Throughout our high school years and as long as I can remember, our school colors were navy blue and white. This applied to everything from athletics to yearbooks, and even our class rings had a blue stone. We never deviated from our colors and were proud of them. This had been handed down through the years and many of our clubs wore our colors. Two that come to mind are the Bus Drivers Club and Future Farmers of America.

In high school, the school buses were driven by students who lived in the area that their routes were near. Student drivers were proud of the fact they drove a bus and took good care of their buses. They cleaned them out each day and made sure they passed inspection when checked by the school bus garage. They always parked them during the day on Ninth Street and in the bus circle behind the high school. Bus drivers were paid monthly, and this supplemented the money they had earned during the summer in tobacco. They were also given navy blue jackets just like the Monogram Club but their jackets had bus driver on them. Do not get me wrong, they were as proud of their jackets as any athlete in school! They certainly earned it. Ray Leary was the president and Ronnie Parrot was the vice president of the Bus Drivers Club. Ray and Ronnie later married two of our classmates, Sue and Opal, who were also members of the club. They earned their jacket by driving buses and keeping them clean on a daily basis. Bus drivers were some of the most responsible students in our school. They had to learn this from the great responsibility they had transporting students safely each day and caring for their bus. They deserved their navy blue jacket!

Mr. Worrell was the sponsor of the Future Farmers of America, and these students also wore a blue corduroy jacket with the gold national emblem on the chest. This was one of the biggest clubs in school, thanks to Mr. Worrell’s leadership. Even though these jackets were more of a royal blue, they were worn with pride. A student could always tell when they met one, because every member wore his jacket to school the day of a meeting. It seemed like a sea of royal blue down each hall. Mr. Worrell taught agriculture, and many of his students later became some of our county’s best farmers. This club prepared and taught new innovations in farming that many of them used to be successful farmers.

Today, our school children are transported by adult drivers, and there are not as many FFA students as in the ’60s. I do hope the FFA is still in existence and can help those who want to pursue farming as a profession. I am sorry that in a small way students that want to drive buses cannot be taught the responsibilities our bus drivers were taught. Whether it is mileage logs or timesheets, they would learn so much from this experience.

As mentioned in the first paragraph our navy blue and white was worn by all students. Even though times have changed, there are some values that need not be changed and wearing blue and white is one of them. One great leader said, “Never break tradition” and it is my hope that we will not.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.!

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.