Sports Center Saturday - Memories of Homecomings Past

Sicily Island High School Homecoming Court - 1975

Homecoming ceremonies were held yesterday at Sicily Island High School.  Memories of past homecomings prompted the posting of this particular one from forty years ago.

This photograph of the 1975 Homecoming Court appeared in the Catahoula News Booster.  Seated at the top is Queen Denise Simmons with Todd Guice (football bearer) and Nikki Roberts (crown bearer) on each side.  On the second row are (LtoR) Florida Jackson, Jessie Johnson, Carol Bowman and Dawn Seal.  On the bottom row are (LtoR) Deborah Edmonds, Rebecca Douglas, Rutha Harber, Rhonda Williamson and Helen Henry.

The selection of Homecoming Courts at Sicily Island High School was unique to the school itself.  I was never aware of any other school whose process resembled ours.  Other schools held elections where the queen and her court were selected by popular vote from the student body.  At Sicily Island, the captain of the football team was always a senior.  He had the honor of selecting the queen from the student body while the remaining senior players chose the queen's court.

In 1975, the captain of the football team was Steve Robinson.  Below is a photograph of him with his queen, Denise Simmons.

Queen Denise Simmons and Captain Steve Robinson

For those who may be interested in taking a walk down memory lane to earlier years, old home movies from Homecoming parades as far back as the 1950s can be found at Roots from the Bayou's YouTube page.

A New Home for the Old Sicily Island Videos

Roots From The Bayou now has a YouTube page where all of the old home movies captured by my grandfather will reside.  I will be removing the movies from the "Old SI Videos" tab at the top of the blog page and replace them with a link to the YouTube page, RootsFromTheBayou.

Videos can be viewed on the YouTube page by clicking on the "Videos" tab or on the "Playlist" tab. The "Playlist" tab has the videos grouped by subject or event.

If you enjoy a video, please click on the "Like" button.  If you'd like to see more videos as they are added, please click on the red "Subscribe" button.

Although the quality of some of the videos is poor, I hope those who view them will enjoy a walk down memory lane or perhaps catch a glimpse of what Sicily Island looked like back in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.

Old Movie Clip of Catahoula Parish Courthouse and School Board Office

Below is a short video clip from one of my grandfather's old home movies back in the late 1960s or very early 1970s.  The first scene is of a few people outside the Catahoula Parish Courthouse in Harrisonburg and another nearby office.  The second scene is of a few people outside the Catahoula Parish School Board office in Jonesville.

The quality is poor but if anyone can help identify some of the people in the clip please leave a comment or email me at rootsfromthebayou@gmail.com.

I do recognize Mr. Alden Webb, Mr. York Sheppard and Mr. Ladell Sandifer outside the School Board office.

Christmas Eve ~ 1960

The movie clip below was recorded on December 24, 1960.

It was viewed many times without the children ever realizing just what they were actually seeing.

Fifty-three years later, the clip continues to remind me of the magic of Christmas.

Home Movies ~ Methodist Church Scenes, 1970

This movie clip was taken in 1970 outside the Sicily Island Methodist Church.  The quality is poor but hopefully you'll recognize some of the people listed below the clip.

Barnie Lee Cloy Stubbs and Diana Stubbs
DeLeta Furr Peniston
Juanita Bird
Thomas Enright and Barbara Gilbert
Garland and Anna Cloy Furr
John Girault Bird and Girault Bird
Birdie Talbert Krause and Oscar Krause
Lillian and O. G. Wynn, Jr. with Howard Wynn
Patsy Smith Jackson
Walling Chisum
Judy Krause
Lynn Evans
Bro. Hodges
Gerre Wycoff
Mildred Bynum Edmonds with Deborah, Mary, John and David
Buddy and Becky Fairbanks
Olga Knight Seal
Sallie Knight Fairbanks
Maggie Knight
Estelle Woodward Peck
Blair Chisum
Janet, Joey and Jerel Evans
Willie Evans Knight
Mrs. Hodges

Home Movies ~ Homecoming Parade, 1968

The following clip was taken during the last filmed Homecoming Parade in 1968.  You'll even catch a few glimpses of 'Rice the Tiger' who was donated to the school by the parents of Henry and Carolyn Rice.

