By Ray Collett

Hello Readers, Another week has rolled around, seems like the weeks pass so much faster now don't they. I wonder if age has anything to do with it? The emails are still coming in from readers with their memories of growing up. Let's see what Sharon ( Harold) Daniels had to say...

Hi Ray,
My name is Sharon Daniels,I was born and raised in Rockwood Tn.I now live down Ten Mile way,My mother and Dad is Rosalee (Hackler) Husband.My late Dad's name is James Harold Jr they were married for about 29 yrs when he passed on in August of 1991 .I remember momma worked at a place I dont remember the place when I was about 5 and she would bring home doughnuts almost every evening for us kids,and my Daddy worked at Moleneux Lumber Company for a lot of yrs.
,I went to school at Ridgeview Elementary started there I think in 1970,I remember my first Grade teacher Mrs.Margaret she was a wonderful teacher,and will always have a place in my heart,I also remember my 6th grade teacher Mr.Reed he was a very good teacher.
At the time there was no middle school,So I went on to Rockwood Jr. High wher some of my fondest memories are of soe of my teachers,like Mr. Baskin,Mrs. Fulk,Mrs. Cole.and the Principal Bill Thompson.Boy did he have a mean paddle at the time...lol,My very best friends in Jr. and thruout life has been Jeri Ann McCullough(My dearest Friend and the one who got me and my Husband together),Della Davenport(My second Dearest Friend),and my cousin/sister the one I was very very close to is my Cousin Patricia Pelfrey,Patricia has gone to be with the Lord,She passed in Sept 2001,Abig part of me died when she left us.But she is in a better place.I didn't Graduate high school,I quit and married my husband of 28 wonderful yrs in 1981,
I was grew up mostly in Black Hollow with my Grandmother (Late) Estelle Hackler and Papaw (Late) William Thomas Hackler.
When I was little me and my brothers and lots of cousins would go all over the hills up behind The House of Prayer in Black Hollow,My Uncle Ed Hackler used to Preach there. as well as my Uncle Frank Brogdon.My granny and Papaw owned the land up there wher the church was and lived in a small house next to the church.
I was pretty much raised in church.and I loved every minute of it,We also used to have old fashion foot warshins,and Brush Arbor Meetings,and you could really feel the Lord so strong up there.I miss those times.
I remember the big pond over behind granny and papaws they say it was haunted,Some one told me once that one night they saw a Giant Arm reach up out of the middle of the pond,and then someone else told me about a headless man carrying a hatchet that wore a plaide Shirt.
Who says you cant go back home.In my memories I go back all the time.
Although a lot of my family has left and gone to be with the Lord,But they will always live in my heart and in my mind.
Thank you Ray for letting me be a part of Rockwood Memories..
Sharon (Harold) Daniels

And thank you Sharon for taking the time to send us an email...
From Walter Evans, (Class of 1956) comes this letter...

Ray,

You will not believe this story but it is true. Yesterday I received a phone call from Bobby Hales and I had not heard from him since he left Rockwood ten years ago. I may have left first as I left just after graduation, entering the Air Force, serving for 30 years, and then working for the Department of Defense as a civilian for 19 more years.

Bobby said he had been through Rockwood and happened to visit Yonder Hollow on a Friday night and actually got to participate in a jam session with you. He plans on coming to the RHS reunion this year. His brother Joe, lives in Millington, TN and we have been in contact with him every since we met him in the mid-50's. Joe was asking about the RHS reunion since I sent him an e-mail yesterday about hearing from his brother. He and Bobby graduated from Cantonment High School in Florida after leaving Rockwood. Betty and Joe were very good friends, exchanging letters and e-mails for all of these years. Joe is a big Elvis fan and entertains a lot of friends every year for the Birthday of the King. He has forever been sending us memorabilia concerning Elvis that he gets at the birthday parties at Graceland.

I think you have a great idea on finding information about individuals and having readers ask about different people. Since joining First Baptist Church in Kingston, I have met Jack Woodall who was in our graduation class and one day I was playing golf at Lakeside in KIngston and ran into Bill Treadway who I had not seen since high school. This is truly a small world and many of us have crossed paths with people who we grew up with but did not recognize them at the moment.

Do you know when the RHS Classmate Reunion letters for making reservations will be sent out? I need to make sure both Bobby and Joe are included in the ones sent out.

Thanks,
Walter
And thanks to you Walter.....And we thought WE have had some rain recently...check this email from Jo An Gaines from Hawaii..

Ray,

It is early morning in Hawaii. We live in the rain forest (we get more than 100 inches a year) and I'm waking up to Kona Coffee, the birds chirping, rain falling and reading your column. I always read it first!! You are a 'magic maker'.

Jo An Gaines
A 100 inches of rain a year...that is unbelievable. I never made it to Hawaii during my Navy career, they kept me in the Mediterranean. My brother, Steve, was stationed in Hawaii for a couple of years while serving in the US Army. My mother flew there to visit him once, had never been on a plane before, but the airport folks put a shipping label around her neck and off she flew. She stayed a couple of months and was glad to get back to good old Rockwood. She said everything smelled like pineapples...I think I could smell "pineapples" for a couple of months to have a chance to go there. I am going to Va. later on this week to visit family and old friends, pick and grin at a "Bluegrass" Festival, seeing Rhonda Vincent, so I guess I had better get to
packing....Don't forget our big RHS Reunion, coming up real soon...Make your plans to attend and let's have a good time......Until next week, Ray