Tag: penmanship

I attended five of my six years of elementary school in Texarkana Texas; that is where Billy Windsor Began School 1954.  I started at age 5 in the first grade at Oaklawn Elementary School, and I turned age 6 after two months.  I did not attend Kindergarten.  I don’t believe we had it back then.

My parents both had beautiful handwriting, but my hand simply would not cooperate. I tried.   First-grade teacher, Lois Roy, was being kind when she gave me a B+ in Penmanship.  Billy Windsor Began School 1954.

My first memories are from 1954.  We were a family of five.

My Dad, Walter, was quite a presence.  He was 6-feet three-and-a-half inches tall.  That made him a giant back in those days.  My Dad had the best male speaking voice ever, very deep.

My Mom, Mary, was the sweetest and best mother ever to live.

I adored my baby sister, Wendy.

My brother, Tony, and I were inseparable until school separated us.

I remember seeing and loving Pinocchio.

I remember it was a big deal to go to Furr’s Cafeteria on Sundays for dinner.

I walked to and from Oaklawn Elementary School.  Dad was the General Manager of KCMC-TV on the other side of town, and Mom did not have a car or a driver’s license.

My Dad was always a celebrity.  That was cool.  My Mom was always the best.  That was cool.

I first appeared on TV in 1954.  I believe this was a drawing for Queen for a Day.

I remember going to a classmate’s birthday party.  They served cupcakes.  I had never seen a cupcake.  It was in a paper “cup.”  I ate it all and then feared I would die from what I realized was paper.  I lived.

One of my least fond memories is that I was too shy to ask permission to use the rest room, and I pooped in my pants and sat in it until I mercifully got to walk home.  I’m sure it had to stink, but no one said anything.  Billy Windsor Began School 1954.

We moved to 4105 Rio Grande Avenue in Texarkana, Texas, and that’s where I attended second grade and received my only report card with Straight A’s.  Thank you, Mrs. Kolb.