U.S. GRANT GENERALS.......got memories?

[sam greenroyd]

There are things not seen that can impact the cost of remolding buildings. Unseen structural damage and with many buildings from the 50's-60's era is asbestos. Asbestos removal can cost a fortune alone.

Good point

[papaOU]

Since many of you do not read the Capitol Hill Beacon, I'll paraphrase a story from March 25, 2010 concerning the "new" Grant.

Principal Phil Wallace remained at the school until open house. Mr. Wallace states that U.S. Grant had no incentives in select students because the school was not a magnet, specialty school, advanced studies, or school of the arts, Grant was required to take all students who showed up. No aptitude testing or any other kind of evaluation of students.

I wonder if they had/have to speak English?

In the same article a teacher from CHHS complained to school board member, Wil Rivera that he did not have enough textbooks for all the students in his class.

We bitch and complain about the students and their lack of motivation or appreciation, and rightfully so. Now it looks as though part of the problem is with the higher-ups.

It is a very bad situation all the way around........and no one has a clue as what to do....

[corpsman]

Since many of you do not read the Capitol Hill Beacon, I'll paraphrase a story from March 25, 2010 concerning the "new" Grant.

Principal Phil Wallace remained at the school until open house. Mr. Wallace states that U.S. Grant had no incentives in select students because the school was not a magnet, specialty school, advanced studies, or school of the arts, Grant was required to take all students who showed up. No aptitude testing or any other kind of evaluation of students.

I wonder if they had/have to speak English?

In the same article a teacher from CHHS complained to school board member, Wil Rivera that he did not have enough textbooks for all the students in his class.

We bitch and complain about the students and their lack of motivation or appreciation, and rightfully so. Now it looks as though part of the problem is with the higher-ups.

It is a very bad situation all the way around........and no one has a clue as what to do....

Too bad there aren't more like Jaime Escalante, God rest his soul, out there who can motivate students to Stand and Deliver

[Generals64]

The Superintendent of OKC schools needs to wake up and review the "feeder" schools. Those schools are so far out of control it is embarassing. I gues they need to have a "Grafitti" Class in all of them. At least teach them how to spell...

[papaOU]

I spoke with my friend who is a teacher at CHHS about this article. Her reply:

Hmmm... interesting. It does make a good point about not being a charter or specialty school. CHHS is the same way. we have more kids with ankle monitors on house arrest and tons who have PO's. if they get kicked out of douglass, we take them. we take kids who get kicked out of mid-del schools, too. our good kids leave us for southeast or santa fe south. a lot of our kids when to grant so they wouldn't have to wear uniforms and because of the nice building... the whole system is so screwed up. but i love my kids. they'd have to pry my dead, rigormortised body out of hillside.

[grantgeneral78]

The Superintendent of OKC schools needs to wake up and review the "feeder" schools. Those schools are so far out of control it is embarassing. I gues they need to have a "Grafitti" Class in all of them. At least teach them how to spell...

In english anyway!

[corpsman]

I spoke with my friend who is a teacher at CHHS about this article. Her reply:

Hmmm... interesting. It does make a good point about not being a charter or specialty school. CHHS is the same way. we have more kids with ankle monitors on house arrest and tons who have PO's. if they get kicked out of douglass, we take them. we take kids who get kicked out of mid-del schools, too. our good kids leave us for southeast or santa fe south. a lot of our kids when to grant so they wouldn't have to wear uniforms and because of the nice building... the whole system is so screwed up. but i love my kids. they'd have to pry my dead, rigormortised body out of hillside.

God bless her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grantgeneral78]

I never was allowed to attend a football game in high school or do many after school activities because it wasn't safe. During the fall of 1974 after I had graduated in May there was a boy shot at Grant and if I remember right he died. It's a shame really, because high school is supposed to be the best time of our lives. I had Mrs. Baugh for English and Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Bentley for home economics classes. I'm enjoying reading this thread! It sure is bringing back some memories!

He was actually a friend of mine and he got shot in 1976 his name was Randy Truitt, I was about 20 feet from him in the hall when James Briggs open fire in the hall and killed him and injured 2 others. That was a horrible day, gave me nightmares for a while.

[USG '60]

I had never heard of this one. What is the rest of the story?