Some of the many faces you'll see in this clip:

Marguerita Carter Krause
Joy Cotten Ashley
Lynn Evans
Tommie Jean Beatty and Brian
Keith Guice
Raymond and Sue Peace
Aubrey Brooks
Bruce A. Edmonds
Jean Crawford
Carma Polk
Judy Wells Carpenter
Mary Edmonds
Thelma Brooks
Kenny Barron
Carroll Barron
Richard Price
Wayne Coleman
Allen Garrett
Danny Myers
Donald Ashley
Homer Thompson
Robert Price
Steve Jackson

Home Movies ~ Betty Chisum Wedding

This clip was taken outside the Methodist Church before and after Betty Chisum's Wedding.  Betty is the daughter of Edward Walling "Little Walling" Chisum and Alberta Cruse Graham.

Some of the people you'll see in this clip:

Willie Woodward
Olga Knight Seal
Estelle Woodward Peck
Lucille Steele Ogden
Jack Shaffer
Mike Haley
Mrs. Baxter
Don and Elizabeth Baxter
Yelverton "Yelvie" Bondurant
Walling and Cruse Chisum
Aubrey "Buddy", Marjorie Montgomery and Blair Chisum
Bro. L. W. Taylor
Betty Chisum
Marvin "Brother" Nolen
Catherine "Kitty" McNair Nolen
Bob and Evelyn Ogden Rife
Jeanette Saltzman Gremillion
Maurice and Gladys Kendrick Saltzman
J. C. "Sonny" and Barbara Jane Peck Gilbert
Barbara Peck Gilbert 

Home Movies ~ Methodist Church Scenes, Part 5

Another movie clip from the Methodist Church in the late 1960s.

In this clip you'll see the following people:

Joe Raymond Peace, Jr.
Pam Franks
Mary Elizabeth Krause
Bruce Edmonds Family
Willie Evans Knight
Barbara Jane Peck Gilbert
Austin and Steve Minton
Karen Crawford
O. G. and Kate Wynn

Home Movies ~ Birthday Party, late 1960s

The following clip was taken at one of my birthday parties in the late 1960s.  In the background you'll see the old Bennett/Bryan house which was just across the street from where I grew up.

People you'll see in this clip:

Mary L.
Connie H.
Patricia J.
Gloria "Bo" J.
Doris W.
Darryl S.
Dawn S.
Marilyn M.
Douglas M.
Cheryl E.
Mary V.
Renee S.
Kim C.

Home Movies ~ Snow on the Island, 1960s

A rare snowfall on Sicily Island during Christmas time in the 1960s:

Some of the places you'll see:

Street scenes along the road to the school house
Bait Stand in front of the Carter's house (Bennett house)
American Gas Station
Dry Cleaners
Original Library
Johnny Crawford's Barber Shop
Bruce's Drive-In
Sicily Island State Bank (with its silver Christmas Tree)

Home Movies ~ T. J. and Jessie Peniston 50th Wedding Anniversary

The following movie clip was taken in the 1960s at the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Peniston and Jessie Smith Peniston.

Three of their children can also be seen in the clip.

Horace
Inez
Thomas Jefferson, Jr.

Home Movies ~ Wycoff Wedding

The following video clip was taken in the 1960s outside the Sicily Island Methodist Church after the wedding of Anne and Reginald Wycoff.

Others you'll see in the clip:

Judy Krause
Gus Watson, Jr.
Gus Watson, Sr.
Geraldine Cruse Wycoff
Doris Meyers
Joe Raymond Peace
Sue Peace

Home Movies ~ McNair Family and Methodist Church Scenes

Sicily Island Methodist Church scenes in the 1960s

About midway through the clip, the McNair family is shown lined up in front of the church.

