Ronald Randell:
CLASS OF 1957
Willard Elementary SchoolClass of 1957
Chicago, IL
Dunbar Vocational (Career Academy) High SchoolClass of 1961
Chicago, IL
Ronald's Story
I left Chicago a little over 50 years ago and have only been back a handful of times; the last of which had to be 40 years ago. Most of those that know me as a kid may only know me as "Bo" during my years at Willard elementary school, which everyone called me during my youth. I left Chicago Feb,1959; spent 6 years in the military and spent all of my adult life in New York where I attended collage with my Bachelors degree in visual arts (New School University/Parson Design). I practiced as a commercial Photographer/Cinematographer in one form or another, for more than 40 years; still providing service to a small client base specializing in interior/exterior real estate photography and architectural visual media promotion. I am also a writer (advertising and promotional material).
I set out to doing this initiation/introspective orignally for reasons that I was trying to track my identity, considering that I loss track of just who I was as a person a long time ago (for reasons too long to go into in this format). This manifestation took the form of a complete loss of memory of some rather important parts of my life that I wanted to resurrect - because I just didn't think I should walk around any longer not being able to remember where I came from. That said; this project seem to have taken me to areas that jogged some rather obscure memory on the periphery of ultimately where I want to resurrect those large chunks of my pass which are missing - but by doing so I have conjured up old harshness which served to let me know that I took a much different path in life than a lot of my friends I never dreamed possible. However; this course of action could never have been as succesful and interesting without the help of one of my early childhood infatuations (of course, she never knew this puppy love condition), Tonja Johnson. She was very helpful putting me straight with dates and childhood friends, i.e. "Peatty"/James Brown, "Big Fat"/Arthur Manns, Joe and Gloria Finnie (Gloria was actually my first real love as a 17 year old).....Expand for more
..But there were a lot of people I can't seem to have good recall that I thought this site would be of some help. I can only appreciate the hours spent with Tonja on the phone in just sheer conversations as she would mention a name such as Katherine McSpadden, Cecilia "CC" Taylor, Elaine Adams, or our teacher Miss Turner, would a light spark which would ignite another piece of the puzzle of my life. These sessions were priceless.....There is a massave hole that I just can't seem to bridge the gap from when I left grammar school and entered Dunbar High during 1957 thru 1959 when I entered the military. This chapter of my life has whole valley's completely missing. I can only remember the director/principal when I went to Dunbar was Mr Campbell and just one teacher, Mr Foote - Nothing else. No friends, classmates, nothing - and this is where my mission is most difficult and has stalled for the time being. New York is far more vivid as I struggled through college and apprenticeship first, in still photography (Milton Green Studio, as the protege' of Milton personally) and the motion picture business, mentored by two fine Producers, Ted Okon and Laslo Haveland. But even during the mid and late sixties there are still gaps in things I would love to bring back on this quest to revisit from whence I came.....I read a piece Quincy Jones had written concerning the days he lived in the Ida B. Wells projects and although he is older, I could identify with this area of Chicago as well (37th & South Park - Now MLK Drive), because this is where I lived during my very early adolescent child hood. There are names associated with this period such as the Walkers; Roger, Janet, Lois and Judy - Charlene and Robert Hodges my little friends living on the floor beneath me at 3727 South Park, "Chestnut" and Micheal, Lillian Bass and Lillian Smith. This was a time that we all went to Wendell Philips when it was not only a high school, but a grammar school as well. What I would give to communicate with any of these people again is priceless.
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