Obie Oakley has a way of condensing the essence of our amazing class...like no one else!
Here are a few of his remarks from last evening's 60th reunion:
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| Photo by Jerry Gaudet |
As
I said in my opening remarks, I think the evening would be rather
incomplete to end it with the conclusion of the meal. Granted, we
can’t even come close to matching five years ago and that
incredible video Ed put together. That was and is spectacular. We
can, however spend a little time together, have some serious moments
and maybe even have some fun!
You
know, if you were to go back in time to that evening in June 60 years
ago and asked what were the expectations for achievement of the 350
graduates of Charlotte Central High School, I am convinced the
response would have been, “Oh, they will do OK, but don’t expect
too much”.
Think
about it, we were from mostly middle-class, working, blue collar
families. Our neighborhoods were Midwood and Dilworth, Elizabeth and
Plaza and our Junior High’s were A.G. and Piedmont.
And
so after graduation we quietly went off to make our mark on the
world. Some of us went off to college, some to the military and most
of us to jobs we would find right here close to home.
And
now, let me tell you how wrong those “experts” of 60 years ago
would have been. The Class of ’54 has established itself as
achievers in every field. And how do I know this, I went through the
questionnaires we filled out for our 40th
and 50th
reunions! I am going to recommend that if you were at the 50th,
go home and sometime over the weekend read each one of these
mini-biographies. I assure you you will be very proud of this group
of achievers you call “classmates”. You will laugh and you will
cry, but most of all you will be impressed!
I
want to spend some time in citing specifics later but for now, a
brief serious moment if you please. I think you will join me in
being impressed by what we have returned to our communities and our
nation. We have served with distinction in the military, (One giving
his life), in the professions as teachers, doctors and nurses,
attorneys and in the world of business as shop owners, clerks and
administrators. Not to bore you with numbers but here are some
examples about which I’m speaking.
At
least seven went in to the ministry
Ten
became lawyers, one became a judge (Bill Robinson) and one (Warren
Sparrow) the district attorney who successfully prosecuted the
husband killer, BlancheTaylor Moore.
Two
have served with distinction as State Senators, Jennie Margaret
Is Maryland’s longest serving legislator and Neil Jones in the
NC Senate
I
think you get my point for now and I want to come back to this later.
Just
as important and maybe a little more so is the way we have given
ourselves as volunteers in hundreds of activities that help others
who are perhaps less fortunate than us. These include shelters,
Meals on Wheels, mission trips, YMCA, Boy and Girl Scouts and
countless hours through our churches.
WHAT
COULD BE MORE NOBLE! (3:38)
Let’s
shift gears a bit and move to a lighter side and start off with the
standard recognitions. Who came the furthest to get here? Start off
with you ladies. Who feels you came from the longest distance and
this has to be farther away than Gastonia. Atlanta? Rockville?
Well, for making the effort, here’s a gift card from Starbucks!
Nothing cheap about the class of ’54,
How
about the guys? Again, Atlanta? Maryland? RL, I think Herb’s got
you on this one. Way to go Herb and here is your Starbucks gift
card.
How
about a little game of trivia?
If
you grandson were to ask you what was the purpose of that Pepsi
bottle and the metal cap with holes punched in it, what would you
tell him? (Water sprinklers) Some hi-octane caffeine for
________.
Who
did Casey Jones, Rocky Spadaccini and Nick Ognivich play for?
(Charlotte Clippers) Out of curiosity, what were the team colors?
Going
back to the numbers game, did you know that our class produced five
pilots who served in combat? One of them is RL Clark, we knew him as
Robert. Of course, Charles Mateer lost his life in the service to
his country.
I’d
like to share with you at this time a little true “war story”.
Our classmate, Calix Reneau, was serving in Vietnam as a Marine
infantryman. His unit was pinned down and they were getting pounded
by a North Vietnamese regiment. They were in a desperate situation
and were calling for close air support. In just the nick of time, a
flight of A-6 Invaders appeared and saved the day. Good guys riding
in wearing white hats. And now, as Paul Harvey would say, for the
rest of the story, the flight leader that day was none other than our
own Pat Faulkner! Great story.
Ready
for some more give-aways? How about this one? Who has the most
great-grandchildren? (In earlier times it would have been
Grandchildren)? Charlie, help me with the counting. Here we go,
another Starbucks caffeine injection!
The
next winner is going to have to work for his/her prize. Do any of
you remember the first time you saw television? For a prize, would
you be willing to share that with the group? As you think about
that, I saw TV for the first time standing outside a house on
Chesterfield Avenue looking through the window at the tiny image and
being in awe! Where were you?
