Mom came home and said I had a job at K/G Drug Store. I was astonished. She accused me of not asking and I told her I had. It turned out I spoke with Wilson the pharmacist, while Mom talked to Oma Lee, the lady who ran the soda fountain. I was too excited about having a job to be really upset with Mom for not believing me. I was actually very grateful to her.

Oma Lee was a hard lady but kind. She was an older woman and I liked her very much. Her assistant was a small chubby lady who looked even older than Oma Lee. Her name was Faye and I didn't like her nearly as much. Under Oma Lee's tutelage I became an efficient soda jerk/short order cook. I learned all there was to know about the soda fountain business from her partly, but mostly from Mike Woods and Bob Toombs who worked the fountain with me.

Both Mike and Bob were a year ahead of me. They would be seniors in the fall while I would be a junior. Mike was very personable and good looking. One of his pet peeves was when kids would come into the store hot and sweaty and ask only for a glass of water or a "pine tree float" (water with a toothpick in it).

"I just want a glass of water," they would say.

"How about a glass of glass with water in it?" he would respond sarcastically.

Most of these kids were in elementary school so they would look at him puzzled and I would just laugh, not so much at what Mike said but at the expressions on the kids faces. He always came through with the water though. Mike became the president of the senior class that fall – a fitting man for the office.

The soda fountain was state of the art for 1961. In fact, it was probably the most advanced soda fountains would ever become, as they began to wane across the country shortly thereafter until finally late in the 20th century a genuine drug store soda fountain was extinct. The Coca-Cola was blended perfectly and we always kept the carbonator highly charged. Even the six ounce bottled Cokes, as good as they were, were not as good as these. A small 8 ounce Coke cost a nickel. A large 16 ounce Coke cost a dime.

Dr. Pepper was the same. There was none better anywhere. Anyone who has not had the fountain drink experience from that era does not know what I am talking about. The fountain drinks at convenience stores are not the same. The blend is never quite right and I don't think they carbonate the water nearly as much. The syrup was still sweetened with cane sugar back then too. The slight corn taste from corn sweeteners used later on would alter the taste for the worse in my opinion.

Besides Cokes and Dr. Peppers, we had Root Beer (which we had to blend by hand with the carbonated water) and we had orange. It was Nesbitt's orange - non-carbonated and the best I ever tasted. Then we also made lemonades and limeades, fresh. Most people preferred the cherry limeades though. I don't know where we got the cherry syrup or the vanilla syrup, but they were the right kind for cherry and vanilla cokes. We received the syrup as a concentrated flavoring and we would make "simple syrup". Simple syrup was made by filling a gallon pitcher with sugar, and then just covering the sugar with boiling water. The heated water would dissolve the sugar as it was stirred. All the sugar wouldn't dissolve in cold water. Then we added the right amount of flavoring (cherry, vanilla, or root beer) and put the concoction into the proper plastic vat on the back counter. It was amazing how little flavoring was needed, it was that concentrated.

I learned to make all the sundaes (chocolate, strawberry, pineapple, hot fudge, and butterscotch) and the banana splits. The whipped cream came in pressurized reusable canisters from a local dairy – perfect sweet cream - Cool Whip doesn't even come close.

The hamburgers were perfect. The French fries were perfect. Even the breakfast items, eggs how you like them, sausage, bacon, the works, were perfect. The vegetables we put on the hamburgers were always fresh and the mustard and mayonnaise were Kraft's made for restaurants. It might just be me, but I always thought they tasted a little better and fresher than the kind bought in a small bottle at the store and taken home.

The quality started to fall off with the hash browns and evening dinners, I thought. The steaks were frozen and the salad was made with the same vegetables we used for the hamburgers. A bunch of people bought them though.

At 9:30 we shut down the grill and began to clean it. No more cooking orders were accepted after 9:30 but we continued to serve fountain items until the store closed at 10:00 pm. During this time we were working on cleaning the fountain. After a full day of activity, it was a major task, and we did it every night we worked. The high school boys earned their keep.

* * *

At the end of the summer, Bob Toombs quit to join the Marines. That left only Mike and me, but Bill Law was hired right after that.

I liked Bill a lot. He was personable and friendly and had everything going for him. What I didn't like was both he and Mike were a lot better looking than I. Mike became president of the senior class that year. Bill became president of the sophomore class. I didn't become president of the junior class.

