Okay, some of you oldtimers will have to help me out here.  My mom was a bit like Lucy Ricardo; she always had something going on.  She was funny and goofy and liked to have a good time.

Sometimes my mom would lower her right hand as far as it would go while holding it straight by her side.  Then she would wave hello with her hand.  I always thought it was just one of the goofy things she did.

Later in life, I heard her call it the “low Sulphur Springs’ wave.”  Again, I thought it was my mom being silly.

A few years ago when Forrest Gregg was speaking at the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Banquet, he was telling stories about growing up in Sulphur Springs.  During one of his stories (I believe it was about some of my mom’s cousins (Grady Chapman and Knob Chapman) who played football with Forrest), he mentioned one of the cousins doing the “low Sulphur Springs’ wave” at him.  So maybe it was a well-known wave?

My mom graduated from Sulphur Springs High School in 1948. Forrest graduated in 1952.  Was this something they did back then?  If I had gone to SSHS would I have learned this wave back in the 80s?  Is it like a secret handshake?

Since Forrest and my mom were both from Birthright, maybe it was something folks from north of town did.

If you know about the low Sulphur Springs’ wave, please let me know.  Is this a historical activity we need to bring back?  What was its origin?  Does anyone still remember it?

If you see me on a street in town, please respond to my low Sulphur Springs wave with another!

Bonus Information:  I spoke with a cousin who is 93 years old.  She said she thought the low Sulphur Springs wave started with Knob Chapman (also a cousin) and his friends.  Knob was a big football star at Sulphur Springs High School.  She thinks they started it, and it caught on.  Who knew?