DO YOU REMEMBER ?
DO YOU REMEMBER CAPTAIN KANGAROO?
Do you remember when we were young and could not see,
How life seemed so simple and we thought we were free?
Do You Remember.....
Captain Kangaroo, The Little Rascals, The Three Stooges, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Gene Autry, Rin Tin Tin, The Wonderful World Of Disney, Bugs Bunny, Deputy Dawg, Tom Terrific, Bozo the Clown, Cousin Cliff, Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob?
Do you remember.....
When the Milk Man would come to the door and leave cold milk in glass bottles? The Insurance man would come to collect money? When two or sometimes three guys would run to your car and wash the windows and check under the hood ? When someone bought gas or went to the store they would get S&H Green Stamps or Plaid Stamps? We never locked our doors, especially our car doors? And the Opposite Sex always had COOTIES!!!
Do you remember.....
Outdoor Movies at Homewood Park and playing in the creeks after it rained? ICEES, fake snow in Edgewood on the vacant lot next to Oneal's Drugs? Homewood Theatre and the amazing Snack Bar? The Homewood Hobby Shop and Dawson Brothers when you needed your bike fixed?
Do you remember as we got older and the light started to shine,
How we realized we were not the only one and the world was not mine?
By the time we got to High School we had lived in:
The Korean War, The Cold War, The Atomic Age, Space Age, Viet Nam, The Draft, Demonstrations, Altercations, Segregation, Integration, Assassinations and the British Invasion.
The "Me Generation" didn't care about you,
They thought only of themselves and what They could do.
The Hippies were telling us to "Feed Your Head,"
While "The Enlightened People" told us, "God is dead."
"For years racial tensions in our country had been churning,
I remember my anger as I was watching "Old Glory" burning.
"Make love not war," the people were crying,
As our young American Soldiers lay there dying.
What were we all thinking back in those days,
For most of us it was so long ago it is just a haze.
If we could do it all over again would we do it the same,
Or would we come to our senses and realize this life is not a game?
Life is too short, this we have learned,
Our eyes were closed as all the clocks turned.
We have lived our lives at such a great cost,
Is it really possible to make up for all that has been lost?
"MAKE LOVE NOT WAR" THE PEOPLE WERE CRYING,
AS OUR YOUNG AMERICAN SOLDIERS LAY THERE DYING.
Do you remember.....
When Vulcan's light could be red or green, and how we always hoped it would be green?
When all the phone numbers in Homewood started with Tremont?
When the Dairy Snack on Greensprings had the 32oz."Monster Milk Shakes" with the huge hamburgers and large fries? It almost filled even me up!
When we all "Backed Into" the parking spaces at McDonald's and would sometimes back into something we didn't know was there?
Pasquale's in Homewood with their real Italian Garlic Bread and Pizzas?
Melrose Ice Cream on Hwy. 31 across from Shades Cahaba School?
Homewood and Hollywood Pools in the summer with those smokin' hot girls in their bikinis?
DO YOU REMEMBER THE THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN?
DO you remember.....
Cruising Shoney's and looking for a date?
Aporto Armory, all the great bands, and still haven't found a date!
The Alabama State Fair riding the Double Ferris Wheel and your date holding on for dear life?(Finally found a date!)
Making out at The ThunderBird Drive-In and fogging up the windows.(This may be where the idea for tinted windows was born.)
Going to dances and trying to work up the courage to ask your "Secret Love" to dance with you?
Bribing your friends to find out exactly how a particular person feels about you?
Working your tail off so you would have enough money to go out with your friends and still had to 'Borrow' money from your parents?
Older people (like your parents) teasing you about the opposite sex?
All the incredibly stupid things you had been told and believed about "SEX"???
TIE DYE PEACE SYMBOL
Do you remember.....
Peace Symbols everywhere and on everything, Tie Dye Shirts and Bell Bottom Pants?
The first ever "Stay-Pressed" clothing you ever owned?
That fateful day when the women in Washington DC burned their Bras? (I still celebrate it every year! Maybe we could make it a National Holiday :)
Penny Loafers and Rah Rahs were really cool? Loops on the shirt were proof you dressed the best?
Shaia's and Penny Palmer on Main Street in Homewood were places to spend ALL your money if you wanted to look your best.
BOO!
Do you remember.....
Dracula, Frankenstein, Werewolf, and when Godzilla had strings,
The Blob, Flying Saucers, The Munsters and other scary things?
DO YOU REMEMBER BAYVIEW BRIDGE?
Do you remember.....
BayView Bridge where the "Bride to Be" crashed through the guard rail of the bridge on her wedding night and perished?
You know what they say,"It is hard to keep a good woman down."
Some nights she can be seen in her wedding attire near the bridge looking for her Groom.
Any volunteers?
BASS CEMETERY. THE SCARIEST OF ALL SCARY PLACES.
Do you remember.....
Bass Cemetery, the scariest of all scary places? Legend has it there is a guy who is 10 feet tall,(some say 7 feet, I say 10 feet, because I have seen him,) and he roams the cemetery looking for teenagers to murder, and it also rumored he cooks and eats them.
If you ever go in there at night and the gate has been closed behind you, sorry, that's it for you, because he has you right where he wants you. There is a rumor that 2 Mounties hid in the trunk of another Mounties car and scared 3 other Mounties more than half to death at the cemetery. One of those Mounties is in the Class of '69 and if you can figure out who he is, he might tell you one of the funniest stories you will ever hear. If the Jefferson County Sheriff's hadn't shown up, it would have been even scarier.
Those cops didn't think it was the least bit funny.
THIS IS WHAT MY CAT THINKS OF THE MTN. BROOK SPARTANS AND THE BERRY BUCCANEERS!
HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
Do you remember the Rivalries?
It is hard to be humble when you are a Mountie,
When we were always Number One in the County.
ANDY COATS TREATING A MTN. BROOK SPARTAN VERY RUDELY.
Valley Football was always exciting!
The last two games of the regular season proved to be the most exciting. At our Homecoming Game we played against a very fine Mountain Brook team beating them 28-0. It was the third shutout of the season and set the stage for a showdown with Berry High School for the County Championship. Mtn. Brook and Berry were our most bitter rivals and a victory over Berry would make our season a complete success.
ANDY COATS ELUDING BERRY TACKLERS.
Valley VS Berry
The Valley defense led by Mike Campbell, held the number one team in the state to only one touchdown, and set up every score. It was as exciting a game as anyone would ever want to see, especially if you were a Shades Valley Mountie.
The Mounties prevailed once again, beating the Bucs 21-6 and winning the County Championship. Now the Mounties had bragging rights for another year, not that any of us would ever brag.
MOUNTIE SENIORS 1969 (Click to enlarge.)