{"id":7842,"date":"2020-02-26T21:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T00:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=7842"},"modified":"2020-02-28T14:08:52","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:08:52","slug":"surprise-awards-are-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=7842","title":{"rendered":"Surprise AWARDs are the BEST"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Middle school grandson Benjamin receives a surprise academic excellence award prompting  me to recall two surprise school award events of my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first comes about when I am in the 8th grade at the then brand new Whitehall-Yearling High School in Whitehall Ohio (enclave of Columbus). It is near the the end of the school year and several of us are on stage at an assembly receiving some sort of forgotten award. When he is finished acknowledging the awards, Principal Peel whispers to me to remain on stage which of course I do. Later my friends laugh at me saying they thought that I was choosing an odd time to ask our principal a question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With me standing clueless by his side, Mr Peel gives a speech about a new academic award, the Charles Palmer Davis Award, going to the student who has the highest grades in history in the eighth grade. He then turns to me and presents me with a beautiful bronze medallion. I am flabbergasted. I have good grades but none of us knew we were competing and I am always beat out by my friend Carol Brenning anyway (she gets to go to Girls&#8217; State when we are in high school, I am the alternate. She was third in our graduating class, I was fourth). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058.jpeg?resize=500%2C667&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7851\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?attachment_id=7851\" class=\"wp-image-7851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpeg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059.jpeg?resize=500%2C667&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7852\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?attachment_id=7852\" class=\"wp-image-7852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8059-scaled.jpeg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this achievement is mine. And it is a complete surprise. It has always puzzled to me what Charles Palmer Davis had to do with history or current events but I never asked. In doing research for this post I discover that he was a newspaperman from Pennsylvania where he started a publication called Current Events for his middle school age daughter and classmates. Later he joined forces with The American Press in Columbus to publish The Weekly Reader, my go to reading material as a kid! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before I move on to my next surprise academic achievement story a tiny addendum. The school year is coming to a close. We only have to come to school the last day to pick up report cards. We have a strict dress code. Shorts are on the forbidden list. Several of us decide that Bermuda shorts, the current rage, are okay for such a short time at school. We even talk some of the guys into joining our fashion protest. Our teacher (self contained classes in those days) will have none of it. She refuses to give us our report cards. We need to get them from the principal&#8217;s office. Mr Peel in not amused. He gives me the once over muttering, &#8220;You of all people,&#8221; as he reluctantly hands us our freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063.jpeg?resize=500%2C667&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8063-scaled.jpeg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption>Good sport Ron Paxson <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My second surprise award comes during an assembly my junior year at WYHS. Still a new school (we are not the first graduating class but close enough being the fourth) we have yet to establish a National Honor Society. I actually do not even know what National Honor Society is. This assembly is poorly timed by my account as I have last minute homework to polish off. Nevertheless I do my best thankful for my homeroom&#8217;s seating assignment near the back of the auditorium under the balcony. I am deep into it, ignoring all going on around me. Suddenly I&#8217;m tapped on the shoulder. Rude, I think and do not respond. This time the tap is harder. I look up. Standing behind me is some strange teen indicating that I should follow him. I shove my books and papers under my seat, climb over a row full of classmates and proceed to follow this person to the stage where I join a very small gathering of recognizable students. Four seniors, three juniors including me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061.jpeg?resize=500%2C667&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8061-scaled.jpeg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are the newly formed chapter of our high school&#8217;s National Honor Society. We have been tapped into service by students from an established chapter at a neighboring high school. In those days you did not apply, you were chosen by faculty members. We look at each other quizzically. The top two academic leaders in our class are missing. As we listen to the requirements of  scholarship, leadership, service and character, we understand how lucky we are. First to be tapped as juniors, as a much higher academic standing is mandated, and second, despite heavy schedules, we take the time to join clubs, run for office, volunteer for interesting school projects, and occasionally even study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surprises awards really are a lot of FUN. Congratulations Ben!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?fit=500%2C375\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8065-1-scaled.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption>Prior to the age of easy burst shots, we decide to toss papers into the air for a final yearbook group picture. Surprise, every face is visible!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Epilogue<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=4444\">Not exactly a surprise award but definitely a SURPRISE this post from a few years back fits in here pretty well.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Middle school grandson Benjamin receives a surprise academic excellence award prompting me to recall two surprise school award events of my own. The first comes about when I am in the 8th grade at the then brand new Whitehall-Yearling High &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=7842\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,251,622],"tags":[716,712,714,717,715,713],"class_list":["post-7842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-life","category-whitehall-yearling-high-school","tag-austin-peel","tag-charles-palmer-davis-award","tag-middle-school","tag-national-honor-society","tag-ron-paxson","tag-weekly-reader"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5CT4u-22u","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2268,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=2268","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":0},"title":"Rally!","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"September 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I went to my first political rally when I was 16. The year was 1960. I was living in Whitehall, Ohio an independent city that grew out of a farm and repeatedly refused to be annexed by Columbus, the state capital, which literally grew around it until it was completely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"politics","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=361"},"img":{"alt_text":"Statehouse","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Statehouse-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4444,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=4444","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":1},"title":"An AWESOME Prom","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"September 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In high school I totally skip the dating scene. I blame this on an incident that occurs during freshman year algebra. Our entire class is cutting up and an extremely popular jock I think is cute asks me for my phone number. At that very moment our teacher shuts down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Prom&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Prom","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=621"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/A5B0EF4C-6B63-4175-B63E-E03AB88C3F53-2-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8787,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=8787","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":2},"title":"National Polka Month","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"February 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Me and fellow classmate Mike Jones, Students of the Month for April 1962. Student of the Month was a new recognition at our school and I like to think that maybe I helped Dare County embrace this idea since School Board member Ralph Buxton asked me what the pin i\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"1962\"","block_context":{"text":"1962","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?tag=1962"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1267-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4413,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=4413","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":3},"title":"Virginia &#038; Slim NO Not THAT Kind (Part 1)","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"March 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two more mismatched people could not be imagined. It was 1970, I was in my second year of teaching at Varina HS and assigned, for the second year, to be yearbook co-sponsor. Sponsoring extra-curricular activities was part of our teacher duties. I suppose you could request an area of interest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;High School Yearbooks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"High School Yearbooks","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=575"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/virginia-and-me-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":742,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=742","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":4},"title":"I Was a Fifth Grade GYPSY","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"March 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost. I really, really, r-e-a-l-l-y wanted\u00a0to be a gypsy. They have a small camp near my school, Main Street Elementary, in Whitehall, Ohio. The kids keep to themselves in school. I give them wide berth, they are fascinating but odd. It is when the girls \u00a0come to school with mecuricome\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;college&quot;","block_context":{"text":"college","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=94"},"img":{"alt_text":"My classroom was on the top floor in the back corner overlooking the playground","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/main-street-elementary-300x239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2294,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=2294","url_meta":{"origin":7842,"position":5},"title":"Let Us Talk About LETTUCE","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"November 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I am in Harris Teeter shopping when a strangely familiar sight greets my eye in the produce section. Empty, or practically so, shelves where lettuce and other fresh greens should be succulently waiting for me, and others, to bag them up and take them home. No famine has not struck,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;family&quot;","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/giphy.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7842"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7888,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions\/7888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}