Shangri-la

From 6-14-14

Sometimes we seek shangri-la even though we may not understand what it is we want. Then when we travel thru life we are so intent on looking thru the front window to the future, that we don't notice thru the back window that we may have already been.there. Back in 1951 our first experience with Newton County came in my sophomore year when we played in a basketball tournament in their brand new gym. I couldn't understand why anyone would build such a big, nice gym so far away out in the country. We lost partly because one of best players was barefooted and stepped on a stick and didn't play, even though we did have shoes back in those days. My next trip to Covington didn't come until my junior year when we lost to the Rams in football at Legion Field. They were loaded with Salty Prince, Wilbur Fisher, Jimmy Laster, and several other outstanding players. I noticed something that was to become a source of concern in our future. There was sawdust on the field and I couldn't understand why, but when you are getting your fanny kicked you don't spend much time worrying about what they put on the turf. That spring Jan was in Literary competition in typing and Trio which was held at NCHS. They let me go to carry Jan's typewriter. Come to think about it, the next year our Principal didn't think I was needed when Jan was in piano competition. That spring we had a baseball team that was loaded and it was inevitable that we would face a Ram team that was also loaded, led by a pitcher whose fastball was feared. Left-Bobby Hopkins was one of the States best, and they had a strong line-up with players such as, Jimmy Peters, Smitty Randall, James Cordell, Earl Stallworth, and Royce Davis. The Ram made a tactical mistake, when they saved Hopkins for the second game in which he shut the Avondale squad down. Again I was puzzled as to why they had sawdust on the field. Our team won the first and third games, and went on to a state championship. After graduating from UGA Mr. Homer Sharp offered me a position as a baseball-basketball coach. That spring when it came my responsibility to prepare the baseball field fit for practice I learned why sawdust was always on Legion Field. The County Fair and the circus was held each year on Legion Field, and you can imagine why they needed a lot of sawdust. I thought it strange when I tried to get volunteers to help me clean up the field. After trying to shovel, fork, and shove elephant crap off the field I could understand why none of my students would help. I had to resort to another tactic to get help. I would ask if any of the boys could drive a car? The older guys wouldn't dare raise their hands, but some of the youngsters would always smugly raise their hands. Then I would say, "anyone smart enough to drive a car can certainly handle a wheelbarrow. It wasn't just the sawdust, but the holes they left from the trailers that really presented a hazard all season. One of our players, who later became a prominent local politician told me we needed to weigh each player. I thought this was strange, then he said, if one of our players fall into a hole we'll know how much to scoop out. I could go on and tell you about the many great young people that we were blessed to have a chance to share their lives, but I'll save some of those stories for another day.

I will say those students and others made it a place of utopia.