Rowland Rawls, Vo Ag teacher. Taught me how to weld, wire a house, use a framing square, Robert's Rules of Order and to treat people with respect. He was not tall in physical stature, but was a giant in dealing with high school aged young men. I think of him most days in dealing with the [bleep] that are purchasing agents, he would have been quietly sarcastic as he ushered them out of his classroom...
I '69 he bought a Volkswagen Beetle, and told us how impressed he was of the mileage. As young pranksters will do, we started by adding a cup of gas to his tank, and then as the weeks went on it got bigger in the deceit. He was keeping a chart and was at one point getting 100mpg+. Then we cut back on the adage, till it was none. Might even have pilfered a few drops till he was scratching his head and taking it back to Memphis where the dealership was.
Then one Monday he found it placed in the crotch of the mimosa tree just outside the outback classroom/shop we had.
We formed a scholarship in his honor, he was a hell of a man.
