Shari Coble Bivens502 South Main StreetChina Grove, NC 28023

As we draw closerTo another year’s end,We find our true selvesAnd part from the “trend”.

Above is a quote from our 1968 Airmont.

Memories of high school centered around feelings and friendships.

The feeling of cold weather and wearing wool at football games.

And pride in the High Step dance team. Feeling lucky to work with Judy DowelArmstrong on choreographing and teaching dance routines. As our friendship grew, I loved spending time with Judy and her family.

Excitement when entering Mrs. Caroline Sydnor’s math class and Mrs. Maxine Hamilton’s biology class. Their hands-on and visual teaching style paired well with my way of learning. I still believe you should write each step in solving a math problem. How awesome was it to see how life works when looking through a microscope and carrying out the process of dissection.

Trust from my parents when I got my drivers license and received my grandmother’s big black Ford. I believe it was about my age. That car led to a Plymouth Sports Fury. It seemed every time I left the house my Mama always said “Be carefully” and I said “I will.” I am not sure if these were magic words but it

seemed the only time trouble found me was when I didn’t hear those words before I left the house.

Although history was not one of my favorite subjects I enjoyed watching history being made while watching the World Series in Mr. Holder’s history class.

I don’t remember when we first met, but I do believe these two events were the beginning of our friendship. Anne Blackmon (Tink) in Girl Scouts and Mary Lynn Simmons in ballroom dance classes taught by her brother. As driver licenses were earned we ventured in, around, and out of Mt. Airy’s city limits. Oh, those wonderful trips to Pilot Mountain with music, dancing and socializing at the “TnT.”

Maneuvering through the dating ritual was always a learning experience. One growing experience was when a guy I was dating truly loved a friend of mine. They are still in love to this day.

After leaving high school, I attended Western Carolina University (WCU) to pursue a double major In Special Education and Elementary Education. The summer of 1972, after graduation, I began working on my Masters Degree. Butch and I married in September. After our honeymoon Butch returned to Charlotte, NC and work. I returned to WCU and finished my Masters Degree in March 1973.

I went to work with the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System in April 1973. In 1977 we became Foster Parents and in 1979 our daughter, Brie, was born. We both wanted to move to a smaller town. In December 1980 we moved to China Grove, NC. I worked for Rowan County and Salisbury City Schools. These two systems eventually merged. In the Spring of 2004 I retired. After staying out the required eight months I went back to the Rowan Salisbury Schools (RSSS) as an interim teacher. In the fall of 2005 I became a rehired retiree and taught full time for RSSS and then Kannapolis City Schools until 2009. I then began to substitute, work in interim positions and part time teaching positions for both school systems. My last few years was with the Title 1 Reading and Math program until 2014.

My forty-year teaching career began and ended in the field of teaching in the areas of Special Education. I also enjoyed working with student teachers in my classroom and on the university level as a university supervisor for student teachers. I feel blessed to have worked with many wonderful children, parents and educators

While in Charlotte, Butch and I enjoyed buying and fixing up houses for rental property. We lived in a neighborhood where close friendships developed. A life-long adventure of adopting dogs and kittens began. Brie also grew up with rabbits, chickens and turtles. The last two were compliments of grandparents. We enjoyed the beach while Brie was young but within the past seven years we have become close to the mountains of Ashe County.

Moving to China Grove brought us closer to the life we wanted. Downtown China Grove had one stop light and one grocery store in 1980. We moved into and bought a house under the “rent to buy” program. The elementary school was a block away in one direction and the daycare center in the other direction. Mama and Daddy moved to Salisbury in 1982 and Mama moved to China Grove in 1994. Butch’s

parents lived in Albemarle. In June of this year we moved into Mama’s house. What fun we are having making it our own while keeping the essence of families past. There were even boxes of treasures, wrapped up in Mt. Airy newspapers, that had not been opened in forty years.

Brie and her husband have given us a beautiful step grand-daughter. One of our three generation adventures was finding the best make up for a teenager. Does anyone remember when Merle Norman opened in Mt. Airy?

As the Airmont quote says, as each year ended in high school I became closer to my true self. My journey continues to this day. Life is good.