This past week was my first “official week” back to school to begin the 2018-2019 school year as a counselor at North Harrison High School. It goes so quickly. All of it. The time working and the weeks off during the summer. I am dumbfounded that I am beginning my 4th year at NH. I am blessed to have a job that allows me to help kids out during such a challenging time of transition in their lives. Young people are resilient. They want to learn. That is the beauty of education. No matter what test is thrown at them, no matter how many political barriers are thrown in the path of their progress, kids still want to learn and understand the process of what they are doing. I say God Bless them!
On Thursday my dear wife, Carrie, and I went back to The Jackson County Fair in Brownstown which is my old hometown. The fairgrounds is a small corn field away from my childhood home on Jackson Street. They have since added more than corn in that direction like a county highway garage and a new jail. But between those two you can still see the midway rides from the old homestead. That was a sight and the sounds that permeated the night sky in a house that had no air conditioning was wonderful back then.
I didn’t take too many pictures. Carrie and I had a friend of ours with us, Steve Hanger. Steve has wanted to go to the Jackson County Fair for years and this year we got it done. I’d say he will want to go back next year.
The ducks going down the slide in the Young McDonald’s Farm building is always a sight to behold. I would love to know how old that slide is. I don’t think I have ever seen another one.
We ran into one of the greatest school leaders known to man. In the yellow shirt is Dr. Robert Mahan. He is why I am sitting on a screen porch between Frenchtown and Milltown at this very moment in 2018. In 1979 he was the superintendent at North Harrison and he hired my Dad to teach social studies and coach football here. Ten years ago I had the privilege of working for Dr. Mahan, as he was the interim superintendent at Medora schools for a year. Oh, and get this, that same year we were both at the Ryman Auditorium with our wives to see a concert by The Moody Blues. The man knows music also. In earnest, I am truly honored to know him.
So I cheated, this photo is from last year’s fair midway.
Until today I had no idea this would be the last Jackson County Fair that I would get to see Andy Wayman in uniform. He is retiring, I hear, after this year. You are a classic, Andy. I am honored to know you too. You have been a great asset to Jackson County for many years. In the parlance of Andy Taylor, “We’ll see you, boys.”
The red shirt I have on in this picture is not a nod to Brownstown Central, in case some of you Cougar faithful are alarmed. No. It is a Celery Signs t-shirt. Jerry Brown, aka Celery Brown, called me on Thursday and told me he would be in Corydon doing some business and he wanted to stop by the school to see me for a few minutes. I told him to come on. Even though Jerry is the art teacher at Brownstown Central and an assistant football coach, we gave him the royal welcoming treatment.
He appreciated it. It was great to have speaks with Jerry. He is quite the artist on many levels.
Speaking the rights…
Danny Johnson