Ep 73 - Roger Sherman - A Lifetime Invested in Sikeston

A town doesn’t keep its identity by accident. It keeps it because people choose to serve, teach, lead, and stay, year after year, even when they could go somewhere “bigger.” That’s why we’re honored to welcome Roger Sherman, one of Sikeston, Missouri’s most respected educators and community leaders, to The Dog House.

Roger takes us back to his roots near Lilbourn, then into his Navy service during the Korean War era where radar work, long days at sea, and meeting people from every walk of life shaped how he saw leadership. From there, we follow his return to Southeast Missouri and his decision to build a life in Sikeston, raising a family while pouring decades into Sikeston High School and the district as a coach, principal, and director of secondary education.

Along the way, we get the stories people still talk about: being told he’d be the first wrestling coach and figuring it out fast, what he truly looks for when hiring coaches, why activities matter as much as academics, and how discipline and community support work together when things get tense. We also dig into the history behind the Field House, the atmosphere that gives Sikeston a home-court edge, and the civic projects that helped shape town life, from Kiwanis to the recreation complex.

If you care about Bulldog Nation, Sikeston school history, servant leadership, and what it takes to build a strong small town community, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these stories and keep them alive.

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Transcript

Welcome To The Dog House

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Alright, Bulldog Nation. It's time to get in the doghouse. This is where Python Pride live, where we tell the stories that make this town special. From the legends of the past to the faces shaping our future. Whether it's basketball, community, or just that good old Bulldog drip, we've got you covered. You're listening to the dog house, the voice of Sykes. It is up, Bulldog Nation. Thank you for coming back again this week and giving us a listen and checking us out. We have an icon of Sykston with us today. This is going to be a special episode for us. Mike, I think it's very important that we not only recognize what we are now and where we're going, but I think it's also important to recognize what we've done in the past and some of those people that we have stood on the shoulders of. And we need the foundation. Correct. Of where we are. And Mr. Roger Sherman is one of that, of one of those folks. And it is only fitting for us to do that. And so we are we are honored to have him as a guest. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

I'm Micah Harris.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Matt Tanner. Thank you guys for listening. We are so excited about having Mr. Sherman on. This is episode 73, season two, episode 32 of season two. And before we get very far along, let's give a shout out to our partners, Mercy Phoenix, our healthcare staffing solution experts, not just EMT and EMS. They are LPNs, RNs, all of the alphabet suit of healthcare staffing. They have them. And again, not only can they provide that solution, but they can also provide you a job. And they are fairly lucrative jobs. And if you follow our Facebook page or if you follow Mercy Phoenix's page, they post those jobs fairly frequently. You can reach out to them at mercyphoenix.com or on their Facebook page if you have more questions about using their services or going to work for them. Also, don't forget about our other partner, Greengrass Guys, Mr. D. Bizzle, Mr. David Bizzle. What a terrific partner that they are. We had Mr. D on last week, talked about his family, his family's history in Sykeston, D's contributions to helping our community remain strong and remain vital for years to come. Very educational last year. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely it is. And we're proud to have them. And as we knew, but as we talked with D, we knew that our values aligned with their values and what they try to do to help our city. And so we are we're so thankful that they align and we're just we're honored that they're a partner. And we're honored that Mercy Phoenix is a partner too. With Jody Cheney and Tucker Cheney and their whole family, we are just we are just honored and and and humbled that they are partners with us. Also, our newest addition to our partnership lineup is the Bunker Golf 365. Andrew McDowell and Brandon Copeland. They have the Golf Simulator location in the shopping center, actually behind the bank where I work, just next door to Buffalo Wild Wings. If you're looking at Buffalo Wild Wings, it's to the left. They have all different levels of the.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Between Buffalo and Buffalo and rock and roll sushi, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yes, that's correct. That is correct. It is really slick, man. You it you you can sign up for membership or you can do it, you'll pay as you go kind of thing. When you go in and you you get use their app and you they get a code because there's no typically not anybody in there working. You go in, it gives you a code to the door, you open up, you go in, you you're there 30 minutes, an hour, hour and a half, two hours, whatever. And you just you you turn it on, it's all you you learn how to do that. I mean, you just basically like hit the keyboard and it comes on. It's really slick. It's track man technology, which is the absolute Cadillac. That's what all the tours use is track man, and you hit into a screen and it shows you where your ball you know would go. All those things. It's it's it's terrific. And you can use all the data. I geek out on that stuff, kind of like D geeks out with the some of the turf technology. I geek out with this. The speed of the ball off the club, your club head speed, the angle, the the rotation of the ball, the curvature, all kinds, spin rate, all kinds of things on there. So it's really cool. So again, we we're proud that they're partners with us, and we hope you continue to patronize those folks that are willing to be partners with us, and we're very proud to have all of them as partners. Run over our shout-outs real quick. Shout out to Luke. Luke gets a week off this week since we're doing this on our Riverside app. He doesn't have to do any graphics, but that's okay. Also, shout out to my wife Erin. She's upstairs. She's allowing me to be down here right now for a little while. And shout out to her, shout out to Justin, our general nuisance, general counsel. Again, the aforementioned Tucker Cheney for his help with our video editing. Shout out to Derek James, Brian James for all their history, their knowledge, sports history, bulldog history, southeast Missouri sports history, all those things. Shout out Tyler Anderson, who actually saw Tyler today at lunch. Tyler's with and his uh company Twisted Arrow Woodworking, and can't see it right now, but we have that cool sign on the wall. And Micah, you said you wanted to give a shout out.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

I I do. I ran into a loyal get uh listener uh the other morning going to Rhodes, grabbed my breakfast. Chaney Corlew stopped me and told me that she enjoys listening and listens regularly. I think we've mentioned her a few times on here as well. We have. We have I want to thank her for being a loyal listener and and thank you for recognizing us and and and we appreciate that. Also, recognize my wife. Recognize my wife. Uh, right now I think she's out looking at things, a house, I think. Oh Lord. Anyway, I don't I don't I don't know about that, but we're happy where we're at, we're not moving by any means. But anyway, she'd give me time to do this. Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

That's what I meant as well with Aaron with my wife, too. That's exactly right. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Aaron, thank you, Becky, and thanks, Chaney. Thanks for being a loyal listener. We appreciate it very much. Catch all of our podcasts on or excuse me, like, follow, and share our podcast and our pages on on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. And please like, follow, and share. It's very important for us. We are it again, it helps us sustain and know that what we're doing is is beneficial. Thank you for listening. Thank you for liking, for reviewing, sharing the page, making comments, all those things. And you can catch our podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio. You can also catch it on our own website at thedoghouse.buzzsprout.com. We have an embedded player on there. You can catch all of our episodes, our previous episodes and our current episodes on those. And you can catch our video podcast of what we're doing right now. And the previous ones, I forget where I actually started doing the videos. It's probably running on close to a year now. I can't recall, maybe not quite that long, but all those are on YouTube, so you can go back and watch them, and you'll be able to watch this one as well. If you are interested in partnering with us, please give please let us know. We're always open to that. Uh, one thing to add, you can reach us on our email address at doghouse.syxton at gmail.com. Please uh reach out to us, send us an email, mention us on a send us uh you know anything you want to talk about, we'll be happy to do it. And we still we have some t-shirts now available, or still available, and if you need to reach out to us, please do so. And Micah, it's about time we're gonna move on to our guest, unless you got anything we need to cover. I think I think we're good.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

I think we're good.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

We're good. We're good. Just hang with us through this short break and we'll be right back with the main guest for this

Why Preserving Stories Matters

SPEAKER_01 8:48

week. Hey, thanks for sticking with us through the break. We are moving on, Micah, to our well, as we talked about earlier, we're just honored to have Mr. Sherman with us. Mr. Roger Sherman is he's an icon of Sykston. We've talked about this before, and we are very honored for him to take a few minutes and and spend some time with us and tell us some stories that we might have heard and maybe some we haven't heard, and maybe some we shouldn't even hear. But but but well, that'll be okay. If if we need to edit some out, Mr. Sherman, we'll edit some out. That's no problem. We'll but I but we're we're looking forward to it. All right, so let's get to it. I'm gonna introduce our guest. Today's episode is a little bit different. This is an opportunity for us to preserve our history. Our guest, Mr. Sherman, has spent over seven decades serving others as a Navy veteran, educator, coach, principal, community leader, husband, father, grandfather, and one of Sykston's greatest ambassadors. Today we're going to slow things down and simply listen because stories like these deserve to be preserved for future generations. We're honored to welcome a true servant leader and Sykston legend, Mr. Roger Sherman, to the doghouse.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Welcome to the doghouse. Sure, happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Yes, sir. I'm in the doghouse a lot, Mr. Sherman. I I'll tell you. We had when I came here, we had a doghouse down on the football field. That's what we're doing. Yes, sir. That's where we came up with this name of this podcast. That's exactly why it's named that.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yes, sir. We I had PE in there and it boy, it smelled like a doghouse too.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

Woo wee! Well, you have you have about 80 kids in there or men in there, boys. Uh it's that way. And you know, in the in the hot summertime when we'd start, there'd be some odors that you couldn't hardly stand when you come back in. But you're so tired it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

No, no, you got out of the sun and got in a little bit of shade for the moment. That's exactly right. That's exactly

From Lilbourn To The Navy

SPEAKER_01 10:57

right. So, Mr. Sherman, tell us you started, you you grew up, or you were born in Catherine and you went to Lilbourne High School, is that correct? I did. I did. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Catherine, I tell people, I used to tell people I come to the city. When I come to Sikton, I said, I I come from the city, and so I have to come to the country. What city do you come from? I said, I'm a Catherine. Where is that? I said, Well, it's between Parma and Lilbourne. Where is that?

