Near the beginning of the school term when our class would become SHS Seniors of 1953, we learned unexpected news. Most of our classmates had been together since grade one. The only exception was the eighth graders who had entered SHS from Wesley. Sonny Stephens, a basketball star from Summertown, had joined junior class the year before. Our senior class would include the entire senior class from Summertown. Their school had lost accreditation from the state which would affect their acceptation into colleges. This was not acceptable to the small group of seniors who attended school in their hometown. They asked to transfer to SHS for their senior year. This was a wise decision. We did not know the Summertown students and questioned their decision. “Would they fit in with us?” “Were their curriculum standards lower?” “Could they keep up with work that would be harder?” This made us sound quite “snobbish” of students we had yet to meet. On the first day of the school term 1952-53, we watched a small minibus arrive that was driven by Summertown student Dan Powell. Paul Bishop, Jimmie Lee Meadows, Carter Greenway, May Jane Scott, Gloria Odum, and JoAnn Underwood stepped off the bus and immediately became SHS Seniors. Friendships were formed quickly, and curriculum was not a challenge. They were well prepared. Clubs and activities welcomed them as members. Yes, they could “keep up” with the “harder work”. At the end of term, four of the top ten Seniors were from Summertown. Carter Greenway was the Valedictorian---yes, a Summertown student. When a disgruntled parent complained to Mr. Glenn that it was easier for Carter to gain high grades from Summertown, our principal replied that his grade point average for the twelfth grade was higher than all in SHS. I am very thankful to have shared my senior year with Summertown friends—even if I did lose my position on girls’ basketball team to JoAnn Underwood. Write to Shirley at sptwiss@gmail.com.
