Sasperilla's

 Geary Rural High School 1956 - 1967

“GRHS, A School with Class”

  It all started for me back in late fifty-five,

With two teachers, Blanche O, and Kay A.

‘Round the first of the month of September,

And great year ahead there did lay.

Now Blanche O was the kind of a woman,

That reminded me much of my Mom,

But she had different ideas ‘bout life,

That would change me in more ways than one.

Kay A was a little more friendly I found,

With a much more compassionate way.

She would even take time out to help you,

No matter what time of the day.

An old potbelly stove that stood upright,

In the center of the old one room school,

Would keep us all warm in the winter,

Though the ink in the wells would be cool.

 T’was a mile and a half in the morning,

And a mile and three quarters at night.

I walked every day- every step of the way,

Through the rain, sleet, cold, and the white.

There were snowball fights and baseball,

When it rained we would just stay inside.

The first year really wasn’t so bad,

I went on to grade two with great pride.

Now things were a gonna get better,

A new school’s goin’ up down the road.

The new Geary Rural High, would soon open its doors,

To reap seeds the community sowed.

I can’t tell you how much of a difference,

This would make for the students at hand,

Thanks to Samuel E. Carr and his family,

For selling us this piece of land.

 There were bright individual classrooms,

The bathrooms had been brought to inside.

New cold water fountains to drink from,

And chalkboards at least twelve feet wide.

There were closets for boots with coat hangers,

Designed to accommodate all.

Two piece desks with chairs that were separate,

And new floor tiles were laid wall to wall.

The new gym was downstairs in the basement,

And a kitchen for teachers and staff.

On the stage stood an upright piano,

Someone played while the pupils would laugh.

There were concerts with chairs for the parents,

Sometimes we would even hold plays,

Oh what I’d give, if I could relive,

Just one of those happier days.

 A playground outside with a flagpole,

There was a rink, and a place to play ball.

And if you were good you had recess,

If not, then you stood in the hall.

We played hopscotch, marbles and jump rope,

While the older ones just walked around,

Holding hands while they listened to music,

From the 50’s and 60’s great sounds.

Each day there were big yellow buses,

For students who lived far from school.

Lester and Roy, and then Willie and Fred,

To make sure you got home, was the rule.

Weekends and warm summer evenings,

We would swim and then so it would seem,

The school and its whole student body would meet,

By a pool on the old Rockwell Stream.

 Class dances and parties at Cameron’s,

On a Friday or Saturday night.

Tunes played by Buddy, The Big Bopper, or Ritchie,

After someone had turned down the lights.

Long hair and a taste of the British,

Which took over in late sixty-four.

Changed every child, their parents, and style,

All at once, and for ever more.

Boy friends, girl friends, and drive-ins,

Some in trunks, cars packed to the doors.

Tuesday was Buck Night, in our books,

And hot dogs were eaten in scores.

A canteen cross the way was our hangout,

A place we could go and just meet.

With a jukebox, pinball and burgers,

If you were feeling like something to eat.

 Good times, true friends, and great music,

Yeah we had it all way back then.

If you put all the pieces together,

What a wonderful message it sends.

Great moments in sports just don’t happen,

They’re created with thought, and a light.

Do your best with what you’ve been given,

T’is the reason we’re all here tonight.

Geary High School as we knew it,

Was one like no others have seen.

Many grads and eleven years later,

Came the end of a beautiful dream.

So we’re here today to rekindle,

Memories of those days gone by.

To unite once again with the classmates,

And pay tribute to Geary Rural High.

Written for all Geary Rural High School Classmates

George (Geo) Donovan. March 15th, 2011