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Yeah, I did. And we'd come to somewhere in New Madrid County.

SPEAKER_02 11:30

When I was growing up, we'd we'd come to we'd come to Sikston probably once a month, the Saturday. It was always funny to me. It's funny to me now. My dad would park in front of Buckner Ragsdale, and there was a dime store right beside it. He'd go in and get him a drink, a coke or something like that, and a magazine, and mother and the four of us, we had two brothers and a sister. We'd walk the streets with mother, and that was my introduction to Sykston.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Now, you're there's another there's a Mr. Sherman that's involved with New Madrid School. Is that a relation to you? Is that your brother or no or no?

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Uh no, now Mr. Sherman with the New Madrid School was my dad. He was he was president of the board of education in Lilton for gosh 20, 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Oh, no, there's a they call him Colonel Sherman. I didn't know if you were related to him or not.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

Related. He's a nice fellow.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Yes, he is. Yes, he is. He's a very nice, and he's been down there a long time too.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Yeah, he's been there probably 12, 15 years, yeah. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. He's so yes, he is. Yes, he is. So what year did you graduate from high school? Did from Lilburn High School, is that right?

SPEAKER_02 12:52

Lilbourne High School in 1951, when CMO and the Navy, well, the military, there was Korean Wars going on. And they were they'd run out of draftees. And so Mr. Twiddy, Lynn Twiddy, you've heard of him. Mr. Twiddy, here later at he was our superintendent. He's also a retired colonel in the Marines.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

Yes. We got we got a couple of us. He got us in the CB reserves. We went to boot camp at Chicago, at Great Lakes, really. And that's how our Navy career started.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

My dad was a C V. Pardon? My dad was a C V in the Vietnam War. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Well, it was, you know, the the Navy was good to me. I enjoyed it. Now, you know, it's hard work sometimes and different kinds of work, but went to radar school, saw a lot of things uh that you wouldn't see if you're in Catherine. I spent uh five I spent five weeks, I believe it's five weeks in Washington, D.C. It's a naval research lab after radar school. Then went aboard ship and that was it. The Navy.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

And I had a good time with it. Yeah. Were you active duty in the Navy? Yes, for two years.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

I was on the radar picket ship, ran the dew line. That's what they called it. That's what I remember them calling it. Protecting the coast. That's what we did. And we'd we'd uh be in and out of there. We'd be out to sea, say, for 15 days, come in and get everything together, and then we'd go back out and relieve another one. But that's the way it was in those days. Got to see New York, got to see Boston. You know, country boy coming to town to those cities, that was something.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Yes, I agree with you. Yes, it is. What how was it like just like you said, a country boy coming to town, how how did were did you go like to Korea or were you just in in the active in the during the war?

SPEAKER_02 15:10

I was on a radar picket ship. Yeah. Top heavy. It was a small ship, D E R, I believe. I can't remember exactly, but it was a small ship, and that I believe that ship would have rocked in the Mississippi River with a little wind. It was that heavy. But you know, that was the life in a slow lane. That's what we did. Okay. Good experience for me.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

My my dad, and I bet you have a very similar comment. My dad said that my dad got drafted into Vietnam. And he said that when he went in, he was I think he was 18 or 19, and he said, I went in a kid, but I came out a man.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. He and he might have been in Vietnam and I didn't know.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

He was a man. Yes, sir. He was.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

I was not in Korea, but I was on a ship. But you're right. You learn a lot. You know, you sometimes you forget, well, I don't say you forget it, but you don't really realize that there are other ways of life that you have to look at and determine what you're gonna do and how you're gonna do it. I think the military was good for me from a maturity standpoint. And I learned a lot about people, I think. Maybe they learned a lot about me too. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

No, that you said that's exactly what my dad told me. And as a matter of fact, when I got out of high school, my dad told me, he said, if you don't want to go to college or you can't go or we can't afford it, or whatever, he he highly recommended the military. And experience. Yes, yes. What did you what were some of the things that you that that you learned in there? You talked about learning some things. What what do you think you learned there?

SPEAKER_02 17:06

You know, when you come from a small town like I did, you know, you knew everyone. And you had you knew who to who to talk to, how to talk, and all that. And in there, you you were with people from all over the country. They had different ideas, different thoughts, and you had to kind of wash them out, decide what you could do and what you couldn't do. And I think it just matures you, makes you associate with people from all walks of life. In fact, I was in boot camp, as I remember, was in California. And of course I'm bald headed now, but in those days I had a little hair. But I I remember those dudes coming in with the long hair and the the party tails and all that, but had some good friends. It was a good experience for me.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Well, so were you just in there two years or were you four?

SPEAKER_02 18:05

Oh, I was in there two years. Okay. When I joined the reserves, when I joined the reserves, and I had to be in there eight years in the reserves. But two years I had required two of that had to be military. And I was proud I did it. Yes. It it helped me in a lot of ways. And you know what? They also helped me pay for my college, which wasn't bad either.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Yes, you know, the military is good to me. I tell you what, you just stop and think and you look around, this is a good country. Yes, sir. Sometimes some of the things that we have, but you see people from other countries sometimes that have a lot more problems than we do. But anyway, that's license.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Yeah. Well, a good example of that right now is is the uh the World Cup coming, people coming from all over the world to to hear and what they're experiencing, and they're seeing America for the first time and realizing what we do have. You know, I hopefully, hopefully, if anything happens over the next month during this time, is people realize what how blessed we are to be here.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

You know, yes, I think that's a good statement. How blessed we are to be here.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Yes, yes, we are.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

It's a good country.

Lessons On Maturity And Gratitude

SPEAKER_02 19:27

It's a good town, good community. It's good. Yes, sir. Of course, I'm biased about that.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

We I am too, Mr. Sherman.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

But it's that's just the way it is.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. We're and that's what that's what Micah and I want to do is promote what we feel like we have here because we think it's special and we're blessed to be part of it. And so that's what we're doing with this. And you are uh we talked about it right before we got to your part, but you are one of the folks that laid the foundation to where we are today, and that's why that's we're here to honor you and thank you for that. That's that's a big part of what we did. Yeah, I thank everyone for letting me be here.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

Thank my wife. She was fine this lady that uh well, that's enough. But she came to big city

Returning Home To Teach And Coach

SPEAKER_02 20:18

too. She came from New Madrid. Oh. Two two big city folks. But you know, we came back. Uh I was I taught one year at Matthews, one year at far at uh Farmington. Farmington tried to get me to sign a contract before I came to teachers' meeting, but I said, No, I'm coming back, I think, but I don't want to do that. Well, I walked in the teacher's meeting up there for the big meeting, and Coach Knox was standing there. I played football for him. I wasn't that good, but I played. Was out there in Skirmish Bait. But anyway, Coach grabbed me and he said, Mr. Twitty's hunting you. He wants to see you. Of course, I'd known him all my life. He and my dad were good friends. He and my dad and his dad were good friends. Okay. So I walked up the steps and ran into him, and he he says, Come in here a minute. We walked in Knox's office and talked a few minutes. I talked with Keeney and Mr. Keeney, Harold Keeney and Bill Statt on the way out back to New Madrid where we were spending the night. And I told him I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I didn't. But we wound up and I'd come back to New Madrid. I mean, to uh well to New Madrid the next weekend, Laura and I did. She told me to do what I wanted to do. But just as I was getting ready to go, she just told me, said Nate Roger, you can't turn that job down. My dad told me that. But anyway, but I was happy I came and I coached with uh with Bill Sapp. Bill Sapp was a great coach.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

Yes, that's what I understand.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

He was a great coach, and just two of us. We got along well. You know, we started school that year in 1960. First year I was here, the old high school. There, where the Y is now. Yes. Where in mid-year we moved over to the new high school. And we were everything was going well. Christmas time, we that's when we moved to Christmas. And we started after Christmas at the new high school. We were eating lunch one day, and we got through and we were waiting to go back to class. Kids were out in the cafeteria. We had three lunch periods. Teachers said, We had to go to back class. It wasn't understood. What he came by and talked with us a few minutes and he said, Well, I better go. I got a cold. See you later. And he took a couple of steps, he stopped, and he looked back. He said, Roger, by the way, we're starting wrestling next year, and you're the coach. I said, What? I said, Verse 20. I don't know if I can spell wrestling. He said, You'll learn by. But that's so that's how you became the coach? Became the coach. I went to two or three clinics and went to St. Louis to some guys that I knew on a Saturday and they worked out with me. We had a good time. I did. I had a good time, and I think the kids had a pretty good team. We got along pretty well. But it was a good sport.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

It is a good sport. Yeah. Yeah.

unknown 23:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

How long were you had how long were you the wrestling coach? Four years.

