Letter to Mr. Whitaker:

I was pleasantly surprised to read your article on “The Way We Were” in your March 31, 2021 issue of the Howell County News. My brother David, WSHS grad of 1956, gets your paper all the way to Green Valley, AZ., and he sent the clipping of Mr. Thomas to me in Centerville, VA. (25 miles due West of the White House) because I was in the same class as Bob Curtis and John Tandy. The three of us played Freshman Football at WSHS, and our family, the Clifford Anderson Family, moved to Indiana several months after that school year.  Mike Mitchell was another buddy out of that class, along with Pam Booth and Carol Dugan. Sharon McGregor would have been another buddy, but I was afraid of her!

Your story about the clock setting by these two guys was quite funny, but made me think about what I missed out on by moving on to the north with my family. My Dad was the District Ranger with the Forest Service for 14 years in Willow before he decided to move closer to his home state of Michigan. My Mother, Genevieve, was the best piano teacher west of the Mississippi while in Willow. Both loved the Ozarks.

Thanks for conjuring up great memories of living and going to school in Willow Springs. I did not know about Bob’s passing and was saddened to see that news in your article.

Sincerely,

Mike Anderson, Centreville, Va.