Cullman High School Class of 1952
CULLMAN – At All Steak on Saturday morning, members of the Cullman High School (CHS) Class of 1952 gathered to eat lunch, catch up on things since the last reunion, share news about members and share fond memories.
Present were Jeanette Buettner, Louree Speegle Cason, Lera Dean Jetton Davis, Buddy Eidson, Clarice Smith Gibbs, Sydney Gibbs, Frank Hinkle, Wanda Holcombe Hodge, Jean Wamp Holt, Norma Adams Hudson, Betty McLemore Johns, Ronald Johnson, Jim Link, JoAnn Pinkerton Moore, Mary Holmes Rodgers, Charlie Shafer, Frances Tidwell, Robert Tidwell, Darold Tubbs, Mattie Lee Whitlock Tubbs and Don Wilcutt. Several were accompanied by spouses.
The CHS class of 1952 graduated 128 students. Members present at the reunion estimated that 50 or more of their classmates have now passed away.
The Tribune visited with members as they gathered, and tossed out a few questions for discussion around tables. Here are a few of the responses:
What is your fondest memory of CHS?
“Cheerleading for the Cullman Bearcats”
“The friends we had in school”
“Football”
“Graduation Day!”
What was your favorite music on the radio?
“I guess Hank Williams was the biggest thing going back then. That Hank was wide open then.”
“We heard Kay Starr at the drive-in”
“I don’t know if we had a radio.”
What might a high school student today not believe about life in 1952?
“Bus transportation. We had to walk to catch the bus, rain or shine. We had to walk a good distance, because we lived out in the country. Our bus would get stuck; we didn’t have paved roads back in those days. The bus would get stuck, and they’d have to come retrieve us at night.”
“Football was pretty rough in those days. A lot different in those days: you could hit any way you wanted to. You can’t do that today! We got plastic helmets my junior year. Before that, we wore leather. No facemasks.”
“No air conditioning!”
“We got a swimming pool at the high school back then. They don’t have one now. We didn’t have a swim team; we just used it for PE. That was the first swimming pool that was built in the city.”
“I don’t know if we even had 15 (students’) cars at the high school.”
“No one had any money. If you knew a friend that had a car, they never had to worry about having passengers, because the car was always full!”
“There was no fast food. There were two drive-ins; that was it.”
“You could go on a date for a dollar. That ain’t no lie! You could go to a movie, 25 cents apiece. When you get out, go get burgers and drinks for 50 cents. Now, you can’t even get a coke for a dollar.”
What was the center of social life in Cullman in 1952?
“The Globe drive-in (restaurant). (Almost everyone who answered agreed on this.)
“Everybody drove in and circled, and circled, and circled…”
What changes have come to Cullman that you wouldn’t have believed in 1952?
“The size of the town, and more people that have moved in from other areas, industry coming in and so forth.”
“The population of Cullman was about 7,000 in 1952. It’s over doubled in size.”
“Traffic is terrible, when it wasn’t in ‘52.”
“Alcohol. Nobody around here wanted it (back then). Some people came in from out of town, who were used to having alcohol, but they got outvoted.”
What do you want people to remember about the class of 1952?
“We had a bunch of good friends; a good class. Pretty close ties.”
“We had some wonderful people in the class.”
“We were good students”
“Longevity!”
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