SPEAKER_02 23:30

He called me in. I'd been here, I guess, four years. Well, five years, because we had one fella after I left it to the assistant principalship. He uh was here one year and he got a job in St. Louis in August. And so Mr. Tutti called and said, uh came over and he said, well, said, I guess we'll have to suspend wrestling for a year because he's going to go and let him go. And I said, Well, wait a minute, Mr. Keaney. Mr. Tutti, if Mr. Keeney will let me, I'll coach the wrestling team until we find a coach. So I did, I coached one more year. Oh, okay. Mr. Keeney called me in and asked me after I'd been here four years, I guess, at fourth year asked me, I want to talk with you. And I thought, oh, I've done something wrong. So I we got through the pleasantries and they asked me which I would take this as a principalship or the head football job. And I looked at him kind of funny, like it surprised me. I remember that uh it was a shock, really. And I said, Well, Mr. Kimia, I don't know. I'd have to think about it. How long do I have? A couple weeks. Excuse me. Okay, and so I didn't, we knew Laura and I never did anything without talking big things, without talking it over. Sure. He said, Do what you want to do. And I said, Well, I will. So the next day I went in, asked Mr. Keeney if I'd come see him. He said, Yes. And I told him if uh had the opportunity to choose, I'd take this as some principal shit. He said, I love coaching, but I don't want to carry those shoulder pads around all my life. And he he looked at me and kind of grinned. I remember that, of course. You didn't know Mr. Keeney, did you?

SPEAKER_01 25:18

I did not, no.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

He kind of he looked at me and kind of grinned. He said, that's what I thought with Coach Sapp. And Mr. Tootie thought you'd take the head football. I said, no. I probably wouldn't turn that down if that's the only offer I had. But and I'm glad I did. I took and I enjoyed it. It's good to me. This town's been good to me and to my family. Of course, I had a good wife and we had seven children. She had eight, but she had me.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

But we it's a good town.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

We we've done a lot of things here. I became principal two years later. Just as principal two years, and then principal. And we were adding on every year, I think. Every year we added on. And it was, you know, it was a challenge. Had some great teachers. Man, we had some great teachers. They all worked together and didn't chew on me too much, so it was good.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Now, you became head principal what year?

SPEAKER_02 27:01

I think it was 1965.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Okay, so was that about the time like the Prideys came here and the Sullivans and uh couple of years later. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

A couple of years later. Pridey came, maybe it's four years later, I can't remember. Touchdowns, Terry Smith coach for us for what, two or three years, I guess. I think that's right. And then uh had one that didn't work out too well, but anyway, then Pridey called me. See, Pride and I were good friends in college. I knew Pradey pretty well.

Becoming Principal And Hiring Well

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Okay. Pridey had moved from me, he grew up in Fredericktown, and he coached there. He coached in uh Festus, and he called me one day, and I was right in the middle of a meeting, and I said, Bill, I'll call you back. So I did, called him back. He came down, interviewed, talked with me, and talked with uh with Coach Sapp. I believe that's all the ones he talked to. And we hired him and Bill just settled down here, and he was he was a great asset in my view, a great asset to this community.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Absolutely. Yes, sir. Couldn't agree with you more. Yes, he and his whole family.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

He got a whole family, yes.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

It was yeah, hey. He still got family here.

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Yeah, he has, yes, yes, yes. Well, I was with Bill the day he died.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Uh oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

I was over there, and I guess uh maybe the last one to talk with him. I almost broke down. Well, it did break down. We were good friends.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Yes, I know you were.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

We got a lot of good people in this town.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Yes, sir. Yes, sir, yes, sir. So we had Coach Vic on. Was that is that where you're going, Micah? Last year.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

That's where I wanted to go, but I wasn't I wasn't making all the connections, but I thought he was involved in the hiring of Coach Vic.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

So and I'd like to hear his, I'd like to hear his side of the story because we heard what Coach Vick said. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 29:08

Yeah, yeah. No, and I know he was telling the truth, but I'd love to hear your your your perspective.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Uh huh. We interviewed him. It's kind of funny how that all started out with interviewing and hiring. Mr. Twitty came over one day, and I'm I'm gonna break off for just a minute. Mr. Twitty came over one day, and I'd been principal probably three or four years, and he said, Roger, I'm tired of chasing teachers. You're owing your own. I said, Well, can Ernie go with me? Ernie Ellich. I don't know if you remember him or knew him. I know. He was a junior high principal. He said, Well, yeah, for the for if you got vacancies or if you need somebody with you. But anyway, that's how that started. Well, yeah, with Vic. We interviewed Vickery after get after the interviews and looking it all over. I called Vic and told him, he told me, Well, um, Sherman, I just don't believe I want to come to Syson. I said, Oh, it kind of shocked me, to be frank with you. So I said, Well, okay, that's all right. If you don't want to come, I don't want you, or something like that. I didn't know what to say. But anyway, I went down, I told Larbin, and I said, Sam, I just had a crazy call call, and he said, What are you gonna do? I said, I don't know. I had to think about that. Well, it wasn't 10 minutes that I got a call from one of his buddies up at Chaffee that I knew pretty well. And he said, Roger, have you hired anybody? Have you done anything well now about the football? I said, No, haven't. I said, I haven't had time to do anything. And he says, Victory just told me what he did. And he said, But would you hire him if he if he'd call you back? I said, Well, I might. And that's the way I think I left it. Well, a little bit Vic called and we hired him. And never sorry. Right. He was a good man. He was a good man then. I the only thing that bothered me about it when I first saw him, he wasn't very big. And I thought, I thought, well, he's more of a kid than he is a uh man, but he wasn't. He did a good job.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

Mm-hmm. He was a teacher.

SPEAKER_02 31:35

And that's the thing that we had to we've uh, you know. I it's like I had a couple guys come in with their shirt sleeves rolled up a little bit, you know, and big dogs at the water and trough. That wasn't what we needed. We needed a teacher that was a good coach and could handle kids. And that's I still believe that's most important. Activities, in my view, now you I'm getting into philosophy, and I shouldn't do that.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

No, no. Perfect, perfect.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

And in my view, activities are just as important as the academic part in a different way, but they're just as important as like I've had guys ask me or tell me that I encouraged him to go into athletics or go into something, and I did. I had a guy I won't call his name. He's about 6'3, 6'4, and he said, he telling his wife, said, you know, Mr. Sherman talked me into going out for baseball. So he really didn't talk me into it. I he just said something to me one day and said, I said, Well, I'd really like to play baseball, but I'm afraid. Well, why are you afraid? And we talked, but I always felt that way, whether it's music, drama, whatever, that's just as important in its own way. Yes. You know, you have to get along with people. Somebody find that out too late.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Yes, sir. And you that that's exactly right. We've talked about that on here before, too, is that the football player to them, that's very important. But the kid that's in band or choir or orchestra or drama, that's as important to them as football is to the football player. And those things you you learn a lot of lessons that aren't necessarily taught in the in the classroom by being part of a team.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Exactly right. You sure do.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

Well, you learn it, you learn to do, you know, pardon? You learn to deal with difficult people.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

Yes. Yes, it is. You know, you have to give and take and do that, but you gotta do it.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So you were, I understand you were with the school system for 36 years. Does that sound about right?

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Yes, sir. That is right. Okay, sir. Okay. Then the year the next year after I retired, Buck called me. He was he was at CEMO. Bob Buchanan called me. And they said, we want you to to take the uh higher ed center. Get combined SEMO and three rivers. Bob, I'm I'm retired. No, you're not. You gotta do that. And but I did. I did do that, and that was good. I I didn't recall that. Okay. Yeah, and we we uh started down in the old Montgomery Bank. It wasn't, it was what they can. That's where I did business. What was the

Retirement That Turns Into Another Job

SPEAKER_02 34:35

it was no it was Montgomery's bank, but we call it National, didn't we?

SPEAKER_01 34:41

Oh yeah, first First National, yeah, that's right. Yes, sir. That's where we started at higher ed center.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

And yeah, we had Three Rivers there and we had SEMO there. Yes. They moved the furniture in for us today for first class. We had oh gosh. We met we met, went to all the schools before we got there, you know, trying to recruit kids and we got them. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

That's so to our community, I think. I to I couldn't agree more. Yes, sir. So what year you retired from the school system in what year? 96. Okay, okay, okay, 96. But you retired from central office at that point, correct?

SPEAKER_02 35:26

Yes, I was I was out of central I left the day I retired, they wouldn't let me leave central office when I come by that day. They had a cake and stuff and all that. You know how that is. I'm gonna meet my kids over the leg of the old dollar.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

Yes. So you were you were director of secondary, you were over secondary education at that point?

