The passing of Labor Day brings memories of school days. Today, schools start much earlier than in my school years. Since schools were not air conditioned, the beginning of school was hoped to be beyond the hottest days of a late Georgia summer. That is my opinion, but correct me if I am wrong. I have always loved school and excited when a new term began. A few weeks before, my mother would take me to Rosenberg’s and buy me a few latest style school dresses for my age. Included would also be a pair of white and black saddle oxfords. These were popular throughout my school days. I was even happier and excited when I completed seven years of elementary school and walked further up Church Street to SHS. My class of 1953 would be the second class to go through twelve grades. Entering grade eight was a big change. My first challenge was having a locker and learning to use a combination lock. I wrote the combination on every surface I could, even on my hand. Having a schedule and changing different classes was fun. It did not take long to get acclimated, because I loved it so much. This was the first year of football Coach Schwabe and Mrs. Schwabe who was the Librarian and later English teacher. Mrs. Schwabe was my idol and impacted my life in many ways. She was there to listen if you needed to talk. In my senior year when I was confused about my future plans, I explained that I wanted to be a teacher or a writer. Her answer was, “You can do both.” I taught Special Education as my career and also wrote three novels. SHS did not have a Student Counselor, but we had Mrs. Schwabe. Write to Shirley at sptwiss@gmail.com.
