Jerry Davis
I moved to DeRidder half way through first grade in January 1969 from Norfolk, VA. I was scared and very shy and very alone. I didn't know anyone. My parents dropped me off at the old DeRidder Highschool which served as the 1st and 2nd grade building back then. I couldn't remember where my classroom was and I ended up wandering around the entrance near the school bus lanes. The first person I met, lost and in a panic, was Horace. He was a year older than me and if you remember what it was like in grade school a year seemed to you to be an enormous gulf. If you ever met Horace, you never forgot him. I sure didn't, and I'm 58. Everything about Horace was unique. He helped me find my classroom. I was frightened of him back then, but I was grateful that he helped me find my place. After all these years I have never forgotten that story and I've never forgotten his name. I've even told my three children this story. Be kind to others the way Horace was. You never know how important some small kindness will be or how long the memory will last. Horace Calcote was a good man.