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Yes, sir. I had when I was principal the last three or four years I was principal, I was uh director of second, they found me director of secondary education. And I really wasn't crazy about leaving the principalship, and they told me I didn't have to, just whenever I wanted to. And my oldest son, we moved to freshman over at mid-year.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

And that was the last year I taught over there at the state over there. I thought, man, that my kids don't need me in this administrative position. And so I moved over to central office. In fact, I had the first office. I was the first one to move in to what's our central office now. Oh, really? Yeah, it wasn't finished when I moved in. Davine, uh not Davine, but uh Linda Manley moved a lot of my papers and stuff over there.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Yeah. Yeah. Now, so who was superintendent when you retired in '96, who was uh began. Oh, oh, okay. He was still there. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:57

He when I told him, he came back one day, and Laura and I had gone to the retirement meeting three years in a row, just kind of see where we were. We hated to hated to jump off the ship on something. Bob came back one day and he said, now Roger said, you know, we got an evaluation coming up here in about three years. What you gonna do? You thought about how you're gonna handle that? And I said, Yeah, I did. This is in October. I said, Bob, I'm gonna go one more year and then I'm quitting. Oh no, you're going two more. And I did. Yeah. But you know, that's just the way it was.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

And yeah. Yeah, now Mr. I'm sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 37:46

We we had a lot of things that we had to do and did them. I think most of the time did them pretty well.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Yes, sir. Now I understand. So you were principal, I think, of the high school when the field house was built. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 38:02

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

So you you that was a funny, funny time.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

Tell you you didn't know you didn't know Mr. Twitty, did you?

SPEAKER_01 38:12

I think I met him one time. He was he was superintendent.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

And I'd go down to that field house every day. I'd walk, I walked the campus. I was principal, I walked that campus two or three times a day. I just did. In the wintertime, I'd go out there, try to get there by seven o'clock, and maybe 7.15 at the latest. Be sure we were warned.

Building The Field House And Traditions

SPEAKER_02 38:36

Well, I'd go in that go in that field house, and man, they weren't moving very fast. They were just things weren't going well. Mr. Twoti went down there one day. He came to my office, mad as an old LN. He said, those so-and-so's, they're not working, they're not doing anything. I said, I know that, Mr. Twoti. He said, Well, it's awful. I said, Let me tell you something. You don't go down there anymore. You just you just let me be there and get scolded and all that. But just don't go down there. Of course, I could say that to him because we know we had known each other. He's my boxing coach in high school. But anyway, anyway, about two weeks later, it all changed. The company went broke. Oh no. It was a dandy. I bet his legs were his arms were as big as my legs, my thighs. Nice guy. Come up and eat lunch with us occasionally. But down there, he was tough as nails. I think he threw a couple people out, just picked them up and told us and took it over. And then from then on, it was it was nice. Everything went well.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Really? So that's why they were slow because they were having trouble paying the bills, sounds like. I guess. I don't know. Oh my gosh. It went broke, and that was it. I didn't I didn't know that. I did not know that. So at that time, where were did you play basketball at the armory? Is that where they were playing? Okay, okay. I knew that was I didn't know if it was there or at the old gym at the old high school.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

No, we played in the armory, and that that would that we'd fill that place up just every night. I'd even had to take a couple people out of there. I wasn't principal in, but I had to take a couple people out of there because he'd maybe drank too much soda as he came in.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

That's probably what happened. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Listen, we uh and the town was good to us.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Yeah. Where did where did they play football? Had they at that time when the field house was built, had they moved over to the foot the football field now, or were they still playing at the old high school?

SPEAKER_02 41:06

No, we didn't play. We didn't, we we practiced uh at the as I remember, we practiced when first year I was here, we practiced at the new football field and played our games there.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Yeah. Oh, okay, okay, okay. That's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

Hadn't thought about that, but no, we were we were at the new football field. Yeah, that was they were building the track too. See, they built a track and had the concrete done, uh the gravel.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

The cinders, those black cinders. I remember those. Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

Oh, those were days.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

You didn't want to fall, yes, sir. You didn't want to fall down on those cinders running. I can tell you, I'd done it before and I wasn't too happy with it when I did it.

SPEAKER_02 41:53

I you know, I think about a lot of those things in those days is I I was I was the only coach, only track coach when I was coaching. And well, the first year I was here the head coach was excuse me, had been here, and he left at the end of that first year, but he never came over to the track because of he kept the wait. See, we had a had a world-class uh shot putter in the woods.

SPEAKER_01 42:24

Yeah. Yes, sir, yes sir.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

They were they were good good athletes, but they they perceive junior high at the time. But I remember a lot of things about that. I remember one day, one day we were out there and I'd had I signed the one in charge of the sprinters, milders, the distance people. Just we had to do that to kind of organize them and keep them around. And I saw a mess going on it. Things weren't doing very well with the pole vault bit. I walked over there and they couldn't jump that. They're just having trouble. I said, I can jump that. That's when a dummy talks. But anyway, I did jump. Did you really? They all gathered, and that's the truth. They all gathered. And but then then they lied a little later. They said it he jumped nine six. I jumped seven feet.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

Well, the story gets better as it goes on.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

But it was it was funny, uh, but we had a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun coaching and a lot of fun teaching. But I keep saying this, we had a heck of a faculty.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

And they were yes, yes, a lot of good folks there.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Mary Sullivan.

SPEAKER_01 43:48

Oh, Ms.

SPEAKER_02 43:49

Matthews, no, they were gone. Some of them were gone by that time that Ms. Matthews era, gosh, and again, they took care of me.

SPEAKER_01 43:59

Yes, yes. Now, let me go back just a minute. When you became they offered you the assistant principal, was Coach Sapp the head coach? Was he leaving? Is that what they were?

SPEAKER_02 44:11

No. And I I don't think he wanted out of coaching. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

I don't know that he did, I don't know that he didn't, but but he said that if I had a choice, that's what Mr. Keeney told me. That uh that he and Sap and he thought he sat and told he thought I'd take the hit the Football job, but I wouldn't take that. Yeah. I think you he was a good coach. Yes, sir. Beforehand. Fellow of the name of Knox.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

So, Mr. Sherman, today I had the opportunity to talk to Mike Bartlett. Do you know Mike? Who? Mike Bartlett.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

Yes, I know. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

And so he told me he see Mike graduated, he said, in 54 from here. And he played for he played for he knew Coach Knox and he played for Coach Sapp as well. But he started talking about that because he said in 50, he graduated in 54, but he was on the team that broke the lose, broke the winning streak. They were 9-1 his senior year. He said, I guess it would have been the fall of 53, graduated in 54. But he he talked about both of them and that he told me what did he tell me about Mr. about Coach Knox. Did he go to a college after? See, where'd he go? He went to SEMO. Coach FIMO year. Yeah. Yeah, that's what it was. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 46:22

He was a heck of a coach. He was a good teacher.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Teacher, too. Okay. Well, heck.

SPEAKER_02 46:30

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

No, I just gonna say, heck, when you guys hired Vic, he was what 77 or 78, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

78, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01 46:41

I think that's right.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Yeah, it may have been. May have been.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

Somewhere right in there. But he coached till 2001 or 02 or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

I think that's right. Yeah. That's 101 or 02, somewhere in there. Yeah. Kind of funny. I think he's the one that wrote me the letter after getting ready to retire. Said, you're gone now, or something like that. And said, said it's time for me to go. I think he's the one that wrote that wrote me a letter, nice letter. Thank you, no. Oh. He was a good man. He is a good man. Yes. Yes. A little, but that's all right. He deserved it probably.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

Yeah. He does. He does. He heck, he was just coaching last year.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

Oh yeah. Listen, he was he was a he did a good job at everything he did. I never had a problem. Never had a problem with him.

SPEAKER_01 47:40

No. No. That's right. That's right. We're lucky.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

We're lucky.

SPEAKER_01 47:45

So after you, after you were principal, who be was that Mr. Pride that became principal after you? I was trying to remember. Oh, I okay. Yeah, I hired Bob.

SPEAKER_02 47:58

That's kind of funny the way his worked out. And you know, in those days, they didn't go before the board. You know, we just oh we we just we signed a contract. And Buck, I interviewed him in the hallway. And he told us he's gonna grin to get with me on it and he'd tell me about that one day in the crowd. And I said, yeah, that's I said, uh, did you not have a North Central evaluation about three months before that, before you came to talk with me? Well, yeah. Did you know who was on that committee? Well, I guess you were. I said, there was there was two guys that I would have hired if I had a vacancy. You and another fellow. But there's one man over there I'd have hired before all of you. And he looked at me and he said, Who was it? And I told him I can't say his name now. But anyway, I said, I was on that North Central committee and I saw everything you guys did. Even some of the hassling you did to Dynamite Coke, Al Coke.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

He looked at me and he shut up. Were you so how did it work out that you hired him and then he became the boss?

