Going back to Philadelphia, TN has always been like going home, even though I only lived there 3 years when I was very young. I remember a very friendly place where everyone knew everyone else, where people had fun, laughed, and smiled a lot. They were real neighbors to you.
My first memory of Halloween was a big community Halloween party at the old school. The place was packed, everyone came. We had so much fun.
I remember when the new school was built. We would walk over there about every evening to see how much was done that day. It was exciting to have a lovely school being built. The old school was a two story wooden building that was a fire trap. Annie Lee McNabb and I played in the sand pile at the site of the new school until the workmen ran us off for messing up their sand.
I started the first grade in the new school, and my teacher was Miss Marian Peoples, now Mrs. E.W. Waller, Sr. She was the best teacher I ever had. The school put on a Tom Thumb wedding that first year it opened, and J.B. Windle and I were the King and Queen. We were so excited to be dressed up so pretty. We felt important having our picture taken and being the center of attention. What fun we had in school that year. We moved away after school was out that year. All the memories are still here but just a little dim after almost 60 years.
Terressa Johnson Simpson