box of my high school memories she had boxed up after I left for college and I enjoyed reminiscing and added some old pictures of mine on Classmates.com. Those were special days for me as they were our carefree years before life got serious. I’m sure they were special for all of us and why many came to the 55th Class of “63” reunion. After deciding to come to our 55th Reunion, I sat down and started putting some thoughts together of my years there and wanted to share some Saturday night at the Swamper’s Restaurant but the occasion was not conducive to sharing the memories at the time, so I share some of them to my fellow classmates in these thoughts below. You remember the old song, “Growing Up is Hard to Do” in the '60s by the Honeys. We were all born in a time of real change when most of us of the class of 63 became War babies; many of our families in the early 1940s were without electricity, TVs, or cars; and many of us were without Dads while they were at war and some of our mothers were off to support the war at a factory as a “Rosie Riverter”. Most of our parents survived that war and we grew up into a new modern world with modern conveniences and we came into the 1960’s with more freedoms. Many of us started out at Coffee with excitement, some with fears, losing old friends but getting to know new friends with new peer pressures. New clothes along with us trying to remember all those teacher’s names and the room numbers and even where the rooms were while we adjusted to this new way of life. Later standing in front of our lockers full of books talking to our girlfriends or boyfriends, being late for class and all of us trying to mature while learning. It took us a while to settle in as freshmen, or some from another high school, adjusting and begin to feel comfortable. We all made new friends, some that remained well beyond high school. We started dating, some going steady, and some even having babies, and some of you married your high school girlfriend or boyfriend and had children that attended Coffee. Elvis is discharged in 1960 and we had Rock and Roll to listen to now. We watched as the Soviet Union launch the first woman in space and John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. We watched Marilyn Monroe serenade President Kennedy on his birthday and then she is found dead a few months later, again 1962. As soon as we all got out into the world our president is assassinated and Vietnam heats up. We were maturing in a changing world and we were a generation that knew responsibilities. During this time we saw the Cuban Missile Crisis and we are told to build bomb shelters as the United States and the Soviet Union are talking Nuclear War. We were the class of 1962 - 1963 and we lived it together. Many of us moved on seeking our way or as some say seeking our fortune. My daughter gave me a copy of the movie “American Graffiti” years ago that I have watched several times. It was made for our time and we lived it; I know I sure did. “Happy Days” was also made for our time. How many memories did Fonzie, Richie, Potsie and Marion, and their antics remind us of. High School was a new world for us, a world of carefree freedoms. Oh, Happy Days! This reunion of 2018 was about our years at Coffee and for me, it was five years because I thought I had better thing to do than study in my Junior year while working two jobs and I did not get to befriend many of you back then. I thought I had to keep up my car while drag racing nights with the “Dixie Shifters” and as girls became a big part of high school life, they would interfere with studies and cause heartaches. But a few things I remember with help from the “Coffee Pot” and “Stimulator” and our annuals, Mr. Brawly, was a good and fair principal, I saw him a time or two in his office. Once I did a very dumb thing by throwing a cherry bomb out my car window in the parking lot, and it bounced off another car bumper into a crowd of you girls. One of the girls leg was hurt and Mr. Brawly had me in his office to discipline me and to apologize to her. I am sorry I do not remember who you were, but I apologize again if you remember that incident. I don’t remember if that is when I got a paddling or it was another time. You guys remember how the coaches could sting you worse than a real yellow jacket could back in those days. (i.e. Corporal punishment) I don’t think you girls got equal rights back then. Mrs. Kirby, our Spanish teacher called me to the front of the class once and gave me a hand swacking with her ruler for doing something to one of the girl, maybe another apology needed to one of you. About the only Spanish I remembered was my name “Jorge” and “como esta usted” or “how are you”. We all had our favorite teacher or maybe some we did not like. Some, to name a few I had. You probably remember Mrs. Reynolds whom I failed to learn proper English from as you can probably tell. Do you remember dissecting rotten Frogs in Mrs. Byrde Woodward Biology class? I had her twice also. The second year I had to kill a chicken in her class, then clean and tried to glue the skeleton together and it just kept falling apart. Mr. Ball got me interested in my Architectural pursuit while Mr. Smith in D.O. put me to work for Barr & Tune Architects downtown after lunch. Mr. Harris who I had twice taught me some business math that at least helped in my business. All the many activities we participated in; the many different Clubs, the Stimulator paper, Senior floats and parades, homecomings, the girls social clubs, girlfriend or boyfriends. Those were some special times. I know you remember going to Chapel or our football rallies in the auditorium and listening to one of our drummer, what was his name?, play “White Heat”? and clamoring for him to play it again which he did. Most of us getting ready and excited about the chilly Friday night football games where the Gold Dust twins and our boys would win most of the time, at least our last year. Kay and the cheerleaders leading us on with the Coffee yell; “Go Coffee, fight Coffee, win Coffee, Go, Fight, Win”; then on to the Sock Hops or for some kids rolling yards. Oh yea, I has to clean up a lot of toilet paper at my house. Do you remember the fad for boys one year for a while, where we all wore white shirts and ties? And you girls got into petticoats and Poodle skirts. Oh you Girls! Yea, girls became a part of some of our lives that affected our books as well as other things.. Getting our girlfriends corsages and that final game on Thanksgiving Day with Sheffield; all of us decked out; then cruising up and down Court Street as many of us did nights and Sunday afternoons. Wasn’t it nice to have one of those carefree times again, as the one at Charolette Dean's on Friday night for barbecue or the crowded breakfast Saturday morning at the Homeside restaurant where several shared thoughts and memories and best of all some, shared their faith in Christ as John Potts brought us a devotional and prayer, and that night the big dinner at the Marriott where we visited and reminisced with many of our classmates. We finally got our last report cards and then Graduation. Some of us went off to College, some to jobs and careers, some of us to war. We were born war babies and after high school, war interrupted our families again. I spoke with Charles Curtis and he mentioned several who served in Vietnam. Our Senior class lost Chadwick McFall Barber and Jr. class Robert (Bobby) Lecates in Vietnam along with many others from Florence during that war. I give a speci...Expand for more