By Barbara Carter
 Barbara Carter/Special to the Town Crier Barbara Carter, second row, third from the left, reunites with 15 of her classmates from the class of 1956 at Faver High School in Guthrie, Okla. |
Los Altos resident Barbara Carter recently traveled to Guthrie, Okla., to attend her 50th class reunion. Returning to the heartland gave Carter a chance to reminisce about the friends - and food - of her past, and to take comfort in what has changed since she graduated from the historically black high school during the era of segregation. Following is her account.
Guthrie is a historic city, with antique shops. I had country gravy with biscuits, and my friends (from Oklahoma) laughed at me for wanting that - they don’t eat that way.
The reunion was an eloquent occasion and reunited 16 classmates from Faver High School. Three classmates, including myself, flew in from around the United States.
It was so amazing. We were able to use our country club, where blacks had not been allowed. Seeing people I hadn’t seen in 50 years, and being able to attend the club, where we had only been allowed to work; I was overwhelmed.
We were all poor when we were coming up in Guthrie. We had outhouses, and we had to take a bath in the tub. We laugh about it now - we never knew we were poor. Our parents taught us great values. Never forget where you came from. I think everybody should be proud of who you are and hold your head up high. The one thing my mother always taught me - you may be poor, but you sure won’t be ignorant.
I was asked to be one of the main speakers at the gala by the Rev. Mast Doolittle, the president of the Faver alumni class reunions and assistant pastor at a church in Oklahoma City. I chose to reminisce on everything popular in 1956, the year of my graduation. I spoke about Brown v. Board of Education; Arthurine Lucy, the first African American to attend college in Alabama; the Salk vaccine; Fats Domino, who came out with “Blueberry Hill”; and Little Richard, who came out with “Long Tall Sally.” I recalled that we read the book “Profiles in Courage” by John F. Kennedy, and we were excited about “The Ten Commandments” movie. We could hardly wait to see the sitcom “I Love Lucy.”
I was most grateful to be able to come back to integration. It made me know that everything changes but the word of God. It is overwhelming to see black children go to school with white children. Some of us had to cry and embrace, because we knew where we came from. When you’re pretty well educated and have a spiritual life, you can overlook wrong things.
I enjoyed the fervent prayer led by the Rev. Allen Mukes, who is pastor of his own church in Spencer, Okla. The Rev. Hershey Hammons Jr., of First Baptist Church of Guthrie, dedicated the song “I Won’t Complain” to me.
The highlight of the trip was seeing everyone in good health, and having established themselves in a variety of different professions. I wasn’t happy about leaving my friends to come back to Los Altos, but I was glad to get back home. It makes you know how blessed you are.