[USG '60]

While waiting to see if there is an answer to the above, I am going to groan a minute. I just got the official announcement of our 50th reunion and, I'll be damned if it isn't in, grumble grumble, EDMOND. The 25th was out on south Meridian and that seemed appropriate, why not now, I wonder. Since I am evidently the only one on here from my class so I don't expect an answer; as I said, I'm just being a grump. EDMOND? Geez.

[grantgeneral78]

I had never heard of this one. What is the rest of the story?

The rest of my story?

[USG '60]

The rest of my story?

Your story about the shooting. What all happened to whom, etc?

[Prunepicker]

He was actually a friend of mine and he got shot in 1976 his name was Randy
Truitt, I was about 20 feet from him in the hall when James Briggs open fire in
the hall and killed him and injured 2 others. That was a horrible day, gave me
nightmares for a while.

I remember that in the news. Horrible.

[gen70]

While waiting to see if there is an answer to the above, I am going to groan a minute. I just got the official announcement of our 50th reunion and, I'll be damned if it isn't in, grumble grumble, EDMOND. The 25th was out on south Meridian and that seemed appropriate, why not now, I wonder. Since I am evidently the only one on here from my class so I don't expect an answer; as I said, I'm just being a grump. EDMOND? Geez.

'60, I'd say the organizer lives in Edmond but, arent you glad your still around to attend? Ha..Ha..

[Hammondjam]

I'll put in my two cents on the shooting at Grant. I graduated in '75 but the seeds of hostility were already planted back then. In my senior year, the halls had more cops than teachers, black kids were forced to go to our school and be the target of many racial slurs, the KKK was recruiting in the parking lot on the north side of the old gym and our beloved football coach was stirring up his players and turning them into his own goon squad against black students. I personally saw him send a couple of large players over to a little, skinny black kid, that was standing at the vending machines close to Ron Cable's biology classroom, and beat the kid for NO reason.

It was known that team members would chase the black kids into the gym and threaten them verbally until the busses took them back home. The "mob rules" mindset would even cause them to attack anybody that happened to be standing there. At one point, if my buddy hadn't had an automatic weapon in his trunk and if he hadn't fired it into the air, we would have been swarmed by over 50 kids all head up over nothing.

I fault the coach(whose name escapes me at the time) for inciting young kids to violence because he disagreed with the Finger Plan. I fault some of the parents for letting their hate and bigotry inspire their kids to take part in what some of the football team members were doing. I fault the administration for hiding in their offices and looking the other way while our school became a really bad joke. By the time the fatal incident happened, I'm sure that the black kids had had enough and the unspeakable happened. Randy died because supposed educated adults couldn't/wouldn't act as such and diffuse this situation before it exploded like it obviously did.

[Hammondjam]

I want to follow up my last post with something a bit more cheerful. One of my fun memories when I was about six or seven was the Generals vs. the Redskins at the football field at CHHS. It was like a miniature OU vs. Texas and tensions were usually high. My teenaged neighbor, who I considered my big sister, was dating a local tough from Grant. After the game, he would gather with his "homies" and go to war under the bleachers with the Capitol Hill toughs until the cops broke it up or they got tired. Back then, they didn't use guns to fight like now. A lot of yelling and a few broken noses were the worst unless Lt. Pierce showed up and kicked everybody's backside. For the most part, I was safe from the festivities but once or twice I got knocked down in all the hubbub. I felt like I earned my stripes after that. We'd ride to the Pizza Planet on Fooge's bike(me on the back and my "sis" driving her car) and eat a celebratory pie. I had lots of big brothers and sisters at Grant at the time and it was a great time to be a little kid!

[papaOU]

I want to follow up my last post with something a bit more cheerful. One of my fun memories when I was about six or seven was the Generals vs. the Redskins at the football field at CHHS. It was like a miniature OU vs. Texas and tensions were usually high. My teenaged neighbor, who I considered my big sister, was dating a local tough from Grant. After the game, he would gather with his "homies" and go to war under the bleachers with the Capitol Hill toughs until the cops broke it up or they got tired. Back then, they didn't use guns to fight like now. A lot of yelling and a few broken noses were the worst unless Lt. Pierce showed up and kicked everybody's backside. For the most part, I was safe from the festivities but once or twice I got knocked down in all the hubbub. I felt like I earned my stripes after that. We'd ride to the Pizza Planet on Fooge's bike(me on the back and my "sis" driving her car) and eat a celebratory pie. I had lots of big brothers and sisters at Grant at the time and it was a great time to be a little kid!

