Written by Max Berry
Jefferson, Texas 75657
I really enjoy reading the ‘feel-good’ stories on this blog; of people growing up in Midland back in the 50’s and 60’s, and I am envious. Unfortunately, I did not get to grow up there. My parents divorced when my biological father returned from the war. I was 5 years old. My mother re-married a year or so later. My step-father was an oil field roughneck, and when the rig moved, we moved. I had attended 7 different schools in 7 different towns before landing at San Jacinto Junior High in 1955. I never really got involved in extracurricular activities in high school, because I worked in the afternoons after school to support my real bad habit of putting gasoline in my junked out old Chevrolet. After high school, I went into the service, and when I got out, I met this cute little school teacher from East Texas. (Why a sweet Christian girl like her would take a second look at a heathen like me, I’ll never know, but I am sure glad she did. Poor thing – has had to put up with me for 55 years, and counting.) We got married in 1965, and had one daughter. (I made sure she went K-12 in the same school district so that she could nurture life-long friends like many of you; and she did.) I went on to get a mechanical engineering degree, and spent most of the rest of my career in project management and construction in the refineries around Port Arthur and Corpus Christi.
Dubious Claims to High School Fame:
- One of several kids in the Class of ’59 that had his Polaroid photo thumb tacked to the office wall of the MISD Truant Officer.
- One of several kids in the Class of ’59 that assisted in hauling a commode up onto the roof of the school building, and setting it on the ledge above the main entrance. (It set there for several days before the school authorities noticed it.)
- Only kid in the Class of ’59 that had his driver’s license revoked during his senior year for being handed 13 traffic tickets in twelve months. (Having to let your sister drive you to school, in your own car, makes you have suicidal thoughts.)
Make sure to visit Part 2 of the story here:
https://whatsinthewaterinmidlandtexas.com/2019/12/01/part-2-max-berry-mhs-class-of-1959/
Mr. Max…great summary of your “water drinking” days in Midland. Why don’t you elaborate on each one of your three “legacy” events…sounds very interesting.
Okay, Mike. I’ll try to expound on these events. It won’t be pretty! Now I have to figure out how to do that.