Grandpa Mixson in the VA hospital
Dad on left, his brother Adrian in the middle and brother Arnold in University police uniform

Grandpa Mixson had been sick for some time and in the fall he was in the VA hospital in Lake City.   On Saturday we got into the car and went to see Grandpa in the hospital.  When we got there, we went into the lobby of the hospital where they told Dad that kids were not allowed to visit so mom took outside where we sat at a picnic table under a big oak tree while Dad went to see Grandpa.  Mom pointed to a specific window on the second or third floor and said it was Grandpa’s room, but we couldn't see him because he was in bed.  Dad was very somber on the drive back home and when Mom asked how Grandpa was Dad said simply, “Not good.” Dad went to see his father once a week or so for the remainder of the year.

Larry 3rd Grade

  In September Brenda started the 4th grade, I started the 3rd, and David the 1st, all at Littlewood School with Mrs. Beebe as my teacher.  Hank Weaver was again in my class as well as Diane Correll, Craven Smith and Sandra Robertson all of which would go to school together though high school.  I enjoyed school which always begin with saying the Pledge of Allegiance which was led by a student in the school office and broadcast to each classroom through a speaker high up on the wall in the front of class.  After the pledge, there were a few announcements and then class would begin.  We would work on each subject for a a hour or so then move to the next subject, reading, writing, spelling, social studies arithmetic, science and health.  We would break for lunch and go to the cafeteria to eat lunch.  With Brenda, David and I all in the same school we would sometimes eat lunch together if we had the same lunch period, David more so than Brenda.  On most days we would bring a sandwich from home in a brown paper bag but at times we would eat the school lunch. The school published the menu for the week, always ending with fish sticks on Friday we were told because of the Catholics.  There were certain meals we liked better than others and we would let Mom know and she would give us money for lunch or if we were bringing our lunch, money for milk.  Upon arriving at the cafeteria we would get in a line and go though a door into the kitchen, get a tray, plate, silverware and proceed down the line to several stations with different foods with a lunch lady.  There were usually a couple of different options so you would tell the lunch lady what you wanted, and she would put it on you plate.  One of my favorites was meatloaf At the end of the line you would give your money to another lunch lady and then exit the kitchen and go get a seat usually with the other students in your class but it wasn’t required.  The cafeteria was huge and there would be a hundred or more students, some coming, some eating, some going with the overlapping lunch periods.  It was chaotic, a rumble of voices of everyone talking at the same time.  In a lunchroom with so many kids there were an occasional incident, or better known as food fights which were more likely to happen on a day the food was very good.  There was one day I started what wasn’t quite a food fight when I put a green pea on the end of my fork on the table and then struck the other end of the fork with my hand launching the pea high up into to the air to land, well that was the interesting part.  Soon the other boys at the table were doing it and it spread to other tables before a teacher caught wise and put an end to it.  Another of my capers was on easter I dyed a raw egg and put in with all the hard eggs and made sure that it made it into my brother’s lunch the following school day but my brother said he got wise to it when he opened his lunch and there was a crack in the egg.  After eating you took your tray to a place near the exit where you would put your silverware in a bin, paper in another and then pass your tray and plate though a window before exiting where, If you didn’t spend much time eating, you might spend time with the other kids before returning to class. Another thing we did in third grade is learn to play the recorder which is a simple flute and I found I had no talent for music.

In November John F. Kennedy was elected president.

For my eighth birthday Mom took Brenda, David, Corky, Janice, Karen and I to the movie.  Grandma Junior gave me a football and Mom and Dad gave me an erector set. A few days before Christmas we drove to Atlanta to spend Christmas with Mom’s sister Aunt Carole and their kids Danah and Vandy.  Grandpa and Grandma Junior with Gary and Corky were there as well as Aunt Sue, Uncle Jimmy and Danny. It was very cold and I saw snow for the first time.  It wasn’t much, just a few flurries but us kids had great fun running around trying to catch a snowflake on our tongue.  We had brought all our Christmas presents with us and we had a great time opening them on Christmas morning.  David and I once again got socks from Grandma Junior but I also got and Erector Set which had all sorts of metal beams and pieces which you can put together to make all sorts of things.  I spent many an hour making things with it.

Bremda. Davod amd Larry
Erector Set in my lap

Updated: 05-29-2023

1961