By Sherman Shifflett
(Ed. Note: This was the last article Sherman sent me before he passed away)
During the fall of 1956 I was a freshman at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville and was enrolled in Agriculture I. I was also a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) club. The very first day of school our teacher informed us about the opportunity to purchase FFA jackets. We had like two weeks to get our money ($6.00) in if we wanted them for the field trip to the Virginia State Fair in Richmond later that fall.
That afternoon when I got home, I asked mom if I could have one of those jackets. She said, “No, that is a ‘want’, not a ‘need’. You already have a jacket.” Then she continued, “Now, if you really want it, earn the money and order it.” Initially, things did not look good. There were few jobs for a young teenager in Covesville. I thought about recycling drink bottles at the Purvis & Johnson’s General Store at 2c apiece, but that’s a lot of drink bottles. I considered selling Cloverine Salve in the neighborhood. I was 25c per tin (we made 5c), but the market had been flooded. The job market did not look good.
Dad was picking apples at the time, and when he came home that night, he told us the picking crew was harvesting more apples than the packing shed crew could process, and the orchard would have to hire additional help to load bushels of apples on tractor/trailers and boxcars at night. Several teenagers in the community were employed at 30c an hour. It was hard work, but I earned enough money to buy the FFA jacket, plus a little extra.
The new FFA jackets were given to us the morning we boarded the bus for the State Fair. We were very happy. It was my first trip to the State Fair, and my first trip to Richmond. When we arrived, we visited all the animal/poultry exhibits as a group. We were instructed to take notes because we would be tested on all the breeds, etc. One AHS student had gone down the day before because he was exhibiting a Black Angus steer. I think it was Billy Clover.
The group had lunch together (BBQ), then the two teachers called us together. We were informed that we were free for the afternoon, but to stay in small groups, and meet back at the bus at a certain time. We were warned NOT to attend the “Hootchie-Koochie” show. We had seen the girls on stage, half-dressed, in front of the big tent.
Less than 10 minutes after the teachers disappeared in the crowd, my group headed to the “Hoochie-Koochie” show. As soon as we walked in, we saw our two teachers on the first row. We grabbed seats in the back, near the entrance, and gave classmates a heads-up as they entered the tent. All of us left a few minutes early to avoid detection. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the Midway, enjoying the rides.
When we boarded the bus, and all had been accounted for, one teacher addressed the group. He said something like, “Thank you for being on your best behavior today. We were responsible for you, you didn’t cause any problems and represented Albemarle High School well. This was an educational trip. I hope you enjoyed the trip, but more importantly, I hope you learned something.”
A loud voice from the back of the bus yelled,” I know I did.”
When we returned to AHS, I got a ride over to Rt. 29 and started hitch-hiking to Covesville. Billy Marston was with me. We caught a ride, but from a pick-up with standards (wooden sides). There was no room in the cab. We rode on the back of the truck with a steer that had been shown at the State Fair. I think it was from Cove Creek Farm in Covesville. We didn’t complain.
I loved the FFA jacket and was proud to wear it. I worked hard for it. When mom died in 2003, we found the jacket in the attic, hanging. She had saved the jacket for me. After 65 years, the jacket has shrunk quite a bit.
Sherman