Next,
I want to talk about the incredibly wide range of activities you
could involve yourself in offered at Central. There was drama,
music, athletics and occupational clubs just to mention a few. Those
of you involved in choir, band or orchestra to include letter girls,
how about standing. Next, those of you who were on an athletic team
stand up. As I was researching for this I was in shock at the
absolute lack of mention of girl’s athletics, which I suppose was
limited to basketball. Whereas the boys had individual pictures with
names below, you girls got a long distance group shot with no names!
Times have really changes haven’t them. I must say for the good!
(8:31)
How
about some more trivia?
1.
What color was Smith Brothers Cough Drops? (Black)
2. What do Al Widenhouse and Richard Petty have in common?
Both
wore #43.
At
my fiftieth college reunion, an entertaining part of an evening was
called “Open mike”. Classmates were encouraged to share with the
group something they thought particular meaningful or amusing that
occurred during their time at the school. I had an email sent out
earlier putting you on notice that you would be encouraged to do the
same about your time at Central. Do I have any takers? You’ll get
a prize if you do.
Couple
more trivia questions. These are going to really test your memory
skills.
1. Who was our graduation speaker? (Judge William Bobbit)
2. Who delivered our baccalaureate sermon? (Dr. Warner Hall)
And
finally, who was the last person to walk across the stage and
receive his/her diploma? (Charlie Willis)
A
few classmates to highlight special achievements).
1.
Diana Carpenter- DeKalb County teacher of the year!
2.
Can you believe Vic Brawley, until last year, was playing
Competive
soft ball?
3.
Charlie Willis – Built one of the largest engineering firms
Of
its kind on the East Coast.
4.
Linsy Farris – Couple of things. Continued to practice in a
Hospital
in Harlem when he could have gone to more
Lucrative
areas. He’s also an accomplished musician,
Playing
the bass in classical as well as country groups
Entertaining
in nursing homes.
Finally,
I’d like to close with something I think speaks to the true make-up
of the members of the Class of 1954.
For
Herb Jacobiwicz’s 70th
birthday, his wife Barbara sent out a call for anyone who remembered
anything about Herb to send it to her. She was planning a party and
would include it it a book of memories for him. Well, here’s what
I sent.
“I
remember Herb Jacobowitz enrolling for the 12th
grade. Here was this little guy, certainly not an athlete, coming on
the scene and immersing himself into daily routines of school life.
Herb had a certain air of confidence about him and didn’t see
himself any different from the other 349 of our class. The flip side
of that was the other 349 of us didn’t seem to take note that Herb
was Jewish. In fact, if I’m not mistaken he was the only one of
his faith in our class.
“I
think this speaks to the heart and soul of our class. We were
totally accepting of those coming in and joining our ranks,
especially when they were willing to apply themselves and make the
effort to becoming a good Wildcat. I will say there was some
resentment over his playing hell with the grading curves in Karl
Sawyer’s classes!
“Herb,
we are proud you chose to become a member of the class of ’54. I’d
like to tell those here that you went on the get your PhD at M.I.T.
and retired as a physicist designing and developing weather
satellites!”
To
close, I’d like to relay a little conversation I had yesterday
while picking up the sound system. The owner was also a disc jockey
who played records at various functions such as ours. In fact, he is
entertaining a group down in Chester tonight. Andy, my new best
friend, remarked after learning that we are of the 50’s generation
that he was envious of our times and experiences. He had been with
many groups and decided that if he could go back and be a part of and
spend time as a member of a particular class, ours would be the one
he would choose!
Well
Andy, it has been our privilege to have experienced three whole years
as members of the Central High School Class of 1954!
That
wraps up the evening. Does anyone wish to add anything?
-Obie Oakley 5/9/14
It would have been almost perfect, if it hadn't been for that black cloud...that was always in the back of our minds; the thought that we could all be nuked at any moment.
The stories our veterans of WW2 told about those Bibles are legion. "There are no atheists in foxholes" is not much more than a cliche these days, but to those who fought for our survival and freedom, the foxholes were real. To have some comfort in you pocket was not a small thing.
My greatest ambition at Elizabeth School was to someday be a patrol boy. You were chosen by your 5th grade teacher, who, in my case was Miss Willis. I forget what month it was, but I know what DATE it was. It was the 8th of something. That was the day I had convinced my Mom that I was too sick to go to school. But, amazingly, later that day, I felt good enough to go out and play with my friends who, poor souls, had spent the day in school.
I loved comic books, in fact, that's how I learned to read. My first attempt at being creative was to draw a primitive comic story of my own one day and got up enough nerve to show it to one of my 4th grade classmates, Richard Stowe. To my amazement he said he liked it!
M
