Stonewall Jackson School

WAY BACK THEN:	THEN:
May Day Festivities about 1930 Dave Spriggs' mother, Mildred Linkous, is third from right on front row, as indicated by arrow	(This photo enlarges - adorably!) 1947 - Dave Spriggs	Thursday, May 24, 1956
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA -07/17/03 Thanks, Dave!	Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA -02/14/03 Thanks, Dave!	Courtesy of Cheryl Mays Howard ('66) of VA - 01/09/04 Thanks, Cheryl!

From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 02/14/03:

Ahhhhhhh, Stonewall Jackson School. 

My uncle attended (ca. 1924-30); my mother attended (ca. 1927-33); my auntie attended (ca. 1933-1939).  The family name was Linkous.  Heck, even I attended for about 3 months in 1952 (First grade).  My teacher was a Miss Harmon, who had also taught my mother and auntie. 

My grandparents home was on 47th Street, very near the school. I taught myself to catch baseball grounders by bouncing a baseball off the brick wall and chasing it down.

Have a look at the attached photo, probably taken in 1947 or 1948* in my Granny's front yard. Yes, that is little Davey, and that is Jackson School in the distance. 

Both the home and the school are gone, except in my fond memories of a simpler time.
 

   Thanks, Dave!

* I'm thinking you're younger than one or two in this photo, so I'm back-dating it....

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From Pauline Collins Shofner of NN, VA - 02/16/03:

I just looked at the baby photo of Dave Spriggs. I guess we lived near each other.  Before moving to 62nd Street, I lived at 47th Street in the "brick row".  We just sold (2/13/03) my mother's home on 62nd Street. Sarah, your comment regarding Mrs. Brockwell was true - she did have an over abundance of saliva.  I have a photo of my second grade class (Mrs. Davis) and David Trevathan & Shirley Elder are in it.  I think that Sarah and Wayne had Miss Roundtree.  Sarah, I remember our road trip to Yoder Dairy too.  Good grief, I thought that it was another country away from Jackson School.  Anyway, thank you Wayne and Sarah for going back in time with me.  I loved living on 47th Street, however, moving to 62nd Street was not nearly as fun as 47th.

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From Pauline Collins Shofner of NN, VA - 02/20/03:

You are very kind to let us communicate with everyone through you! 
Wayne, I do remember Creasy's and Joe Milan's.  Like Sarah I went to Joe's prior to church so that we could eat during the service.  Do you remember Mr. McGee's?  He had a daughter named Connie that also attended Jackson and NNHS.  I think Connie graduated from NNHS in '63.  I can't remember Ms. Smith's first name.  I guess I thought that some of those teachers didn't have a first name except for Miss or Mrs. 
I see Patty off and on at Riverside or the Riverside Diagnostic Center. Patty is an x-ray tech. @ RRMC.  She is such a nice person. 
Okay, I have another question.  I used to skate at the Hygeia on Saturdays and also attended one of Russell's (to me and Rip to the others) birthday parties.  Did anyone skate there?
 

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From Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 02/20/03:

Creasy's was across the street from the NN City Pool on Wickham Avenue.  We used to go there after swimming lessons and buy soft serve ice cream from Mrs. Midkiff (Lanny's mother).  I always thought she was so pretty.  Lanny is now my brother in law!  Mr. Nuttycombe taught me my first swimming lessons...I was terrified of the water and did not learn to swim until I was 19 years old...but he tried!  I would not put my head under the water or take my feet off the bottom!

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From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 04/11/03:

I have been searching my reference library and found the attached text and images in the following book, which I cite for purposes of attribution:

The Good Old Days in Hampton and Newport News, Parke Rouse, Jr., The Dietz Press, Richmond VA., 1986.

The image of Jackson School was taken from the corner of Huntington Avenue and 46th Street, looking diagonally toward 47th Street. See the swing set in the image of Jackson School?  It plays a role in one of my Jackson School stories:

When I attended briefly in the Spring of 1953, my first grade class was at lunch recess.  The Administration was smart enough to let us small kids out a few times a day to burn off some energy. Anyway, there was a bell which rang on the outside of the school to notify all of us little Pavlov dogs that recess was over and to return to our classroom.  On one day for some reason, my "selective" hearing was active, and I must have either not heard or ignored the bell.  Some time later, my teacher, Miss Harmon, had to come outside to find me swinging on THAT swing set and issue a personal invitation to return to class. 

While she may have been amused at my extended recess, my Mother was decidedly less forgiving.  After all, Miss Harmon had been her and my Aunt's and Uncle's teacher as well, so I was carrying the full weight of the Linkous Family reputation on my little shoulders.  She could never understand (and still can't) how I could have remained on the playground when everybody else had returned to class. 

"Davey, didn't you see that everyone else had gone inside and that you were all alone out there? Didn't you think that something was wrong?" 

Well, at that age, I really hadn't noticed that I was all alone.  I was engaged in some particularly wonderful swinging ... almost "zoned" to coin a current colloquialism. When a man is really enjoying himself and focusing on his recreation, well, he tends to tune out distractions like bells.  In retrospect, this was invaluable early training on how, later in life, to tune out a wife ... but that is another story for another time.

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Also From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 04/11/03:

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Also From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 01/17/04:

"...I was reliving some very early childhood memories as I walked around those several blocks..."

NOW:
Saturday, January 17, 2004
"...Jackson School site looking diagonally toward 47th Street"	"...I was trying to determine just exactly where the 46th Street door to Jackson was located. Why, you may ask? Because I wanted to duplicate the post card shot...The piece of pavement on the left is all that remains of 46th Street."	"So, as I walked over to 47th and tried to picture where that door would have been, I saw a section of old concrete walk which could only have been the one leading to the 47th Street door."
Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 01/17/04 Thanks, Dave!

"Given the name of the school, I don't believe it would be all that
controversial to use this song for the page...a bit melancholy as if in lament of  'The Lost Cause'."  

Courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/8313/dixieslow.mid

- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 08/10/03
Thanks, Dave!