Growing up in Pampa, I had an older brother, Zack Griffin, who played high school Harvester football. Those were in 1947 and 1948, and Pampa had some great teams. Naturally, I went to all the games with my parents and cheered our team on to victory. I was ten years old at the time. I will never forget the many games on Friday night when it would be snowing or had snowed the day before, leaving two feet of snow on the field and stands.
It snowed a lot when I was growing up in the 1940s and 50s. The town folk would pack the football stadium (still in the same place today) for every home game and every road game, such as Amarillo, Lubbock, Borger, San Angelo, Odessa, Midland, Abilene, and then Pampa. These teams made an eight-team 1-4AAAA district. (Back in the ‘40s, the districts in Texas were numbered differently. 4AAAA were the larger schools.)
Wellsir, back to my freezing Panhandle weather. All the fans, or most of them, dressed for it! We had on our long johns, wool shirts, an oversized, heavy coat, a wool scarf around our neck, a knit sock cap, and warm gloves. Way back then, we already believed in layering to stay warm. Now for the things we never forgot, we each carried two large paper grocery sacks to put our feet in…yep, paper bags. They were the best for insulation, keeping our feet warm throughout the game!
Now, here is something you didn’t know: After the game, the players showered and dressed and went to the cafeteria in the school’s basement. The cooks had prepared sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, and soft drinks!
My brother, Zack, took me with him one night after the game, and I got to eat a hotdog and drink a Coke. Sitting at the table with all my heroes, I thought I had “died and gone to heaven.” That’s when I first met Mrs. Kilgore, the head cook.
There was no Harvester fieldhouse back then, so the football players used a dressing room attached to the back of the girls’ gym, which is now the high school cafeteria.
Wellsir, fast-forward to 1953 when I was a sophomore and started eating in our cafeteria. I always asked the cooks for a second dip of mashed potatoes, beans, or whatever! After a while, they would give me two meats: one hidden among the potatoes, and then the visible one. But I was always still hungry! By now, I knew the names of all the cooks, including Mrs. Kilgore.
One day, as I was leaving the cafeteria, Mrs. Kilgore approached E Jay, my best friend, and me and said, “How would you two like to work the two windows taking up the trays? After you finish, you’re welcome to join us for a meal. ALL YOU CAN EAT FOR FREE!” Wow! Are you serious?
So, to make a long story short, E Jay and I sat around the kitchen island with the cooks and had seconds and thirds of their great food, including cakes, pies, and cobblers. Man, oh man, we really “pigged out!” But due to basketball, neither of us gained a pound! Our daily basketball workout lasted two and a half hours, and we averaged running five miles.
I ran across this page about our high school cafeteria in my ‘54 annual, and it reminded me of these great ladies and all the fun we had in our PHS kitchen. I hope those ladies have a “star in their crown” for taking good care of E Jay, me, and all the other students.
Ahhh, those were the days!
