Memories of a Murfreesboro Childhood

My Best Friend

In this era when families move so frequently I am grateful for having a best friend from the first grade though high school and on into adulthood.

Betty Ray Clark was always better at everything than I was. In piano contests (everyone I knew took music lessons from “Miss Irene” Morton) Betty Ray always came in first. Her grades were always a little better than mine and she was always “neat”.as a child. I seemed to always have skinned knees. I remember the year when everyone in our class at Crichlow had impetigo on their legs and had to wear horrid purple medicine–all except Betty Ray.

While children today flit around the world, for Betty Ray and me the great adventure was going to Nashville alone on the greyhound bus. Once there we followed the same routine: off to the bookstore to buy the latest Nancy Drew book and then have lunch. Then home on the bus. Sometimes we ate at Cross Keys but most of the time we ate at Harvey’s basement cafe where we always ordered creamed chicken on cornbread. As an adult I have tried making this but it never tastes the same.

Bits and Pieces

Even though we didn’t have a book store there were many cultural advantages growing up in Murfreesboro. There was the library. It moved three times during my years, getting larger each time.

Music was important from a very early age. Remember First Grade rhythm bands? We banged away on xylophones, tambourines, snare drums and “sticks”. Memorizing poetry was an important part of my grammar school curriculum.

Murfreesboro marches

I seem to remember marching a lot in Murfreesboro. While we were not very safety conscious at that time (no seat belts, no bike helmets) we were health conscious. The Blue Ribbon parades were a big event of those years. Every student who had all his/her shots and passed other tests at the Health Unit marched around the Square by school classes wearing large blue ribbons and crepe paper blue hats. One year it rained and all our hats bled bright blue streaks down our forehead. I also remember getting lost in what to me was an overwhelming crowd and being brought home by a policeman.

I remember other occasions of marching as a child in Murfreesboro. Every Memorial Day we would line up in our best dresses, carrying baskets of flower petals. On a given signal we would march through the Confederate Cemetery scattering petals like flower girls at a wedding.

Tom Brokaw called this “the greatest generation”. I would agree that for me it was a wonderful time to grow up and Murfreesboro was the “greatest town“.