SPEAKER_02 49:21

Well, he did a good job. He did a good job.

unknown 49:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:26

That was all right. That's all right. Yeah. I uh I don't believe I did. Yeah, yeah. Uh but you know, I got scolded by the Mizzou, the head of the department, administrative department at Mizzou, they called me one day. He did. I got to know those people pretty well on several committees, but he called me and he said, Rogers is a big school in St. Louis. That they asked us for a recommendation for principal. He said, We talked it over, and you're the one who wants to go. I was probably 36, 37 years old. And I told him, I said, I can't do that. What do you mean? I said, Well, I'm not about to take my kids to the city. I may have to, but I'm not about to take my kids to the city. And he we had a meeting a couple of weeks, maybe even a month later, and he wanted to talk with me privately. He said, Why would you not take a job? I told him, I'm a country boy, and I want my kids to be raised where we can all associate. And that's the way I was. I had several opportunities to do some things, but this is too good a town for me.

SPEAKER_01 50:38

I I feel the same way, Mr. Sherman. I've had opportunities as well, and I I'm like you. At some point I may have to do that, but that's not it'll be because I have to, not because I want to.

SPEAKER_02 50:50

Well, that's that's the way I always felt. I didn't I I've asked him several times about different things, and I told him, I said, you know, I I heard a about a seven-minute uh seven-word statement in an English class at SEMO. And I said, it was shake, I think it came from Shakespeare. And the old professor up there would he was still hollering, I had him at eight. The guys told me he's still hollering Sherman at ten. But anyway, there was a phrase in there that I still think about that you have that I always had to kind of deal with, to thy known self be true. And you know, that's what you have to do, in in my view.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

Yeah, no, you're right. You're absolutely right. So even though you were from New Madrid area, Catherine, Lilburn, whatever, what what about Sykestone? Or when did you decide that this is kind of where we want to be? What what made you what made you think that?

SPEAKER_02 51:52

Well, see, my mother and dad lived at Catching. My dad was a farmer, and and my wife's mother and dad lived in New Madrid. He owned the Ford agency down there. And they had some years on them. And this was close to home, and I knew the town a little bit. And it was close to some of my friends that I grew up with. And I just thought it'd be fine. Didn't want to be in the same, they call me about the New Madrid job, not when it was in New Madrid and not uh all four of them together at five. Uh I knew I didn't need that. I was probably 30 years old. But anyway, anyway, uh I thought it'd be best for us to be close, and as it turned out, it was best for us to be close. We had help all families. And it was good for us.

unknown 52:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:45

And it's good for our kids.

SPEAKER_01 52:47

Yes. Yes, I agree with you. That's I I I feel the same about raising my my kid here and our family being here and all that stuff. I'm gonna go back just a quick second. When you guys, when the field house was built, that had to be unlike anything that was within between St. Louis and Memphis, probably, wasn't it, or maybe even further?

SPEAKER_02 53:12

Probably, but I tell you what, when they'd come into play, they'd stop and look at the ceiling, look this place all over, and see what when we built that, we didn't take into they didn't take into account, I say we didn't or they didn't, the acoustics in there, and it wasn't the acoustics weren't very good. But other than that, and the floor, we had uh an insulite floor, we had indoor track, we even had a couple of circles, we had a couple of circuses in there with uh with uh elephants, the whole business. Oh my gosh, I don't remember that. No, we did, we did. I watched we were out there watching them, watching them practice, get set up, and all that. But then when when we redid the field house, changed the floor and bleachers a little bit too, and see they could move all the bleachers out where the wrestling rooms are now. They uh that's where we stored the little the lockers. But when we had the circus there, that's where they put the animals in there.

SPEAKER_00 54:19

How'd they get the how'd they get the elephants in there? What I want to know. I mean, like I know there's some big doors, but yeah, but we got them in. They got them in some way because we had them.

SPEAKER_01 54:28

Had to grease them up real good and shove them through the doors, like to me.

SPEAKER_02 54:32

I believe we I believe we did. I think I don't think I'm exaggerating. I think we had a couple of elephants. I believe we did.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

They probably came in those big doors over at the side, kind of by the wrestling room, those big overhead doors. Yeah, we had to.

SPEAKER_00 54:47

Yeah, that might I don't think about how big those doors are, but I mean I know you I've seen them open, but man, it's yeah, yeah, that's yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

Well see, we feel house isn't when we run a dash. We'd we'd have to let them run out through the through the doors there. They'd yeah, they they they the finish line was just a little before, but they're still doors open.

SPEAKER_01 55:09

Couldn't get stopped quick enough.

SPEAKER_00 55:12

But it was it was something we sure had so that build house was held a little bit of everything then track meets, circus, concerts.

SPEAKER_02 55:21

We had a little of everything, yeah. We had concerts in there, and it with New York, I mean the St. Louis Symphony was gonna come down to Keith Collins. You remember maybe he was still around. Keith, yes. Now I'm talking about the dad. He was the band director. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, Mr.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

Collins, uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 55:42

He uh the director came down to look at the field house. I was with him walking through, and I know I know nothing about music, and that's being nice. But anyway, I I made the comment. I said, you know, the acoustics not very good in here. The man looked at me and he said, Don't you think we know how to handle that? I said, Yes, sir. Well, Keith kidding me about that later. Keith said, He said, I thought about that, and I thought, well, I don't need to say anything to him.

SPEAKER_01 56:16

They can handle the floor that was uh we called it tartan or something. It was kind of springy, but it wasn't a wood floor. Was that original to the field house? Yes, when we that what was it kind of tan it kind of tan looking and greenish color. Oh oh yeah, that's right. It was kind of rubbery though, kind of hard rubber.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Yeah, it was. And you know, it was good in a sense, but it wasn't really all that great for the for the teams. It was all for us because we practiced. Yes, you know, you mentioned that a while ago about the kids coming in when they come there to play. Man, they'd stand and just stare at this this whole thing. And it was amazing. It was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 57:04

Mr. Sherman, I I just gonna say I can tell you this. I know last so last year, or just this past basketball season, when we played Hayti at home, someone overheard a couple of the Haytai kids. They I don't guess they'd never been in the field house, and they were doing just that. They were looking around and they said, My gosh, this is like a college arena. And it gave us an ultimate home court advantage, in my opinion. A lot of ways.

SPEAKER_00 57:36

Yes, they were just like Wasn't it a couple years ago Father Tolton talked about wanting to bring they want to bring their kids down here to experience experience the atmosphere and all that stuff, yes.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

Yeah, it's a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 57:50

It was, it's it always has been. We've we've done well. I had a yes, I had a time when I was principal, the bleacher bones came in. Uh-oh. I had to fight them for a while and finally got it cleaned up a little bit. No, not a lot, but they kidded me about it years later. Guys had kidding me about it, but I suspended some kids. But I'll say this, I'll say this, the community backed me. Absolutely. Yes, community backed.

SPEAKER_01 58:29

The the community wants our kids to certainly experience things, but they have to behave. They have to to there has to be discipline in the school, or you don't have anything.

SPEAKER_02 58:40

Oh, you you gotta have that. You gotta have discipline.

SPEAKER_01 58:44

You you you can't learn. You can't learn if there if there's not discipline. You know Fred, don't you? Fred Johnson. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:51

The old basketball coach. Oh yeah. We were playing playing one night. He was coaching. And I was sitting where I I used to sit right down where I sat. I sit and I still like to. In fact, I missed him on the hiring him, I guess. But anyway, off and we had a big crowd. All of a sudden, Fred hollered, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Sherman, get him off my back. Well, that quiet everybody down. Everything was quiet. And I jumped up and ran over there. I couldn't see him at first. I said, shut your mouth or get out of here, one or the other. And he sat down and I told Fred the next day, I said, Fred, you get my butt whipped. Because I saw the guy looking over at me from the wheel before he got there to move. He said, Do you see all those boys around him? I said, Yes. He said, There ain't nobody in Sykes who's gonna get after you with those people. Those boys will take care of you. I said, Yeah, Fred, you know how that works. We've had uh, but we had, you know, people took care of us.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:05

Yep, yep, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. When you after you retired, I before we were, I was just kind of thinking through things and before we started doing this podcast. I was thinking, you you were involved, was it the Kowanas that you were always you were involved in for the longest time?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

Joined the Kwan Club in 63. And I'm still a member, I just don't go much anymore.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Yeah. I had to quit when my wife got that Alzheimer's, I just I wouldn't leave her. And yeah, a good lady, a real good lady, and she's still with me. Kids wouldn't let me. I said, I don't need anybody full time. Well, I don't have a full time, but I didn't tend, I had a three days. But she's a good lady and she's helping. But I but uh no, I was in Kwana's club, uh, still I am. Served as served as uh governor of Missouri, Arkansas. Yeah. I was involved in a lot of community activities.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:09

I know. And you because when you would always you'd come to the bank and you'd be selling pancake tickets, and of course, I obviously we we but if you came in, Mr. Sherman, it didn't matter what it was. I was like, well, Mr. Sherman's coming in, I'm gonna buy whatever he's got. That was respectful. And but you always what'd you call yourself your Addie May, or you were taking over her job and it would you Addie May was she's the

Discipline Backed By The Community

SPEAKER_01 1:01:36

one that uh I don't mean I like that was United Way, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:46

