Men's Club at Elba United Methodist Church in 1953

(Click picture to enlarge)

This was the year we got married - 58 years ago this coming October.  I graduated from high school in May, 1952.  When I looked at this old photo someone gave me to display at the Homecoming/100th anniversary of our sanctuary on Feb 13, I recognized so many of these Elba men.

The photo was small and I cropped the top and bottom and made the photo large - like a large banner. I put a number on each of the men and then at the bottom of the photo I listed their number and name. I printed the photo as a poster photo, which included several 8-1/2 x 11 pages of prints.  Then I trimmed them and pasted them together like a puzzle on stiff foam board.  I will display this poster at homecoming at church this Sunday.  It will be in the display area with other old photos and items of interest.

Included in the poster above are Sheriff Tillman on the front row near the center.  His daughter Doris was one of my good friends.  Her mother cooked for the jail inmates.  The jail was a big brick, 2 story building just one block south of the court house.  We could walk by and see the prisoners in the cells behind bars.

There were many I could not identify so I have been going around town for the past week asking some of the "old timers" to help me identify people in the photo.  I lacked one person and I was so happy today to get an email from someone of town that I sent the photo to, and he gave me the name of that person.  I was so happy to get everybody identified (except for two who were partially hidden and we couldn't see their face).

Also included in the photo were store owners, lawyers, judges, farmers, my school principal (this was his 5th year as principal when this photo was made).

My friend printed out several  8x10 photos from small snapshots for me to mount on poster board.  Most of those in the photos are now deceased and were at one time well know members of our church.

Click to enlarge

My favorite photo is of the youth choir at Easter time in 1949. A member of our church brought this photo to me and wanted us to copy it for our display.  He said he was 17 in this photo.

He knew every name and as he pointed them out to me, he had a story behind each one.  One was his best friend in high school and he had not see him in over 60 years.  He said he would love to see him again, but he spent most of his life as a Nazarene preacher in other states.  I called his friend's brother who lives in Elba and asked about Freddie's friend and got his telephone number and called him out in Arizona.  I promised to send him pictures from homecoming.  He is 80 now and has retired after 60 years in the ministry.  Married a girl he met in college in Missouri and never came back to Elba to live.  I have heard from many who moved away after they grew up in Elba and they are planning to come back to homecoming.

It's going to be a great day and we're supposed to have good weather - sunny and in the 60s.  It's hard to believe the next 3 days we'll have a winter storm watch with snow and ice in parts of Alabama.