Remembering Integration: A Schoolboy’s Reflections on the Early Years of Public School Integration in Rural Oklahoma
Written by Marvin Wooten
The local “colored” school for our town was situated very close to our farm house, about a quarter mile away down the gravel road that ran south out of Konawa onward into an area of good farmland that abuts the South Canadian river known as “The Bend.” Next to the school house set the “colored” church. Both buildings were right at two miles from town proper. While their remote location might appear on the surface a product of discrimination, perhaps the larger reason was that essentially, no black people lived within the city limits. And even then, only a handful of black families lived in that part of southern Seminole county to begin with, perhaps fewer than seven or eight all told.
Two of these families lived immediately adjacent to our farm and were our nearest neighbors. To the north, perhaps 200 yards away, lived the Professor and Polly Holmes. We called him “Professor” because that was what Polly, who doubled as our nanny, called him. I never fully understood how he got the name, but I think he may have taught school at one point, hence the professorial appellation. By 1952 though, he was up in his 60‘s and in poor health.
Beyond October 1, 1961
A Unique Perspective into Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) within Sports
Introduction
The class I hated the most in elementary school was art. I personally detested having to make clay, ceramics, water paintings or metal sculptures, and listen to the ultimate geek instructor with glasses so thick they could be used for the Gemini shielding. Why punish sports loving guys so early in their childhood? The good thing this year was that art was the last class of the day and the school had long ago decided that teachers, not the bell, would dismiss the class.
Following in the footsteps of previous generation’s, each class member took turns advancing the hands of the huge glass encased clock that stood eight feet above the ground - say 15 or 20 minutes ahead. Donald Robb, our geeky art instructor, never knew about the clock change - or so we thought. He seemed too involved with his students trying to make the next impressionist from within the class.
History Comes Alive in Our Historical Section
Their stories stay with us. They reverbrate down through the decades . . . Abrahama Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debating each other across the state of Illinois during the senatorial campaign of 1858 . . . Harriet and Dred Scott, slaves who dared to challenge the political structure of their era all the way to the US Supreme Court . . . The Monroe Cheesemakers, a high school basketball team that took on all comers on their way to the Wisconsin Schoolboy State Championship in 1965 . . . Bobby Thomson, an outfielder for the NY Giants who came to the plate with his team trailing the Brooklyn Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th inning in the last of three playoff games to determine who whould win the pennant. What happened in that at bat has since been dubbed "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" . . . Chief Black Hawk, a proud war chief of the Sauk tribe, was determined to resist the takeover of the tribe's lands by an ever expanding American nation. What followed became known as "The Black Hawk War of 1832."
Personal Health DIY Record
Everytime I go to the doctor's office it seems they always want to know what meds I may be taking, and in some cases, the size or weight of the pill itself. Another frequent question I get asked by doctors and their intake people pertains to any surgeries I may have had. When I ws 16, I could accurately say, "None." By now though, that's not the case. And if it's a new doctor they give you a 6 page personal medical history sheet to fill out, which means I am supposed to reproduce all this medical informationt that quite honestly, I don't necessarily remember. Like, how many polio boosters have I had? Or is my Tetanus shot current? Well, maybe . . . who really knows?
So how to keep up with all this information, and better yet, how to keep it at your finger tips? Wait no more. Go on over to Sportademics "Emily Medical Form," download it, fill it in and keep it handy. It's your own Do It Yourself personal medical history form. You keep it up to date yourself. You maintain and secure it yourself. And next time the nurse asks if you have a history of physical trauma, you can call it forth and give her the straight answer. Just follow this link: Emily Medical Form.
Bobby Thomson Passes
Bobby Thomson, the hero of the 1951 NL pennant playoff series for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers, died on August 16, 2010 at his home in Savannah GA, at the age of 86.
Thomson's home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs decided one of baseball's most memorable pennant races, capping an extraordinary run by the Giants that brought them from 13 1/2 games back, winning 37 of their final 44 games to force a playoff. His winning hit came off Brooklyn pitcher Sal Branca.
For years, Thomson and Branca appeared together at functions of all kinds, a modern-day Abbott & Costello act, their retelling of the moment filled with fine-tuned comic touches and playful jabs.
Long after the Giants and Dodgers left town and moved West, Thomson remained a recognized figure on New York streets. Taxi drivers, office workers and pedestrians of a certain age would stop him or call out his name - the old Giants fans cheered, the Dodgers crowd, not so much.
Bobby's feat is featured in Sportademics historical fiction series, "Shot Heard 'Round the World." We invite you, in honor of Bobby Thomson's passing, to read again the story of his exploits on the diamond.
(Portions of this article, courtesy of the Associated Press Obituary of Bobby Thomson)