And Addie May was in charge of it. And so who are I forget who was the chairman, but she told me, said, No, you're taking over next year. I said, I can't do that, Addie May. I got too many things going on. We were building, we're doing all these things. I can't do that. I'll serve on a committee. But boy, she's on my back, and finally we got somebody. Charlie Matthews tried to do the same thing with me. He'd been on it two years. And I told him, I said, I'm not going to do that. I'll serve on the committee, I'll go out and hustle money, but I'm not gonna chair it. But I was lucky.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:22

Now, now was it Addie May? She, if she was out, she was dressed to the nines, right? That's what I recall.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:30

She was. She was that's what she's a fine lady. She was a lot of ears on her, but she's a fine lady.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:38

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:39

And we had a lot of people like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:41

Still do. Yes, yes. What what led you to like get involved in in those community projects? Because, like you said, you were plenty busy. It wasn't like you were looking for something to do.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:56

Well, the big thing was that you know, kids, kids, the community is responsible for the kids. In a lot of ways, the people working with the kids have to be responsible to the community, and you have to know the community. And I always felt like that I had some good friends, Bob Meyer. I don't know if you ever knew Bob Meyer.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:17

Right. Fine man. I knew Mr. Bob long. My dad was in the heat and air business and did a lot of business with Mr. Bob.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:24

Yeah. We were awful good friends. He lived down the street from me. And there was the lumber man, I can't think of his name now. There was a lot of guys like that that I got to know. And I got to know some of them to excuse me, some problems that we had. That after the problems are over, we became pretty good, pretty good friends. Right. No, but we we everything went well. It's a good town.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:01

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Now, was it was it your birthday like recently?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:08

Yeah, May 31st.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:09

Okay, I that's what I was gonna say. I I knew it was recent, and you you turned 93, is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

Yes, yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:15

Did you did you go out celebrating all night long, I guess?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:19

No, those days are long gone too. Lady I celebrated with is no longer with me. She was we we do things, go go places, but we weren't we weren't socialites.

unknown 1:04:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Yeah. No, I was just teasing you. I know it. You're I know you're and so you've got grandkids now and bulldog athletes. So I guess that keeps you pretty busy as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:51

It does, it does. And I'll tell you though, those two boys, Adam and Andrew, lived here and grew up here. Even in Laura's worst days, those boys walk in and her eyes would light up like Christmas tree. She was awfully good with kids.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:07

Awfully good. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:10

I don't know how we did it. She didn't go back to working outside the house until Laura was in the third grade.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:16

We had some but we did.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:20

She was a good manager.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:23

I bet she ran a tight ship.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:25

She did. She was she's a good lady. She's a good lady.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:29

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, we and you you were on the SEMO, you were involved with SEMO for a long time after that, right? With their booster club board or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:45

Kenny Dement. Did you know it was Papa Kenny dead by the time you came along? Kenny DeMint, the lawyer.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:52

I I I he was he was I knew who he was on the board of regents, and I was probably a second or third year principal.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:05

He called me one day. He said, Roger got a meeting tomorrow night out at my office. He was on the board of regents at college. And he said, I want you to come. I said, Well, for what? Can he just come on? I want you there. I went and we got uh got in there and he had half of the athletic staff and some others there. And we met for I was in the meeting for about an hour. We got through and then got done. Thank you for coming, everybody. And Roger, you stay here a minute. So I stayed there. I said, What do you what do you need me for? He said, You're on the board of regions now. I mean not the theoster board. I said, Now, Kenny, I don't have time to do that. Yes, you do. You've got to do it. And so I did, and I was on there for probably 20 years. I don't know, enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:00

But you know was it Mr. Pride on there with you as well? Yeah, later years.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:05

Bill was on there, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:08

He was a wee. Bill and I were pretty close in a lot of ways. Yes, sir. We did. And Murray was with us some night. He was he wasn't in that, but one was and another guy, you you know Blair Moran, don't you?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:24

Oh, he's a dandy.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:27

He's more in that. He'd go with us in later years in places. But for me a year or two.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:37

Oh, did he really? Yeah. I know what I omit. You were so we have at least two people now that I know of, maybe three. You were just elect you were just nominated for the Missouri Veterans Hall of Fame, is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:52

Yes. I didn't tell that uh what are you wallet? Yeah. Yeah, it was quite an honor. I told them I don't know why you I didn't fight in any battles. Didn't I was in the Navy for two years and come home? Well, it it this includes all the things you did in your community in the area. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:13

So I guess I think is it Blair in that as well? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:18

Blair and Tom. Steve Taylor. Steve Taylor. Steve Taylor.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:25

And Mike Harris, you know Mike Harris.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:29

He I didn't realize that. He's in there too. Michael Harris. Okay. I saw Steve today at lunch, actually. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:38

They had good people. Fine, fine gentleman. Set of fine gentlemen right there.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:43

I had I had Harris in school. I had Blair in school. Not Blair. I didn't have Blair, but I had Steve. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:55

Yeah, Steve Taylor. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:56

I had Steve. I had a lot of those guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:01

Steve's son, Garrett. Well, he I think he graduated in '95. You were you were still with the school system, but you were at central office at that point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:12

Just about done. I had one more year.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:15

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Veterans Hall Of Fame And Legacy

SPEAKER_01 1:09:17

And so how how did that come about?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:21

Did that did someone nominate you, or how how did that for the had to be somebody nominating me. But when I when they told, they called me, a lady called me from Kens from Jeff City and wants some information. And that's when I found out that that's what it was. And that's I told told a couple of them, I said, well, man, I don't deserve that. But anyway, that's the way it is.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:49

Well, I I I I think you do. And I think all those people that involved, they they knew that as well. When you're do you think much about your legacy, what you've done for your family, your grandkids, not and not just for your family, but for for Sykston. Do you think about that at all?

SPEAKER_02 1:10:18

Do you think about the participation? I don't know if I've done that much.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:24

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:26

And I think about what I've done and what I've I've wondered sometimes how in the world we're able to do what we did, Laura and I. We Mr. Twitter used to get on me about this, and this is a long time ago. When and it's kind of it's always stayed that way. I'd have a meeting, two or three, four-hour meeting in Jeff City or Columbia. I'd wake up at four o'clock in the morning, drive up there.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:56

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:57

And drive back home. Mr. Twitter got on me about that. He said, You don't, Roger, you don't need to do that. You need to spend the night up there nothing. I need to come home. I need to be home. And I always felt that way. I've had the window knocked on on my car there at one of those stop signs, a little waiting, you know, rest stops when I leave Columbia or Jazz City and the highway patrolman two or three times. Are you all right? Yes. Tell them what I did. And they said, oh, okay, bye.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:32

So you were just taking a nap there?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:35

Yeah, I'd I would. I'd I'd sleep 15, 20 minutes and come on home. But you know, that's just the way it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:42

Mm-hmm. Now, was that that was probably the old 61 highway at that point, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:49

Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:50

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:53

Yeah. Uh oh. That's our dog. Yeah, but that's uh yeah. But you know I've had a good time. I've had a good life.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:07

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Is is there anything in your past that that that you've done that and not in a bad way that you you like, man, I wish I would have, like you regretted anything, that you like I'm glad I didn't do that, or I wish I would have tried something else. Did you or are you glad that education was where you landed?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:35

The reason I went into it as much as anything was liked athletics. In high school, all we had, we had softball. We started school in July, as I remember. Oh gosh. In July, and then we'd have a six-week, four to six-week cotton vacation, and we'd come back into the year. We'd have softball, then we'd during cotton vacation, we'd try to have uh practice occasionally in basketball. And I liked athletics. I did a little everything in high school and played, tried to play football in college and stay out and play for sporting. Made sure I did that.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:21

What did you teach when you first got here when you went into education? What were you teaching?

