What was happening in and around Alto half a century ago? Let’s take a look at the Alto Herald and see.
1963 started off with a bang-up annual Football Banquet honoring the Alto Yellow Jackets team that won the district title in 1962. The theme of the banquet was “Starlite on the District Champs” and the gym was decorated with white crepe paper and lots of gold stars. The centerpiece for the head table was the district trophy surrounded by gold chrysanthemums. Besides the presentation of letter jackets, awards and gifts to the coaches, there was plenty of entertainment. Mr. Harmon Felder played his banjo and there were several singing groups. A most lively and entertaining number was presented by Raymond Reed, Gary May and Max Corley. Appropriately dressed for the song, the group pantomimed the number “I Won’t Go Huntin’ with You Jake, But I’ll Go Chasin’ Wimmin” Check out the January 31, 1963 issue of the Herald to see more about this auspicious occasion, with a lot of names you will recognize.
In other football news, four former Alto Yellowjackets signed to play for the SFA Lumberjacks after a year at junior colleges. Billy Burt, Dickie McGaughey and Steve McCarty had been playing for Kilgore College, while Horace Johnson had earned All-American Junior College honors at Tyler.
In February, the Type III final dose of the Sabin Anti-polio Vaccine was administered to one thousand and seventy-three citizens. That seems to be a really great turn-out for a town of Alto’s size, but the paper reports that it is only about half as many as had received the Type I and II vaccinations the previous year. Now fifty years later, many of those recipients who managed to avoid polio are probably wishing they could take a sugar cube treated to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Alto Volunteer Fire Department was trying to raise money for a new tank for their fire truck.They made the point that the Volunteer Fire Department had been serving the area for more than 50 years. Their slogan was You may need us later. We need you now. The Fire Department, then as now, was providing a much-needed service to Alto and the surrounding rural area. During the first week in February they had been called out to five fires, mostly grass fires outside the city limits. When not fighting fires, the volunteers were watching training films and holding fund-raisers.
In other news, there was a Donkey Basketball Game and Cake Auction to raise money for the AHS junior class, Dwain Grogan took his calf scramble heifer to the Houston Livestock Show, Chubby Checker was showing at the Alto Theater in Twist Around the Clock, and Admiration Coffee was selling for 49 cents a pound. And that was when a pound of coffee weighed a pound and not 10 ounces.
Originally published in the Cherokeean on February 2, 2013
I pulled some photographs from the Stella Hill archives on Flickr (see link below). Here are the captains from that 1963 football team. The caption says Head Coach: Terry Ted Moore, Assistant Coach: Harold Scott, Captains: Ray Johnson, Mike Trevathan, Billy Bradley and Max Corley. I was only 1 in 1963, so I don’t remember these guys, but I’m pretty sure that’s Coach Moore leaning on the railing in the middle.
And here is one you may have seen before of the donkey basketball game in 1963. I can’t identify these cowboys, but maybe you can.
And finally, here is another recent repeat of a musical performance from the football banquet
but I have an added bonus – the soundtrack! They sounded an awful lot like Jimmy Dean, don’t you think?