Superintendent Swim
Mar 29, 2024 15:18:17 #
There was no question but there was a declared war between the Senior Class of 1953 and the Superintendent Swim at Saint Jo High School. Yes, I was a member of this ‘rebel’ class.
Since I was a member of the class of 1953 and as freshmen, we had been brutally mistreated, we were determined to give and good as we got. Superintendent Swim was just as determined that no hazing of freshmen was going to occur. So, at the start of school our senior year, Super Swim would come to Uncle Dave’s (the hangout for seniors and football players. He wanted desperately to be a part of the group. He would come and sit on an old couch with the rest of the guys and obviously wanted to be accepted as one of the group!
Well, there were plans to handle this situation. Tom and Jerral Don snuck out the side door and went behind the station, called Uncle Daves! Tom took a board and beat on a burlap bag holding tin cans that Uncle Dave saved. At the same time Jerral Don would be screaming ‘bloody murder” at the top of his lungs. Well Superintendent Swim almost tore the screen door off getting out and capturing the culprits. All of us were right behind! When he saw he had been trapped, he laughed and as soon as he could, slunk back to his office.
Also, he desperately tried to establish a student government system, and we kept voting it down. I never understood why he had set a level of 75% positive vote because most of us had younger brothers and sisters, and with their vote, we always defeated his quest. We believed the only reason for his scheme was to have more eyes on the misdeeds we might have chosen to commit. He could have set the level at 50% or even lower.
As seniors, we decided we wanted a real senior trip, not a day trip to Turner Falls, or such. So, we knew it would cost a lot more, therefore we set about earning the necessary amount. Cakewalks and such would never give us the financing we needed. Someone suggested we take over and run the skating rink which had closed. We would run it, do the cleaning up after each evening. Because as seniors, there was more attendance by all the high school students to simply see what was happening.
Because of our entrepreneurial spirit, we did quite well and scheduled a train trip from Gainesville to Galveston. This would be an overnight trip all the way across the state. Most of us had never seen the ocean so it was the source of a lot of excitement and anticipation. Well, the chill for Superintendent Swim was still high. At about 7:00 A.M. in the morning, we were just crossing the causeway from the mainland to Galveston.
Superintendent Swim had fallen asleep with his head on the armrest. Tom, seeing his opportunity, took a cone-shaped cup, filled it with ice water and put it in Swim’s ear! Swim came up screaming! Yes, it was cruel, and I would never have done that trick, but it was funny!
One evening, it was announced we would go to a genuine supper club for dinner and dance. Well, when we walked in the door, the hallway was lined with one-armed bandits, slot machines! Galveston was still wide open with all sorts of vices in full view.
Post Office Street was alive and working. Some of our groups were walking from the beach to downtown, got turned around and found themselves in the red-light district. “You boys take those little girls back home, and then come back! We have the coldest beer and ….(fill in the blanks)!
One night, my roommates were Don and Jerry, twins, along with Gerald and myself. It was decided we needed some beer, and Jerry and Gerald were the ones to visit a nearby liquor store to buy a couple of six packs. It was after dark and when our guys were headed back, two of our chaperones were out checking on all our seniors, they just happened to intercept Jerry and Gerald. These ladies happened to be the mothers of the two boys. Now the boys, sensing trouble, tried to put the beer under their shirts and walk backwards past their moms! Of course, they got caught and we were all put on the train back home the next morning! Just Sayin…RJS
Since I was a member of the class of 1953 and as freshmen, we had been brutally mistreated, we were determined to give and good as we got. Superintendent Swim was just as determined that no hazing of freshmen was going to occur. So, at the start of school our senior year, Super Swim would come to Uncle Dave’s (the hangout for seniors and football players. He wanted desperately to be a part of the group. He would come and sit on an old couch with the rest of the guys and obviously wanted to be accepted as one of the group!
Well, there were plans to handle this situation. Tom and Jerral Don snuck out the side door and went behind the station, called Uncle Daves! Tom took a board and beat on a burlap bag holding tin cans that Uncle Dave saved. At the same time Jerral Don would be screaming ‘bloody murder” at the top of his lungs. Well Superintendent Swim almost tore the screen door off getting out and capturing the culprits. All of us were right behind! When he saw he had been trapped, he laughed and as soon as he could, slunk back to his office.
Also, he desperately tried to establish a student government system, and we kept voting it down. I never understood why he had set a level of 75% positive vote because most of us had younger brothers and sisters, and with their vote, we always defeated his quest. We believed the only reason for his scheme was to have more eyes on the misdeeds we might have chosen to commit. He could have set the level at 50% or even lower.
As seniors, we decided we wanted a real senior trip, not a day trip to Turner Falls, or such. So, we knew it would cost a lot more, therefore we set about earning the necessary amount. Cakewalks and such would never give us the financing we needed. Someone suggested we take over and run the skating rink which had closed. We would run it, do the cleaning up after each evening. Because as seniors, there was more attendance by all the high school students to simply see what was happening.
Because of our entrepreneurial spirit, we did quite well and scheduled a train trip from Gainesville to Galveston. This would be an overnight trip all the way across the state. Most of us had never seen the ocean so it was the source of a lot of excitement and anticipation. Well, the chill for Superintendent Swim was still high. At about 7:00 A.M. in the morning, we were just crossing the causeway from the mainland to Galveston.
Superintendent Swim had fallen asleep with his head on the armrest. Tom, seeing his opportunity, took a cone-shaped cup, filled it with ice water and put it in Swim’s ear! Swim came up screaming! Yes, it was cruel, and I would never have done that trick, but it was funny!
One evening, it was announced we would go to a genuine supper club for dinner and dance. Well, when we walked in the door, the hallway was lined with one-armed bandits, slot machines! Galveston was still wide open with all sorts of vices in full view.
Post Office Street was alive and working. Some of our groups were walking from the beach to downtown, got turned around and found themselves in the red-light district. “You boys take those little girls back home, and then come back! We have the coldest beer and ….(fill in the blanks)!
One night, my roommates were Don and Jerry, twins, along with Gerald and myself. It was decided we needed some beer, and Jerry and Gerald were the ones to visit a nearby liquor store to buy a couple of six packs. It was after dark and when our guys were headed back, two of our chaperones were out checking on all our seniors, they just happened to intercept Jerry and Gerald. These ladies happened to be the mothers of the two boys. Now the boys, sensing trouble, tried to put the beer under their shirts and walk backwards past their moms! Of course, they got caught and we were all put on the train back home the next morning! Just Sayin…RJS
Mar 30, 2024 10:24:37 #
Mar 30, 2024 15:00:43 #
Nah! They poured the beer in the flower beds of the motel! What a waste! Just Sayin...RJS
Mar 30, 2024 15:29:35 #
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