By
Brian V. Brunner('64)
Phillip M. Potts('63)
Bob Simmoms - Webmaster at http://www.lwma.org
and
Steven Shipp - consultant to this website

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9/28/98 12:56pm
From: Brian Brunner(64) (BVBRUNNER)
To ALL

This week 10/2/98 LWMA goes to Spring Garden Alabama to play Spring Garden High School. My nephew, Steven Shipp, and I are planning on going to this game. It's only about sixty miles from where we live. That's about half the distance to Camp Hill from here.

If we do make it to the game I'll post the score here next Monday 10/5/98.

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10/6/98 8:56am
From: Brian Brunner(64) (BVBRUNNER)
To ALL

Here's the score..

October 2, 1998 LWMA vs Spring Garden School - 7 - 21 Loss.:(

Yes, we did make it to the game! It was a much better game the score would indicate. Spring Garden jumped out to a 7 to 0 lead early in the first quarter. That was about the time I was buying our tickets. (Spring Garden is not easy to find - Population around 100. In the dark we just kept heading for the stadium lights!)

In the second quarter Spring Garden scored again. 14 to 0. Then LWMA scored! 14 to 7.

In the third quarter LWMA held Spring Garden to no score, but they did the same to us.

In the fourth quarter we passed for two interceptions , and Spring Garden scored again, 21 - 7. Then in last five seconds LWMA attempted a fifty yard field goal. It fell short with no time left on the clock!

It was a good, hard fought, game. I was glad we went.

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10/6/98 12:00 pm
From: Brian Brunner(64) (BVBRUNNER)
To All

Phil Potts said,

"Sounds like one of those fun trips...:) You should post this message. Is humourous...:)"

Here's the note Phil was talking about:
===========================================

I did not see anyone on the LWMA side that I knew! Quite a few of the LWMA fans kept looking at me in my LWMA jacket, LWMA T shirt, and Alumni ball cap. I told the lady selling tickets that we (Steven and I) were with the "Loyal Opposition" and we drove from Atlanta to see the game.

We had a lot of fun in spite of the loss. You think Camp Hill is small, I'm not sure I even saw Spring Garden! It's a little over 10 miles into Alabama from here. I have an old 1980's map of Alabama and it says that Spring Garden had a population of 50 then. (Camp Hill's pop on that map was 1350!) Anyway the sign pointing to the school said "Spring Garden School". NOT "Spring Garden High School!" After that we had to follow the lights to the game! We did not know where we were or how we got there, but we got out alive! The map shows the town on county road 29. Too bad #29 did not cross US 278 the way the map showed. I'm glad the school sign was there. It was on county road #27! Then just past a sign that said "Welcome to Spring Garden" there was a four way stop with no signs to the school. I told Steven there were some lights off the right, so we went that way. After we got out of the car, we saw we had parked on #29 in front of the Volunteer Fire Dept. station! That may have been Spring Garden! The school and the fire station! I guess I'll have to take drive over there in the daytime to find out for sure.:)
===========================================

Then Phil Potts asked,
"There were other LWMA fans there?"

Yes, folks from the school. I know Sgt. Franks was there. There must have been about 30-35 people there on the LWMA side. Even some young teenage girls, and parents. I can only assume they lived nearby, and/or some of the players were going go home for a week-end pass after the game. Who knows? We did have some support!

Also, it was Spring Garden's Homecoming, the stands on their side of the field were packed! Standing Room Only! Maybe 200-300 people over there! There are two good size towns near there; Piedmont and Centre Alabama.

Yes, it was a Fun Trip!

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10/6/98 1:37 pm
From: Bob Simmons (BOBSIMMONS)
To: Brian Brunner('64) (BVBRUNNER)

I have been there twice, when my son was playing for LWMA. Your description is very accurate. They also love to have LWMA for Homecoming. Some year we will slip up on them and make their Homecoming a little less enjoyable.

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10/7/98 8:56 am
From: Steven Shipp (SSHIPP)
To: ALL

Spring Garden trip:

When we were going over there it only took us 10 minutes to get there. But it took us 2 hours and 10 minutes to get back. Think about that one for a minute. Not only did we step back in time we really stepped back in time. What I mean by this is that the men's resthroom was a trough style "tub" and a sink. This was a first experience for me. I joked with Dr. Von Brunner about the crudeness of it. I will let him tell you what he told me. Later on I will tell everyone about the "great places" to eat at in the near by towns. Look for it soon.

