TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Women Create Future From The Past

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

WEST TAMPA - Edee Strickland and Denise Stuart are as different as Southern barbecue and a Cuban sandwich.

Strickland was born in North Carolina and moved to Tampa when she was 11; Stuart was born in Tampa and spoke solely Spanish at home.

What brought them together in their youth and again as adults was West Tampa Junior High. They attended from 1963-66 and cherish their experiences from seventh through ninth grades. The school opened in 1927 and closed in 1987, according to Tribune archives.

'We truly loved our junior high years,' said Stuart, whose maiden name was Guzman. 'We were so close, and we still are.'

That motivated them to form the West Tampa Women, an organization to help them keep in touch with classmates and extend assistance to two neighborhood schools, West Tampa Elementary, 2700 W. Cherry St., and Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary, 3111 Tampa Bay Blvd.

The group plans a 1960s-theme dance from 8 p.m. to midnight Nov. 3 at the Sons of Italy Hall, 3315 W. Lemon St., to raise money for the schools. In April, the group hosted a picnic at Macfarlane Park and donated $500 to West Tampa Elementary, which used it to buy library books.

Strickland, 56, helped form the group in September 2006 to assist West Tampa Elementary, where West Tampa Junior High was located.

'It has given us an avenue to forget about our families, work, and concentrate on something other than ourselves,' said Strickland, whose maiden name was Courtney.

The group's genesis goes back to 1997, when Tampa lawyer Danny Hernandez started to get West Tampa Junior High alumni together.

The group, which mainly focused on the Classes of 1963-66, grew to about 33 members and became challenging to manage. It disbanded in 2004.

The women from the group continued meeting for dinner and would end up at Strickland's house. Last year, she approached them about forming the club to raise money for the schools. It has 16 members and remains a West Tampa Junior High alumni women's group.

The women say their junior high years were striking because they lived in a close-knit community where everyone could walk to a friend's house. They were also united by events: the emergence of The Beatles and rock 'n' roll, the assassination of President Kennedy and the Vietnam War.

After graduating from West Tampa Junior High, they attended Jefferson High in Tampa Heights. But the high school closed a year later, and the students were scattered to Plant, Leto and Hillsborough high schools.

That separation brought them closer to their junior high, Strickland said.

'It was a feeling of family, closeness and familiarity and a very personable environment,' said Stuart, the club's activities director.

Strickland, the club's president, added: 'I developed friendships that have withstood everything.'

BACK TO THE '60S

WHAT: West Tampa Women sponsors a fundraising dance for West Tampa Elementary and Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary

WHEN: 8 p.m. to midnight Nov. 3

WHERE: Sons of Italy Hall, 3315 W. Lemon St.

COST: $20 a person, $35 a couple and $136 for a reserved table for eight.

TICKETS: Call Edee Strickland at (813) 624-3348.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT