This page is a repository (and possible final resting place) of any leftover differentiated,
undifferentiated, or disintegrated stuff that's still floating around (in our homes, garages, trash
cans, or brains) from our Upper School years at NCSD.

If you have photographs or scans of physical stuff or written records of vague, tormenting
memories from those years to send in, please do so. They will probably end up on this page.

For example, can anyone make a passable scan of one of his or her mementoes? Any diary pages?
Memories of pranks, escapades, or catastrophes? Snapshots?

Just follow this link to send in your debris.

Send in your debris! Your fellow alums deserve to help you bear the weight of these memories.



MamaPat found this badge and has no idea where or how she
received it. The Debris Team wishes any NCSD Alumni to
contact us so that this can be credited where credit is due.
As of 07/07/07, Jimmy Autry thinks this NCSD Bear Patch
was created in his junior class in 1976.

Sciurus Carolinensis (Grey Squirrel)

Cheeky little chaps aren't they? The life span of the female is between 4-6 years and the male is
between 2-3 years. So, these chaps would be the 10th generation grandsquirrels (grandchilds) of the
original squirrels that we taunted (heh, heh, heh) in our high school days.

   
In September of 2004, Hurricane Frances roared through the Blue Ridge Mountains and left a soggy
mess in her wake. The City of Morganton no longer displays pictures of the floods in the surrounding
area on their website, however, the Debris Team was able to salvage two pictures taken at Judge's
Restaurant, where the Class of 1970 held their 30th Reunion in 2000. The picture on the left shows
the Catawba River covering the parking lot in front of Judge's. The picture on the right shows flood
water climbed the bank behind Judge's Restaurant reaching the outdoor dining deck.

Judge's Restaurant has been opened since Valentine's Day 2006. From what the waitress told me on
June 6, 2006, the flood waters had risen 18 inches above the second floor! The building was rebuilt,
wall by wall, in order to keep the original the same. All of the electrical wiring were replaced, most of
the plumbing was replaced, the foundation was ok and most of the rafters were ok. Congratulations
to the owners for preserving such a fine establishment.
 

This sign was discovered near the school, do you know where?
 

 This panoramic view was taken April 25, 2006 at 11:45 am. A few seconds later,
            the sky poured down hard rain just as I returned to my vehicle.

 Three days later, April 28, 2006 at 5:30 pm, I captured this beautiful panoramic.



This panoramic was taken on March 8, 2007, a winter view.



This is an "ultra-wide" panoramic of the above.
Click on the picture for a larger view.



MamaPat did this painting from a picture that I took a few years ago, I
thought this was fantastic and I just had to post it here.



This picture was taken in January or February of 1966 during
my first school year at NCSD. I snuck out of Hoffmeyer Hall
before school as this was my first snow "up in the mountains".

 

A Then and Now on the Debris Page

Foggy morning left side of Underhill Gym - Fall of 1965.

39 years later, 2004, same direction, except I was standing on the side walk rather than across the street.

The Store on the Hill Obviously, the road has been widened over the years and the area beyond has grown. To the left of these two poles, is a fire station and if my memory is correct, there used to be a convenience store at this same spot and I do remember during our senior year that on some Sundays, the girls were allowed as a group to walk to this particular store. I remember well an incident involving the older girls' group supervisor (or house parent, as often referred to nowadays), Mrs. Lucy G. Johnson...yep, she's the wife of the boy's A group's infamous houseparent, Mr. Ross Johnson. Ok, the true story goes like this: Supposedly on a very fine spring Sunday afternoon, somehow, us A group boys found out that the older girls were getting ready to make the trek to the store on the hill. Bobby Clark, the Assistant Head of Household, announced to us boys that we were allowed to walk with the girls to the store. So we boys walked up to Main Building's side door to Upper School to meet the girls. Mrs. Johnson made the announcement that us boys were not allowed to walk with the girls. "What??!!" groaned us boys...totally unexpected conflict with the "authorities" of our "house parents". I, of all people, in a non-threatening way, approached Mrs. Johnson and signed;   "but Mr. Clark said we could go to the store with the girls." At that point, Mrs. Johnson raised her hands and fluttered "C'mon girls, let's go back inside". "HUH?!!!" We boys were flabbergasted when the girls disappeared into Main Building. With our heads hung low, we hovered back to Hoffmeyer Hall. Mr. Clark was surprised we came back quick. He made some phone calls but to no avail. Us lovebirds just waited till the clock hit 6pm to return to our daily routine.

      

 
 Table Rock - Spring of 1972


                   
Hi-Jinks Night or is it just goofing around?

Hi-Jinks Night Revisited - June 6, 2007

Missing - the machine that dispenses the "Taste that beats the others cold!"
Missing participants - "For Those Who Think Young"..."The Pepsi Generation".

 

Caves on Campus?
Be sure to check out the Summer 2005 Issue of the Bugler for the latest details.

During the Homecoming 2003 weekend, my brother Kim mentioned that David (also our brother)
discovered a cave on NCSD's campus, of course it's now buried/covered up, I e-mailed David about
it and here is his response:

"Yeah its covered. It was used to store food back when NCSD was established. The
students farmed the land and raised cattle. They had a cave like deal dug to store
perishable foods. I found broken pieces of ceramic believed to be plates and shelf like
holes in the wall that was used to store stuff. I believe there is another one somewhere else
also. The cave I found is to the east of Main Building near the east wing. Not sure of the
exact spot (don't recall now) I have pics of it in my archives".

Since the caves are part of NCSD's and our Deaf heritage, I am really surprised (or should I say
appalled and dismayed) that no one has made an effort to preserve this archaeological and
historical interest.

Many thanks to David Latkowski for sending us these pictures.



David at the end of the cave holding a piece of pottery or ceramic
 "We think may be a bowl or something".





The guy in T-shirt is Mike Mabe ('74), looking into one of the storage rooms.






And the storage room.
Webmaster's note: MamaPat says look at the cave picture, doesn't it look
like a face? Is that the old man of the mountains?

 

Update May 1, 2005
"It was just a hole"
says Peter H. Ripley, Assistant Superintendent, circa mid 1970's

This article was printed in the mid-1970's. Location of this root cellar was behind Goodwin Hall and
Rankin Hall (where the playground is now) probably during the pre-farming days of 1920's. This
article is now on file at the NCSD Historical Museum and Archives. (Click on picture to enlarge).

Many Thanks to Jimmy Autrey for contributing this excerpt from the Morganton News Herald and
the paragraph above.

David e-mailed me regarding the above article: That is exactly the same lay out I found...I am
almost sure the hole I found was at Main Building and had been filled in. So this must be another
one they have located.

In another e-mail, David says: Yeah, it is near the east wing of Main Building that I can remember
finding the hole. What they were doing digging out there I don't recall but that was long before
they put in the parking lot out front of Main Building... I would like to know if it were possible to
look into what was going on at that time. I didn't pay attention to the reason for the work out
there. It was just that me and a friend were out one night killing time just walking around the
whole campus.

The above article also quoted Ripley that there is also a similar root cellar in the Piney section. So,
the mystery continues but with this question, where is the second "hole" on campus?
 

Website technicians in new quarters continuing to find pictures for this website.



Website technicians continuing to find debris for this webpage.
Circa 2003
 

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