Well, what do you know!
The "mystery photo" we shared Thursday in our new "Remember when, Chattanooga" photo feature is a mystery no more.
Thanks to Harrison, Tenn., resident Louise Picklesimer, we now know the photograph was originally part of an advertisement in the 1954 Tyner High School yearbook called "The Tally-Ho."
Ms. Picklesimer recalls that the Coca-Cola Bottling Company bought the advertisement on the condition that the seven members of the yearbook staff would be pictured drinking Cokes.
She said a classmate, Gail Poe, called her yesterday morning with the news, "We're in the paper!"
"It was a big surprise," Ms. Picklesimer said. "Didn't we look clean and polished - all dressed up?"
Interestingly, all the people in the photo are still alive, says Ms. Picklesimer.
Louise Moore Picklesimer / Photo provided by the family Ms. Picklesimer explained in her email:
"The photo was snapped in 1953, and was published in the 1954 edition of The Tally-Ho, of which I was the editor. The wonder of this article being published at this time when we are all 83 or 84 years old, is that we are all still above ground and kicking, albeit some higher than others!
"The lineup (left to right) is: Eugene Trotter, Esq., Gail Williams Poe, Patsy Davenport Lemmons, Burlee Lackey Malone, Louise Moore Picklesimer, Margie Hatfield Harris, and Ernest Bacon.
"Most of us still live relatively close to home. Gene Trotter retired in Ellijay, Ga.; Gail Poe lives in Ringgold; Patsy Lemmons in Nashville; Burlee Malone, Chattanooga; Louise Picklesimer, Harrison, Tenn.; Margie Harris, Bedford, Texas; and Ernest Bacon is Alderman at Large in Franklin, Tenn.
"Thanks for the memories! Those were the days when school subjects were relevant, teachers were respected and discipline reigned. We graduated with skills that enabled us to earn a living or go on to higher education without needing remedial classes!"
Thank you, Ms. Picklesimer. What a great way to kick off the new feature.