* * *

When I walked into the office, the first person I saw was Marybeth Kulp. Wow, she looked even better than she did in Junior High. She had no idea who I was but I remembered her. I had a lot of reservations about leaving San Jac. Marybeth dispelled them just by being in that office. Westbury was going to be alright.

* * *

I went to Corpus to visit my grandparents later that summer. On Thursday Bruce Voorhies called. He was in town to visit some relatives and it was going to be a good day. I felt much better and we decided to explore down by the industrial area along the ship channel. We walked down a paved road toward the channel and it turned into an oyster shell road. We followed it all through the refinery area and discussed girls and the upcoming school year. After several hours we decided to walk out. We were on a different road and we noticed it was chained off with a sign facing away from us.

When we got to where we could read it the sign said

RESTRICTED AREA
KEEP OUT

We had been in a posted area all afternoon long.

* * *

The students at Westbury hit the ground running that September of 1961. The first football game was at the end of the first week against Smiley, there. I had a car and I intended to go so Thomas Browne and I double dated. I took Cheryl Ford from church. Thomas took a girl who shall remain nameless who was always his date whenever he dated (up until he met Kay Priebe). I think Thomas liked her because he knew he could always get a kiss when he wanted one. The only drawback I saw was anyone could get a kiss from her when they wanted one. I took her out once later simply for that reason.

I joined the booster club and became a minor officer. But it was apparent from the beginning that a lot of organizing at Westbury had already been done the previous spring at Bellaire. Most of the teachers had transferred over from Bellaire, and they already knew many of the students who were coming from Bellaire. As a result, the kids from San Jacinto were on the outside looking in.

The one exception seemed to be Mark Krinsky. Partly because of where he lived and his synagogue connections he fit right in. But I think it was mostly Mark himself. If there ever was a guy who was affable, kind, and unassuming even when he was on top of the heap, it was Mark. Everybody regarded him as a friend.

The rest of us fell a little short. Nelda Pollard had been in the Golden Gauchos two years at San Jacinto and I asked her if she was going to join the Rebelettes at Westbury. She said no, and the gruffness and curtness of her response made me think there had been problems.

We started the year on a Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, waiting outside until the doors opened. The booster club was already selling doughnuts and spirit ribbons. Each week I bought two ribbons - one blue and one gray. I wore them pinned on my shirt. I bought a doughnut almost every day.

Once inside, we went to our homeroom. Thomas Browne sat to the back and right of me because of our last names. I suppose that is how we became friends in the first place, sitting next to each other in P.E. or something.

It was a great homeroom. Our homeroom teacher, Mrs. McConnell, seemed a little aloof but the kids were great. A beautiful girl, Candy Bruce, sat next to me, in front of Thomas. She had signed up and auditioned for cheerleader. We had a quick assembly to present the cheerleader candidates and to vote. After all, the first football game was on Friday. Thomas and I both said we would be more than happy to vote for Candy.

Behind Thomas was Larry Branch. He was a good guy and quiet too. Somehow we got Jack Markmon in our homeroom. He sat behind me. Maybe he was late and got thrown in there like I got thrown into the P through T homeroom at San Jac. He was a very country kind of guy “from Meridian, Texas in Bosque County”.

Another kid in my class was Toby Belt (Walter Edwin Belt III). I knew Toby at Jane Long. He was big and had a promising future in football until a head injury sidelined him. He still competed in discus and shot put and would have set new state and national records had there not been a kid at Pampa named Randy Matson at the same time. Toby was a descendant of the old 300, but I didn't know that then. I didn't know I was then either.

I liked John Braden a lot. He wore his hair in a half and half flat-top duck-tail arrangement that some of the guys had back then. I don’t believe his personality ever changed throughout his life.

The quiet and unassuming people in my homeroom included Brenson Abbott, Bill Aber, and the twins, Cathy and Collin Adrich. Jody Avera was quiet too, and a little hard to figure out.

Luther Bain is in this group. He was a very nice guy and my good friend that I had known at San Jacinto.

One girl who spoke out at every injustice was Dorothy Billingsley. Such people were labeled as misfits, and I even felt she was. It wasn't until much later that I realized she was one of the few who had the courage to speak up. In the meantime the rest of us cowered.

Kim Brimer was our tight end a very good looking guy. He later became a state senator from Fort Worth and when his white hair came in he looked very distinguished. I thought Sandy Broussard was pretty. She was a Rebelette and very quiet.