Being from CHHS most of my battles with the Grant group was at the National Guard Armory just west of Penn on 44th. There used to be dances (or were they sock-hops) regularly. One thing for sure was you did not have to worry during the dance or inside the building. Everything would happen outside. If you heard the question as to which school you attended, square-off because it has begun!!!!!

[gen70]

Being from CHHS most of my battles with the Grant group was at the National Guard Armory just west of Penn on 44th. There used to be dances (or were they sock-hops) regularly. One thing for sure was you did not have to worry during the dance or inside the building. Everything would happen outside. If you heard the question as to which school you attended, square-off because it has begun!!!!!

I used to go to the dances there.

[USG '60]

We'd ride to the Pizza Planet on Fooge's bike(me on the back and my "sis" driving her car) and eat a celebratory pie.

While in college through the early 60's the Pizza Planet was my weekend office. I thought I owned the place.

[CarltonsKeeper]

While in college through the early 60's the Pizza Planet was my weekend office. I thought I owned the place.

Do you remember when the Pizza Planet started and they were located in a hole in the wall at 58th and S. Penn (West side)!! Ginny's Pub moved in when they moved across the street to their new building!

[USG '60]

I don't recall them ever moving to the west side of Penn so I guess I was really REALLY stoned or had moved on to other hangouts by then. I know that they were still on the west side when I graduated college in '65. I would literally spend all night there studying since one of the managers had classes with me. I would read John Kenneth Galbreath out loud to him while he cleaned up and then we would take turns reading out loud and discussing as we went along. I ruined my eyesight in the kitchen of the Pizza Planet.

[CarltonsKeeper]

I don't recall them ever moving to the west side of Penn so I guess I was really REALLY stoned or had moved on to other hangouts by then. I know that they were still on the west side when I graduated college in '65. I would literally spend all night there studying since one of the managers had classes with me. I would read John Kenneth Galbreath out loud to him while he cleaned up and then we would take turns reading out loud and discussing as we went along. I ruined my eyesight in the kitchen of the Pizza Planet.

They started on the west side and then moved to the east side. The manager I knew was James Stonebraker, very intelligent. Another manager was named Wright, forgot his first name. They didn't move to the East side til the late late 60's!! Stonebraker graduated from Grant in 65' and Wright would have been very early 60's!! Kind of short, black headed guy and extremly smart!!

[possumfritter]

USG '60...That is hilarious! Eating pizza and reading John Kenneth Galbreath. Were ya reading out loud before or after the doobie? Wait a sec, you didn't say anything about eating pizza. My bad!

[USG '60]

James Stonebreaker was a super guy but I have lost contact with him. Charlie Wright is still a dear friend; it was him with whom I was reading economics in the kitchen. He ended up with a PHd in Sociology and a degree in Law. He is still brilliant.

Believe me, Possum, when we were reading we weren't smoking and when we were smoking we were reading nothing of substance. I ate a million 99 cent large cheese pizzas over those years and drank a zillion Dr Peppers when reading, smoking and eating.

[CarltonsKeeper]

James Stonebreaker was a super guy but I have lost contact with him. Charlie Wright is still a dear friend; it was him with whom I was reading economics in the kitchen. He ended up with a PHd in Sociology and a degree in Law. He is still brilliant.

Believe me, Possum, when we were reading we weren't smoking and when we were smoking we were reading nothing of substance. I ate a million 99 cent large cheese pizzas over those years and drank a zillion Dr Peppers when reading, smoking and eating.

I spent a couple of hours with Stonebraker at our last reunion in 2000. He has had a tough life and at that time was pretty much down on his luck. He went on with the owners of Pizza Planet way back when and made it to the top. The company went down and that was about it. I remember when Charlie married Terry Danner. His brother Mike still walks the streets of Norman hallucinating about the days of the SDS!! I went all through Grant with Mike and James. I was nowhere in there league of intelligence, obviously!! Still, they were or should I say James was a good friend.. Will probably see him this June at our next reunion......