Mary Z. Reed: Gentle Soul

Mary Z Reed, CHS English teacher, c 1964Mary Z. Reed was at Central High School when Dad was a student.

When I ran photos of the teachers who bridged the generations, Bill East remembered Miss Reed, “I’m sure anyone who knew her remembers her affection for trees. It may be apocryphal, but supposedly at the beginning of the year, she always asked students what they did during the summer. As the story goes, there was always one guy who said he was a lumberjack to upset her. I guess she was one of the original ‘tree huggers.’

Bill and Miss Reed have both graduated to The Other Side, so she’ll be able to give him his bonus points for using the word “apocryphal” in a sentence in person.

Alene Sadler “most influential”

Alene Sadler 1963We were blessed with some excellent English teachers at Central. Miss Alene Sadler was one of the most demanding teachers I ever had – in college or high school – but she was rated “most influential” by her students in their later years.

Miss Reed was less intimidating, but she was still able to convey her passion for language and literature to her uncouth and uncivilized students. I bet even the “lumberjack” felt bad by the end of the semester.

Class of ’65’s Cool Table

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013Terry Rose Crowell came in to Annie Laurie’s Antiques where I was hawking Smelterville: A Work in Progress and Snapshots of Cape Girardeau on First Friday. In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that select members of the Class of 1965 meet for lunch on the first Saturday of each month at BG’s Old Tyme Deli and Saloon. (“Select” means anybody who shows up.)

Marilyn Dudley Seyer

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013I hoped this might finally be my chance to set at the Cool Table, something that always seemed out of my reach when I attended Central High School. My odds were enhanced when Brenda Bone Lapp posted on Facebook that everybody usually fits around one table. It was hinted that table dancing was known to transpire. In fact, I was told confidentially, it was Marilyn’s turn this month.

Such gyrations much have occurred when I went out to the car to switch out camera bodies because it didn’t happen in my presence. I did notice a glow on Marilyn’s forehead (ladies don’t sweat), so I might have been gone longer than I thought.

Carolyn Lee Barks

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013When I commented that I felt a bit outnumbered at the table, I was told that guys have been known to show up; Jim Feldmeier, in particular.

There was a long discussion about how women were discriminated against before Title IX, but how things are getting better. We talked about how spring sports got the short end of the stick because of early yearbook deadlines. There was also a debate about whether girls participated in track and field sports in our day. I couldn’t remember shooting any.

Susan Valle Perry

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013Talk turned to Cape’s movie theaters, particularly the Rialto, which was owned by Carol Klarsfeld’s mother. Carol got all the money deposited in the penny scale in the theater, something I didn’t know. We longed for the days when you could get Black Cherry soda out of the soft drink dispenser in the lobby. Popcorn, at a dime a box (or with real butter for two bits) was a real profit center. The box, which cost a penny, was the most expensive part.

Accounts of Carol shenanigans became a major topic of conversation. It’s a shame Carol was taken from us at an early age by breast cancer because I’m sure she’d still be doing crazy stuff as a grandmother.

Pat Wright Vogelsang

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013Birthday cards, some of which were AARP-Rated were passed around. I blush easily, so I tried to avoid reading the insides, but they made me do it. This is a rough crowd.

Pat Wright Vogelsang is vamping for the camera while Susan and Marilyn are looking through some of my old Cape photos in the background.

Donna Eddleman Mason

Members of Class of 1965 meet for lunch 07-06-2013

We talked about favorite teachers (Miss Sadler for English and Grace Williams for math), best pizza (Tony’s) and best steak (Wayne’s Grill), the fact that The Missourian always referred to women by their husband’s name (Mrs. Joe Smith, not Mrs. Jane Smith or Jane Smith) and how few kids back then drove their cars to school.

All in all, it was a pretty good day at the Cool Table. They were nice enough to score some books and calendars and even paid for my iced tea. If I had just been around when Marilyn rocked the table, the day would have been perfect.