I thought Sharlene Binder was attractive and obviously Jewish. I had learned at San Jacinto that Jewish dads did not want their daughters to have anything to do with Gentile boys. Then why did they have to be such flirts? But Sharlene never flirted. Too bad!

Morrison Brown was another funny character, much like John Braden.

* * *

The cheerleader tryouts were as expected except for one senior girl who didn't look like a cheerleader. She wasn't unattractive but she didn't fit the cheerleader mold. Her name was Pat Curtis. She had so much spontaneous spirit, was so animated and so vocal that she was perfect. She may have had the most votes. And she never let down the whole season. In my mind that was what a cheerleader should be - always.

* * *

The seniors were a small and outstanding class. Mike Woods was elected president. I was surprised but I could think of nobody better. There weren't a lot of seniors. Most opted to stay at Bellaire or San Jacinto. Most of the first senior class were San Jac transfers.

* * *

First period was Mrs. Milligan's history class. I sat ahead of Shirley Allen and behind Thomas Browne. Mrs. Milligan was a likable lady but she had her favorites - mostly the popular boys. She constantly kidded Mark Krinsky, John Kelley, and Bruce Ludwig. Sherman LaFollette was in for a lot of good natured fun. All in all, in spite of the obvious favorites she had, grading was fair and I learned a lot of American History in her class. That was especially true of the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Later in the day I came face to face with a woman I would grow to detest over the next two years and then admire for the remainder of my life – Miss Dixon, my English teacher. I had no choice the first time I had her for English. The class schedule was preset.

She had everything I detested in a teacher. The work she assigned was difficult. Her grading methods were unjust. And her actions and rulings showed that she held the girls in the class in very high regard while the boys were vermin. Nevertheless, as Alan Larson and I both agreed in a class reunion some 45 years later, we may not have made A’s in her class but she TAUGHT us English.

* * *

The third week was a special one. Westbury was playing San Jacinto. Nelda Pollard wore some San Jac spirit ribbons. She was still going with Pat MacDonald and he was playing regularly for the Golden Bears this year. Most of us who had attended both schools wore both the brown and gold with the blue and gray. Almost to a student, our loyalties were divided.

San Jacinto was on a two game winning streak under new coach Treadway. They had broken their losing streak at 38 and it was heady stuff for them. The Chronicle had them as slight favorites but we were confident that our team would give a good show and had a good chance even to win. The good natured badgering between friends of both schools was fun, and it was a great week of looking forward to the game.

Whatever the reason, almost all of us went to the game without dates that week. Thomas and I took the old Ford and we had a great time with Nelda and her friends.

But for Westbury the game was a disaster. The team played well but made far too many mistakes. San Jacinto uncharacteristically took advantage of them. By the fourth quarter there was no longer any question where any of our loyalties were. We were cheering the rebels loudly in a losing effort.

Many of my friends took some very intense razzing from people at San Jac for a few weeks after that and feelings became hard, but we were now firmly entrenched in our new school. Pat gave Nelda a hard time and she stayed mad for several weeks. Shortly after that they split up. I am not sure if his teasing played a big part but I know it didn't help.

* * *

On October 4 in Mrs. Milligan's room (a Tuesday, I think) Thomas Browne and I got to talking about the exclusion of most of the San Jac people in the school's activities. We had visions of re-creating the Neat Guys' Club from San Jac once again. This time, Neat Guys didn't sound too good though (at least Thomas didn't think so - too square I guess). We finally settled on the Aardvark Club, figuring if we ever got any recognition we would be first in any alphabetical club listing. It took off like wildfire. Where we were always only four in the San Jacinto Neat Guys' Club, there would be several hundred Aardvarks and not all from Almeda. Even Toby Belt was an Aardvark and Candy mentioned them regularly at pep rallies, where we sat as a group (again with some of our own cheers).

When Madison High School was built in the Almeda area, my sister Jackie told me that Aardvarks lost out to Marlins by four votes as the school mascot. And this was when most of the Aardvarks were a few years out of high school.

One of the Aardvarks, Robert Watkins raised the Aardvark banner in Antarctica when he served in the Navy.

* * *

Continue John's short story at Parts I through III: John Boyce Life and Times (Class of 1963).

Continued in the "Westbury Stories" tab - John Boyce Life and Times (Parts 1 and 2)