May 17, 2010 Proms

Do you remember the junior-senior prom? Do you remember who your date was? Can you remember what band played the music while you and your classmates shook your booties? When I went to my first prom in 1968 booties were little knit shoes for infants. 8-Up With Soul was the band that played for our '68 prom. The group was led by Frankie Jordon on vocals, Duane Word played bass, David Roberts on guitar, the incomparable Mike Huey on drums, George Fairchild playing the Hammond Organ, Rhett Walker on sax, and Tallapoosa boys Mike Pope and Bink Dawson playing trumpet. They were awesome. They played the music of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, James Brown, with some pop tunes to mix with their special blend of R & B. Drummer Mike Huey went on to professional career in Los Angeles playing behind Juice Newton, and Glen Frey of the Eagles on hit songs like The Heat is On. Huey grew up in Bowdon and at one time was a part time disc jockey at WLBB in Carrollton. 8-Up With Soul played the music up into the night and I think the theme of it was "Evening In Paris". I was impressed that Fay, Kay, Melissa, Beleta, Claire and the rest of the decoration committee could design a replica of the Eiffel Tower out of paper towel rolls and crepe paper. I remember our chaperones that night Mr. Kermit Wood and Mr. Curtis Watson stood guard over the refreshment table in case someone had the notion to spike the punch. I ran across the picture they took during the prom. I had on my Clark Kent glasses and a blue tux with a black bow tie. My date had on a floor length dress that was a light blue. Martha Copeland from the Burwell community in Carroll County was my date that night. I had her home at a proper hour because her dad served as a police officer in Bowdon and I was warned at an early age to quote "not get tangled up with the law." She was home before Johnny Carson went off the air I do remember that and I recall hearing Simon and Garfunkle were singing "here's to you Mrs. Robinson, Jesus Love You More Than You'll Ever Know, Wo Wo Wo."on a radio station out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana on the drive back to Tallapoosa. After many of us took our dates home from the prom we wound up over at Melissa Smith's house on West Mill Street. I remember Ray Poteat was there. He was one of the funniest guys I ever knew. He kept singing the radio jingle for Circus Peanut Butter that he had heard on WLS that night. Back in those days there were no cell phones but my mother had a radar thing going on that she always knew where I was because I had to tell her. "Find a pay-phone and call me and let me know where you are," my mother would bark at me when I'd leave the house. The expense of the prom back then was 7 dollars for the date's corsage, 3 dollars for the gas, and tux rental came from either the Tech Shop in Atlanta or the Squire Ship in Carrollton. I think it was about 15 dollars. So roughly about 25 bucks covered it. 25 dollars today won't cover getting the car washed. Somebody came up with an idea to have the prom in hotel ballrooms and that the only means of transportation was a big stretch limo. I think a tux rental is well over a hundred dollars and a dress for the prom these days can cost into the hundreds. I think pictures for the prom also is a wallet drainer these days. At our prom my date brought a Kodak Instamatic with the flash cubes. Do you remember those? High school days were some happy times for me. I remember when we graduated in late May of 1969 and how good it felt having something no one could ever take from me, my diploma. To the class of 2010 of Haralson County High School I wish you continued success. You may from time to time forget classmates' names in 40 years but you'll never forget the night you graduated from Haralson County High School.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and serves in administrative faculty at Kennesaw State University. Comments can be sent via email at rhubarbjones@aol.com or rhubarb.jones@yahoo.com

or by writing P. O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, GA 30176