Friday, Sept. 6, 2002
By Staff
Keeping up with veterans, friends
To the editor:
It is great to be able to go to your Web site and keep up with the news from Meridian. I am 82 years old, graduated from Meridian High in 1940. I entered the service in 1942 and retired from the Air Force in 1975. There were quite a few of us from Meridian who entered the service about the same time and some of us saw service together. Harold Thompson and I were together for awhile. William (Bill) Murphree and I entered the same day and still stay in touch after all these years. Lamar Meadows and Victor Cotten are two more that I served with in the early years of service. I still stay in touch with several pre-service friends via e-mail in the Meridian area.
My mother, Ada M. Mills, was a Grey Lady during the war and we lived at 2412 12th St. for many years. I saw the letter in the paper about the USO during WWII and remember that it was still active when I returned to Meridian for awhile in 1945. My oldest son was born in Meridian in 1946 in the old Riley Hospital. My father, James E. Mills Sr. was associated with several auto dealerships before he moved to the Livingston, Ala., area.
It would be great to hear from any classmates and friends of the 40s. My e-mail address is CMSGT@NET-CHANGE.COM.
Thanks again, Meridian Star, for the Web site and the opportunity to keep up with the hometown news and events.
Jim Mills
Elizabeth City, N.C.
The boys of summer'
To the editor:
Thank you so much, Meridian Star sports department, for all the coverage you gave on the 14-year-old Meridian All-Star team.
During the local tournament you coverage was great! You are an asset to the community when you cover the community sport projects.
Also, want to thank WMOX radio for the recent coverage while the boys made their long trip to New York, this was a blessing to parents and grandparents who were left behind. To be able to hear the result of the game was great!
Thanks to the North Meridian Optimist Club for their sponsorship of such a great baseball program. I know this takes dedication and time, and I hope you all had as much fun as we did.
Our children will now move on to the NEW baseball field and Dixie majors and Pre-majors and high school baseball, but our memories of all the traveling and games will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Another big thank-you goes out to all the people who bought raffle tickets and donated money to help these boys achieve their dreams and goals. I do not want to leave out all the employers who let parents off work for a few days in order to be able to support their children. This is a great asset to our city and county.
Thank you, Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, for all of your support during our recent trip to New York. Last but certainly not least is for Larry Vick, Rob Bullock, Jerry Dean a real big THANK-YOU to these men who took off from work for practice, who spent time and their own money to help a few boys reach a goal. You will forever be in these boys' hearts and will always be remembered by them.
Although it is sometimes forgotten that you receive no pay for the jobs you held, we do know that your hearts were always in it.
Again, thanks to everyone who had a part in helping a child play the game of baseball from Phil Hardin Park to Highland Park and beyond. We thank you all.
Sandy Gardner
Collinsville