SPEAKER_02 1:13:25

I taught PE and history. Oh, oh, okay. And taught physical education, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:32

Wow. I I wasn't sure. I couldn't recall. I I thought I remember PE, but I didn't realize the world history.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:39

Yeah, I thought world history. Phil Dawson was a basketball coach. And we swapped runes. He taught the first two hours in uh the gym. And then and I taught history the first two hours. And then I think Sap may have tossed the third hour, third hour, fourth hour, and then we swapped.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:01

Really? Doke the that was. You're talking about Doak, the he was the golf pro at the country club for years.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:10

Oh, he was for years. Doke was Doke tried to he tried to get me into golf when I was getting ready to retire. And I played about 12 rounds. Teachers gave me a heck of a nice uh set of golf clubs. And I played probably 12 rounds at the most. And I just told Doke one day, I said, Dokkee, I've had all this I want. I said, if I started when I was 25, I might have enjoyed it. But I still couldn't afford it, time nor money then. And I said, I just better quit. And wound up giving my golf clubs to one of my grandsons. So Doke was a good man.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:51

Yes. His son is back. Tommy. Yeah, he's at he's at the country club now. Is he? He's yeah, he's he's helping me. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:02

Said you're Mr. Sherman. I said, Yes, I am. And you're who? Tom Dawson. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:08

Yes. Now was Doke older than you, or was he about your oh okay. He's a couple years older than me.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:15

Okay. Okay. I think Doke might have been, he may have been more than that. No, I don't I don't think so. A couple years older than me. He played basketball to Simo, I think. Yeah. He might have played a little football, but I'm not sure. But he's a good man.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:34

Yes. Yes. Now, was Miss Was Mr. Pride, he was was he younger than you?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:41

Or was where yeah, he was when he had his 90th birthday party. I went to the party. I walked in and he said, Well, at least I'm not the oldest man here. Um I mean I'm eight months. I was eight months older than him.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:03

I didn't know that. Now, now Mr. Sullivan, he was a little bit younger than y'all, right? Four or five years probably.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:10

Yeah, he was he was probably three, maybe four years younger, Joan. Another year younger. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:21

Yeah. They were good. Oh gosh. I I wish I told my wife Erin and some others, I wish that I would have gotten Mr. Prade like on this, and then I wish I would have had Mr. Miss Sullivan. It just I didn't start it soon enough. You know, it was just one of those things. I wish I would have gotten them. They are such fine people. Gosh, dog it.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:48

Go by there. Not every week, but as it got worse, I'd go by and spend 30, 40 minutes with them.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:56

They were awful good.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:58

Oh. And they were from where were they from originally?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:04

He's from Hayti and she's from Jonesboro, outside of Jonesboro, Arkansas. I knew they both went Arkansas State.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:12

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's what I thought they they had done. And I remember Mr. Mr. Sullivan, we always told the story of Mr. Sullivan when he would teach us in biology that if we wanted to, if he wanted to, if he was ready to give us homework, we'd ask him to tell us a story about Elvis Presley. And that'd get him sidetracked.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:32

Oh no. Listen, then you know the that patch behind the board office when we first got that, you know, they wanted to they're trying to get it torn down. They wanted to clean it up. Murray didn't want it, and he'd come to me. Roger, they're talking again. I had to go talk with them. And finally got down to where Murray came in one day and said, I guess I gotta let it go. But that's the way it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:03

It was like a greenhouse or something back there, wasn't it? That's what it was.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:07

Yeah, it was a greenhouse. And see, uh I forget what kind of birds it was that beginning to flock in there. Oh gosh. And we had to do that. We had to get it out. And boy, he hated that. He was a different guy, but a nice fellow.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:23

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Yes. I saw him. I guess it was at Miss Miss Sullivan's funeral.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:37

Or no. Or what either hers or or his. I saw I saw Ace there, Mr. Kenneman there. Sure did.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:43

He was at the ace come by the house. I hadn't seen him in a little while, I guess since he came by after the funeral, I think. I haven't seen him in a little while. But he sat on the chair and he said, now you gotta look at me when you talk to me because I can't hear. I said, Well, I know that Ace. He said, He's lost uh, he's lost, I don't know how many pairs of hearing aids some of me throw away. Oh my yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:14

Now, doesn't he live over toward like Bloomfield or somewhere?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:17

Well he did, but he moved to Cape now, I mean to Jackson to a nursing home. Oh, he's afflicted with that Altheimers. And I I'd go up there and pick pick berries or fruit and early in the morning. Yes. I've had him come running out there sometimes in his shorts. Chewing on something.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:47

Oh, he sucked me. He thought he he thought he's gonna, or you thought he thought he's gonna have to run you off. I guess he didn't know who it was, come running out there. Oh, he'd just come out, he'd see my car, he'd know who it was.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:58

Oh he's coming. But he wouldn't get up time sometimes. I said, Well, I still gotta go to the office. But he was a good man, yeah, or he is a good man. They were yes, they're a funny couple. Yes, he had his place here on Saturday, he'd sell stuff, and on Thursday he sold over to Bloomfield, I believe. It was something else. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:29

Mr. Sherman, is there anything that about your time with the school or anything like that that I've missed? I know we've kind of we kind of touched on a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:39

Is there's anything that's so grateful to be here? They were good to me. This community's been good to my family and me.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:49

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:52

Laura and I, we uh we just had a good life here. In fact, we bought lots out by Southwest School and four of them, and then a few years later, where the the Veteran Cemetery came well started, and I asked her one day, I said, you know, they got that veteran cemetery. Should we consider that? Took her a long time to answer me, about 30 seconds. She said, No. This is where we raised our kids, this is our family, this is where we are. I said, Well, I agree with you, and that's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:33

Uh just I I I have nothing but positive things to say.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:38

It it besides like the field house, was there anything that you helped build that most people might not know? I mean, were you involved in the new high school building of that, or was that already there?

SPEAKER_02 1:21:53

We finished, they finished it just before the Christmas. So we moved out there the first year I was here.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:00

Not the original. Now the rest of it, uh, we'd all you had to know Mr. Twitty, but we'd all talk about different things.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:09

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:15

And Sam did Harpin said that. I was Mr. Twitty's favorite. And I said, Well, that could know me.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:26

Right. Right. If this uh this is an interesting question that I kind of came up, I saw. If if someone came to you and say they were early to mid-20s and they were getting they were married or getting ready to get married and start a family, and they said, Mr. Sherman, you've you've you've built a good life here and you have quite a legacy here, how would you, and they said, how how do I build a good life here? What would you what advice would you give to somebody like that?

SPEAKER_02 1:23:02

Start with, I guess what I I used us earlier in in the conversation here, you got to be true to yourself. And then you have to be true to the lady that you're gonna marry, or you're married to, and you have to be honest with yourself. That's you know, you're gonna make mistakes, you know that, and when you make them, buddy, don't try to lie out of them.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:27

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:29

I've said that I've said that a lot of a lot of times to people, the young kids. I guess that, you know, you just have to be honest with yourself. And that sometimes that's hard to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:45

Yeah. Do you still encourage people to be involved in like community, like the koanas and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_02 1:23:52

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I think that that's what makes your community. People getting involved.

Advice For Building A Good Life

SPEAKER_02 1:24:00

And it worries me sometimes a little bit. And I say worries me, that's not a good word. I just that it kind of concerns me that people don't realize just how important it still is to be a part of and not just the phone or the television. You know, you know you go to the coffee shop. I go to the coffee shop about once a week. That's about all I can handle with that. Sometimes I'll go twice because I go on Saturday. But as I told them, sometimes you don't know anything going in, no less coming out. But still seeking. And you you just have to listen and make your comments and go on down the road.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:45

Right. Right. Now where do you go for coffee?

SPEAKER_02 1:24:48

Well, I go to Red Kirby's maybe one day a week. And then sometimes I don't go to Red Kirby's, I go to Susie's and cut off. And then on Saturday morning, if I go anywhere, I go to Red Kirby's. Okay. I used to go out to bowls. Uh-huh. In those days. Excuse me, in those days, there was about 20 of us that were retired, and we'd meet out there. Some of them go every day. I couldn't do that, but I'd go two or three three times a week out there. And that was Harbin, uh, one of them, and oh gosh, I can't think of all of them. All the guys from Eastbury drive over, a couple guys from Charleston would come over. We'd have we'd have about 20 of us there. And it'd be a lot of hot air, but you know, we all knew each other that's the way it was.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:43

Didn't your didn't your dad have the Romeo Club, the Retired Old Men Eat Out?

SPEAKER_02 1:25:48

Do what now?

SPEAKER_00 1:25:50

I Matt's that Matt Matt dad and them used to meet at Jay's and they had what was called the Romeo Club, Retired Old Men Eat Out.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:00

We probably had something, I don't know what they called it, but I think that's what they call it there.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:06

Yeah, they cut it they they called it the Romeo Club, the retired old men eat out. That's what they called it. But I'm and and that you could have called it the Wendy Club, too, because they were telling they were telling a lot of stories there for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:19

Yes. And they weren't all true.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:21

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:24

Exaggerated.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:26

That's a good word. I I was thinking a different word, but exaggerate's probably the better word to use for that.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:33

Embellished, embellished.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:36

They did embellish. They did embellish.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:39

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:40

Well, Mr. Sherman, I've got one last question for you. And if you if you can't think of anybody, that's okay. I just want to pose this to you. Mike and I do this every week, and we try to bring people on to help us again remember the past, talk about where our town is, where we're going, and kind of all those things. Would you have a recommendation of somebody we might bring on here to do talk with them about this so we can have it have it down?

SPEAKER_02 1:27:11

Would that you know Blair? I don't know whether he Blair might be. We went over there to their hundredth anniversary of the Kwanas Club. Was it two weeks ago, three weeks ago? Okay. I hadn't seen him in a long time. But Blair gets around. He's active in the in the American Legion.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:45

He helps people. He's a good man, I think. He's full of manure so he's full of manure sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:53

That's all right. That's all right. That's what makes the world go round.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:58

Sure is.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:59

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Oh my gosh. Mr. Sherman, we have enjoyed this immensely. You have given us a lot of things that uh have talked about the history of our town that I think it's important for those that don't know about it to understand those folks help us get here and the foundations that you laid. Again, the new high school with the field house, all well, the central office. You said you're the first one in there.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:34

Yeah, you know, there's one other place that uh that that has been very valuable to us in my in my view is that recreational complex. You were involved in that too, weren't you? Yes, I was. But that was that was, you know, we we when we built that thing, that really helped us in a lot of ways. Yes. A lot of ways. You're talking about a gathering place.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:03

It was were you how how were you involved in that?

