Slam books….

What brought this subject to mind is a mystery! Most people have no idea what a slam book is, I am sure. Long ago, when I attended Hand Junior High School, it was a fad. You would buy a spiral composition book, write each classmate’s name on a page, then circulate the book and let everyone write something .

It was a way to express how you felt about your home room members. Usually a comment would be only a word or two. Some comments might be; pretty hair, nice smile, big blue eyes, snappy dresser, very smart. Most comments were complimentary, but some were not that nice. People would try to disguise their handwriting if they did post something negative,

I was in Class 8-8. I don’t it remember how many students were in each class, but it seems that every room was full! Back then we had chapel twice a week. We would meet first thing and fill the auditorium when several classes got together. We began by repeating the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Then we sang a patriotic song, followed by whatever Mrs, Swearingen wanted to teach us. I remember us singing ”Whispering Hope.” It was not an easy song to sing, but we managed.

I loved attending classes at Hand. I made so many great friends! It was there that I was inducted into the National Honor Society. We had a ceremony and were presented with a gold pin shaped like a torch. That was a “big” day in the life of a school girl. My home room teacher was so sweet . She wanted me to become a teacher and was a big encourager. She loved Robert E. Lee and had a huge portrait of him on the wall behind her desk.

I have so many fond memories of happy times at Hand. Miss Dorothy Reeder was the girl’s gym teacher. Back in those days, girls wore blue gym suits that had bloomer like legs. Everyone hated those suits!

It was a sad time when the eight grade ended because half or more of the students were separated. Dreher High was a nice “new”school that most of my friends would be attending. Depending on your address, you would attend Dreher or Columbia High. The dividing line went down the middle of the street my family lived on, so I went to Columbia High the following fall.

Someone gave me “my page” from one of the old Slam books that was passed around in the eight grade. As I was sorting and tossing old paper, I came across it and read the nice things my classmates had written so long ago. It made me smile!