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10/7/98 11:55 am
From: Brian Brunner(64) (BVBRUNNER)
To: Steven Shipp (SSHIPP)

I don't remember what I said about that big wide urinal in the restroom at Spring Garden except maybe, "It looked just like the ones in Tallapoosa Hall"!

Nothing new to this former LWMA Cadet! :) (Or any other!)

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10/8/98 2:13 pm
From: Steven Shipp (SSHIPP)
To: ALL

Getting back to the Spring Garden trip:
If you wanted south of the border taste you could go to MiCasita Mexican in Rainbow City. Or you could scoot on over to the Dari King in Piedmont for some rings. ( I wonder how close he is to the Dairy Queen?) If groceries is all you need then just hop on over to Big D Foods over in Centre.

But if you are really looking for a great deal on a meal go to downtown Centre and get yourself some Shozee's stone cooked pizza. I would venture to say that it would be worth the drive from Powder Springs, GA just for that.

I hope everyone enjoyed the food tour.

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Now in 1999 we see this bit of news:

Date: Oct-2-1999 1:06 am
From: Bob Simmons (BOBSIMMONS)
To: ALL

LWMA Dominates Spring Garden in Game 6.

The Rangers defeated Spring Garden at LWMA on 1 October 1999 by the score of - 54 -13. The Rangers dominated on both sides of the ball, with some of the points scored by the defense. It appeared to me that everyone who was healthy played and the second team offense even contributed to the scoring.

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Now in 2001 I received this "FAN" mail:

DATE:12/29/01 6:59PM
TO : bbrunner@gsu.edu
From: MBH6458@XXXXX.YYY
Subject: Spring Garden Alabama

I just came across your "Spring Garden Trip" on the web.
Sorry you were so offended by the bathrooms.
You should see them now. Quite modern, I'm sure, even by your standards.
Spring Garden is a great little place to live.
I hope you had an opportunity to talk to the some of the students. It might remind you a little of Mayberry. Thank God there are still a few Spring Garden's in this world.

Unsigned

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This was my reply. (As of 1/3/02 I have not received any reply to this note from Spring Garden.)

Subject: Re: Spring Garden Alabama
Date: 12/30/01 1:40PM
To: MBH6458@XXXXX.YYY
From: Brian Brunner

Dear Spring Garden - AKA MBH6458

Sorry, I did not mean to offend anyone in Spring Garden. I have been back though there a couple of times since then in the day time. Remember in order for LWMA to play Spring Garden School both schools have to be very small. It is just that almost all of the members of the student body at LWMA are from larger towns and cities from all over the USA and several foreign countries.

My nephew had never seen as restroom like that before. It did not matter to me at all as I said in the story as there still is a trough-like urinal that in the boy's restroom in the main classroom building at LWMA and there is one in our football stadium men's restroom. In fact your visitor stands were better than LWMA's.

I also wish Camp Hill was more like Spring Garden and less like downtown Atlanta, GA. You will know what I mean if you should ever visit Camp Hill in the daytime.

I think the big surprise to me about Spring Garden School that night was that the school was from the 1st through 12th. I have not seen a school like that since I was in the second grade at Chamblee (GA) School in 1953. Also, I did have to find the school just as I said in the story. And it was the first time I ever drove to Spring Garden.

The Spring Garden football game that night started my nephew and me on an annual trek to at least one LWMA football game a year. Last year we went to Woodland AL for a game at Woodland School - grades 1 -12. Spring Garden, Woodland, and Wadley are all closer to Atlanta than Camp Hill and those are three of the games we have attended in the past three years. This past September we went to the LWMA Homecoming game in Camp Hill because that was the closest one to Atlanta on the schedule for 2001.

And believe me your stadium and restrooms were equal to or better than LWMA's. I'm sure they will be much better now. If we play Spring Garden next fall at you school and I get a chance to go I'll update the story telling of the improvements.

And believe me as I work at Georgia State University in the middle of downtown Atlanta I do thank God there are places like Spring Garden, Camp Hill, and Cave Spring, GA.

BTW: If you should reply to me, please, let me know your name as I may update the story with these two notes...:)

Thank You for writing,
Sincerely
Brian V. Brunner
LWMA 1964

P.S. I was not at the last football game between Spring Garden and LWMA in Camp Hill. I understand some kind of fight broke out on the field. I'm sorry that happened.