SPEAKER_02 1:29:09

Oh, I was on the committee. On the park board or whatever? Well, I just I was on the planning committee for the and I was on the park board too one time, chairman at one time. No, the city manager was real good with it. Can't think of his name now, our first city manager. He was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:29

That would have been, was that in the 70s probably when that built was built? Or when or 80s? It was probably in the 70s. Yeah. I was trying to remember. That'd probably be right around then.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:45

Oh my gosh. Well, yeah, that was that was really it was an asset to our community in a lot of ways. I wonder

Civic Projects That Shaped Sikeston

SPEAKER_02 1:29:58

Well, I didn't mean to bring up any more, but I I no, no. I drive through that thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:04

Oh was that Mr. Church? Was that Charlie Church? Was that Charlie Church? No, I or Charles Church. This was the first one. Oh, okay. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:17

And then he worked, he quit uh later and worked for McMullen, was it?

SPEAKER_01 1:30:24

Maybe. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:29

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:31

No, you're that was really a nice that's that's been a real asset.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:36

Yes, it has. It really has. That's for sure. That's for sure. So you so you were a ri were you involved in building a school over off Salcedo Road too? No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:00

We have a good he was from downtown. I used to kid him, he's in downtown East Prairie, but he wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:07

Was that Mr. Graham? Was that Jim Graham? What Mr.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:11

Graham Jim came here from Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:14

I didn't know that. He was principal at the middle school.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:19

He was assistant principal there.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:22

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:23

Well, see, he when he came to town, when we came to town, we lived on Wayne Street. We bought a little house on Wayne Street. Had some boy had some awfulness neighbors. And Jimmy Graham moved in there a couple years after we came here. He came here. Yeah, he's a good man.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:41

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:44

Yeah. Was the city manager's name Raymond Miller? Raymond Miller. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:52

Raymond Miller.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:53

That's who it was.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:54

Okay. And he did a good job. There you go, Micah.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:57

He did a good job. I thought.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:00

Yeah, yeah. Well, heck, that's a that was a big deal. Well, let me ask you this. Heck, you're involved in everything else. Were you involved in the power plant being built here?

SPEAKER_02 1:32:11

Well, you know, not really involved in it. It's kind of funny that you mentioned that. What was the man's name? The retirement.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:20

Was that Dick Enman? No.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:23

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:24

He he ran that for a while.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:26

Yeah, he did. But he was mayor at one tenant, I think. I can't think of his name. Anyway, anyway, we had our one North Central evaluation at the school, and they were just building that. So we went out and took pictures of it. They had the concrete board and they started to build a power plant. Yeah. Well, that was quite an endeavor to oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:56

That that has been one of the key factors for our town keeping our electric rates low and bringing in industry and all that stuff. That was a big deal. A lot of guys with with the foresight with stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:13

Yeah. His name had his boys in school. I can't even think of their name. Zaracore. No, it wasn't. Oh. Okay. He was he was he was the power plant. He was Tony Zarakor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:32

There's some Zerak it wasn't him.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:34

There's a neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:36

Yeah. There's some there's a Zarakor that works for our bank in Farmington that I that's from here. That yeah. His name's Mike Zarakor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:46

Yeah, I think I had Mike School. I think I'm right.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:49

I think that's right. Yes, sir. I think that's right. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:55

I th I was thinking Mike was a doctor.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:59

Uh there's another one, and I can't think of his name that I think is a doctor, but I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:04

He died. He he's dead now. Mike is his sister, still lives here. She taught for us for years.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:11

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, you've you have quite a legacy, quite you, you've touched a bunch of lives, Mr. Sherman, I can tell you.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:24

Well, they're good to me. I can't. That's all I'm saying. People are good.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:29

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, it has been it has been our pleasure to for you to take your time and and talk with us. It's it's an honor and our pleasure. Thank you for doing that. You have not. You have you have given us.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:48

I've learned a lot tonight. I'm not an I'm not original to Sykeston. I'm I'm from Charleston, so uh I've I've learned quite a bit of history, you know, about Sykes and schools that three guys there from Charleston.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:02

You didn't know you didn't know Herb Marshall, did you?

SPEAKER_00 1:35:05

I I knew, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:09

And down like those coaches and teachers, I I knew a lot of them.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:19

Well, Alpha Might.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:22

And and and Tuesday and Friday in the basketball season, sometimes we'd fight. But other than that, we're good friends.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:29

I know what I was going to ask you. Speak, go ahead, Mike. I got one more question for Mr. Sword.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:34

I was going to talk about talking along the lines of the football and Charleston and Sykston and stuff like that. I've I've kind of the last couple of years, I've thought about like since we've started this, of like who would be a good to come on to kind of talk about that history, one from Charleston, one from Sykston. I mean, like, do you have any idea who would be able to talk about that?

SPEAKER_01 1:35:54

The football history you're talking about?

SPEAKER_00 1:35:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:58

Well, the thing about it is most of them are gone. Yeah, that's yeah, that's that that listen the the years Alfred would that was Alfred Marshall would be be the one that I would think of. I mean Yeah. But that in those in those days, back before I came here, the Charleston Sexton football game, that was that was the theater of the of the year almost.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:24

That's what it was.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:26

Well, you had one more question of me.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:28

I did. I was just I I had it written down and I just about forgot it. Were you principal the last year that Sexton played Scott Central in basketball, and there was a wasn't there a to-do? I'm gonna put you on the spot, Mr. Sherman. What what was that about? Do you recall?

SPEAKER_02 1:36:49

Yeah, kind of I kinda do. I wasn't I wasn't principal, but it was. It was I I forget the fight. There was a fight, I believe. That's what I under it got nasty, and we got it settled. But that was the last year we played them. We played them one more time, I think, up at the college. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:17

Yeah. Yeah, that was 2000, I think we played them two times, 2009 and 2010, or 2010 and 11, something like that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:27

But but but was it wasn't the teams fighting though, correct?

SPEAKER_02 1:37:32

No, it was the fans. As I remember. I think that's right. We had to break up some, had to put some people on the bus too.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:42

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:44

But uh, you know, we didn't have much of that. We'd had we'd have a little every once in a while, but yeah, I was on the stands a couple three times after people, not after them, but to settle them down.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:56

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:58

But we, you know, we've always uh to my knowledge, to my knowledge, now some of them it's not exactly true, but we've always gotten along well. The administrators and the teachers here. When they put the cards on the table, they knew how to play them. Mm-hmm. We played them together.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:19

Right. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:21

Yeah, we did.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:23

I I couldn't recall who the I I thought you might have been principal during that because I remember that was the talk, even as kids. When I was in school, it's like, why don't we play Scott Central? And all I had heard about was there, I thought for the longest time it was the teams fighting, but it was not the teams fighting.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:41

I think so. I don't think it was the team. I think it was the parents got in some rabble riders got into it. That's what I remember. A long time ago. Yes, sir. Yeah, much of that. We'd had had a couple of times pop a bluff, had to do some things. One night we went to tournament over there and we leave, and I extended you too much. No, you're not at all. No, you're good. We're ready to leave, and I knew the principal was a coach and the assistant principal over there pretty well. The coach was uh he's a pain in the neck, but he's Gibbs, John Gibbs. You know, Gibbs was up there with a tournament. Our kids uh saw McKeel and Gibbs sitting up there, and I walked up there and said, Well, are you guys doing all right? You know, and just chattering with them. I saw our kids come out. I was principal then, and McKeel and I were good friends and coming out. I said, Well, fellas, I gotta go. Our team's leaving. Took a couple steps and finally turned around and looked at him. I said, Gibbs, have you got six packs signed for next year to referee? And he cursed me. Six-pack pierce, that's what we call.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:03

Is that right? Oh God.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:07

Oh well, I'm I've worn you out.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:10

You have not, you have not, Mr. Sherman. We I thank you for for all the for the stories, for the history, for the for the the knowledge and for the foundation that you've laid for our for our school and for our town, for the for the my family. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. For for the example that you've shown us how we should interact with our folks and and help our town. Not just the town's good for us, but we have to be good for our town, right? We have to give back. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:46

It's a two-way stream. You must that, I don't think.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:51

Yes, sir. I agree with you. I agree.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:53

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:55

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:56

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:57

You did you didn't, Mr. Sherman. We we always end, we always end our show with go dogs. And so you are Micah Harris, Matt Tanner, Mr. Sherman, yes, sir, go dogs. Go dogs. Okay, thank you. Oh, and all of that. Yes, sir. Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you. Good night. That's gonna do it for this episode of the Dog House. Thanks for hanging with us and showing love to Sykes, where small town pride runs deep and Bulldog Grit never quits. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this with anyone who bleeds red and black. From the heart of the 573, this has been the doghouse. Always have a hope.