(LtoR):
Jack McNair
Catherine "Kitty" McNair Nolen
Dorothy "Bit" McNair Reed Smith
Jessie Chisum McNair
Eva McNair Hair
Thomas Chisum "Son" McNair

Others in the video clip:

Lillian and O. G. Wynn, Jr.
Little Clarendon Peck
Big Clarendon Peck
Mildred Harris Smith
Marvin Nolen, Jr.
Joe Reed

Home Movies ~ O. G. Wynn, Sr. Family and Methodist Church Scenes

The following video clip is from the mid to late 1960s:

Some of the people you'll see in the first half of the clip:

O. G. Wynn, Sr.
Kate Ward Wynn
O. G. Wynn, Jr.
Lillian Young Wynn
Howard Wynn
Hazel Wynn Dosher and family
Winnie Wynn Taylor Smith and family
Coy Wilton Wynn 

In the second half of the clip you'll see:

William Smith on his motor scooter
Cruse Graham Chisum with grandchildren
Kathe and Steve Jackson
Aubrey Chisum, Jr.
Barbara Gilbert
Linda Krause Evans with Joey

Home Movies ~ Methodist Church Scenes, Mid-1960s, Part 2

Another video clip of scenes from the Methodist Church in Sicily Island in the early to mid-1960s.  I recognized the following people:

Walling Chisum
Aubrey Chisum, Jr.
Clarendon "Little Clarendon" Peck
Jess Gilbert
Charles Montgomery
Barbara Gilbert
Markham Krause
Marvin "Papa" Nolen

If you recognize others, please leave a comment so that I can add their names to the post.

Home Movies ~ Fielding Guice and Edgar Garrison

In this short video from the 1960s you'll see John Fielding Guice, his granddaughter, Debbie and his wife, Janie Langston Guice.  Next, you'll see Edgar Garrison and some of his handmade axes.

Home Movies ~ P. J. Spears, Jr. with his Quarter Horses

The following short clip was taken at the home of P. J. Spears, Jr. and shows him with his registered quarter horses.

Percy Jackson Spears, Jr. was the son of Percy Jackson and Emily Wilson Spears.  Emily was the daughter of Swedish immigrant, Claus Robert Wilson and Annie Vaughn.

Home Movies ~ Methodist Church Scenes, mid-1960s

This short video clip shows scenes from the Sicily Island Methodist Church in the mid-1960s.  Some of the people you'll see are Nan Brooks, Edmonds children, Willie Evans Knight, Deleta Furr Peniston, John Peniston and Olga Knight Seal.

If you recognize others in this video, please leave a comment below so that I can add their names to the post.

Home Movies ~ Island Street Scenes and Neighbors, 1960s

This video from the early 1960s shows the following scenes:

Neighbors in their yards - Cloy, Krause, Woodward-Peck, Smith-Peniston, Smith-McNair, Gilbert
Lovelace/Peck home with an old Indian Mound and Lake Lovelace in the background
Businesses on Newman Avenue - Old Post Office, Jack's Place, Wynn's
Pet deer the Gilbert family kept in their back yard

 

Some of the faces you'll see:
Richard Harris Cloy and granddaughter, Diana Stubbs, Anita Oliphant, Bro. Davis and his wife, Estelle Woodward Peck, Nan Brooks, Cathleen Dale, Jessie Smith Peniston, Jessie Smith McNair,
Henry Doniphan Peniston, Oscar Krause, Ben Westerburg, Birdie Talbert Krause, Georgia Westbrook Peniston, J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert with Barbara Jane Peck Gilbert, Barbara Gilbert and Jess Gilbert

Below are photographs of some of the businesses and homes taken in 2010.  Which ones do you recognize from the video?

Home Movies ~ Scenes from Bruce's Drive-In and the Methodist Church, 1960s

This 1960s video clip begins with a birthday party outside of the old Bruce's Drive-In.  You'll see the old picnic tables mentioned in my previous post as well as the railroad tracks that ran behind Bruce's Drive-In.  The last portion of the video clip shows scenes from the Methodist Church in Sicily Island.

Some of the faces you'll see:
Susan, Brenda and Elizabeth Baxter
Mary Eva and Joy Vaught
Clarendon Peck, Sr.
Earle York Krause
Edmonds Children
Jess Gilbert
Olga Knight Seal
Willly Woodward