She emailed me back:
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Ocean Drive Resort Myrtle Beach |
You know, the Class of 1959 was the very last graduating class from "old" Central High School. I guess you would say we were historic. We also had the first integrated class, Gus Robers, who died years ago. He worked for the Postal Service. I knew his sister, Gervais, who was in the first integrated class at Piedmont Jr. High School, was very fond of her.
A very brave family to be sure. I have attended two "everyclass reunions" on the campus of CPCC and they were a lot of fun.
-Arleen"
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Robbinsville, NC |
Arleen and Barry are both living in the same town of Robbinsville, NC...which is located in the beautiful mountains of South Western, NC. Robbinsville is the Graham county seat.
....
Spring always reminds me of baseball. And I think back to those days in Chapel Hill when Barry and I were hired by the local radio station to broadcast UNC's games.
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Ed and Barry broadcasting a UNC baseball game 1955 |
Barry did the play by play and I did the "color."
He knew the game very well. I hardly knew it at all.
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J.B. Clark |
But frankly, Baseball never caught my fancy.
However, I later grew to really..........despise it.
Not that there was anything wrong with the game, but it began interfering with my life.
The baseball season started getting longer and longer....also you never knew when a game was going to end. And those extra inning games in Chapel Hill seemed to always occur on Friday afternoons, when I was anxious to get out of town and on the road to Charlotte for a Friday night date with my girlfriend. It seemed that the pitcher never could adjust his hat enough...and the batters could never stop hitting enough foul balls....and the innings kept piling up.....as my social life was slowly going to .........you know.
It was maddening.

I suppose the final irony is that my two sons and my 5 grandsons....are all baseball fanatics....so I have to try to get my grandaddy to grandson "bonding" stuff.......in between innings.
....
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Janice Kirby |
Speaking of CHS kids who were the offspring of important Charlotte radio personalities, Janice Kirby, daughter of Lee Kirby was in the class of 53. I remember her very well from Mr. Balance's radio class. She was an exceptionally talented voice actress. I've often wondered if she went into that business, or if the fact that broadcasting was very "unfriendly" toward women in front of the mic until sometime in the '80s kept her away from the business.
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Lee Kirby |
Derek Knell, son of Jack Knell, WBT's news director was in our class, of course. His brother Donald Knell, was two years ahead of us.....and was an outstanding quarterback for that year's football team.
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Kurt Webster |
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David Brinkley |
Around that same time, David Brinkley worked in Charlotte for the Associated Press news service and hung around the station (WBT) which was then in the Wilder Building. The story goes that Brinkley wanted to go to work for WBT very badly, but the general manager, Charles Crutchfield told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't have the "voice" for radio.......and he would never be successful in that business.
Brilliant insight like that is why General Managers and CEOs of businesses make so much money. -Ed