The Poplar Bluff High School Class of 1990 isn't remembered for winning football games. In fact, Brian Taylor said the Mules varsity team didn't win a game his sophomore year. He said one of his favorite memories is watching Dale Gaebler's mule run the track after the team scored touchdowns, but, unfortunately it didn't happen very often when he played.
Even Taylor's last football game for the Mules ended up a loss to the Cape Central Tigers in the 1989 district championship played on his home turf of Derland Moore Field (the Mules would go undefeated the next season).
Despite a losing record on the football field, "the Class of No Class of '90" had spirit and Taylor's Mule Pride is strong. So strong, since August he's spent the majority of his afternoons painting Fred M. Morrow Stadium. For the most part, he's done it all himself with a handheld paintbrush and countless gallons of paint.
"I used to walk the track last year and I got to talking to Coach (Jason) Lance and it kind of bothered us," Taylor said. "It was rusting at the top and I mean, if you played there, you have pride in what you played on. I didn't want to see it go down."
Taylor's son Gatlin plays on the junior high football team, which is why, Taylor said, he spends so much time checking out the paint, watching practice each afternoon. But this year, he decided to take action and impart a little of his own Class of '90 Mule Pride on Gatlin and his friends when he put in a call to Superintendent Scott Dill.
"Mr. Taylor approached me one evening and his exact words were 'If you can get me some paint, I have some guys,'" Dill said. "What I discovered after the fact was that Mr. Taylor's guys were Mr. Taylor."
Taylor insists he hasn't done it "completely by himself." He said Lance helps here and there, and he and his son spent Labor Day together painting while his wife, PBHS math teacher Melissa Taylor, swept.
"We'd talk about the history of the stadium while we were painting," Taylor said. "It was a good father-son thing. He understands the Poplar Bluff history so he'll probably keep doing this down the road."
Fred M. Morrow Stadium was built in 1936, Taylor pointed out, referencing the marbled plaques on the ground marking original press boxes along the track. The Daily American Republic, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, City of Poplar Bluff, American Legion Post 153, Knights of Columbus, and the Criterion Theatre are a few whose involvement with the Mules more than 80 years ago has been well-preserved.
"Not many schools have the history Poplar Bluff has," Taylor said. "You can walk along and see the press boxes were here in 1936. I mean, think of the pro players: Blaine Gabbert, Derland Moore, Eddie Moss, Brent Little. There's a lot of these guys that played in the NFL who played on this field. Literally it's history right before our eyes. Jackie Joyner-Kersee ran on that track. She has a record."
Taylor said his original mission to touch-up a few spots has grown into a full-fledged quest to paint it all.
"We were just touching up, but now it's turned into us painting the whole thing," he said. "We've done quite a bit. On Labor Day, I was painting the M at the end of the stadium and Gatlin was painting the railing. That was kind of a chore painting the M - I almost had a Clark Griswold moment when the ladder came down on me."
Taylor said while Gatlin did a lot of the press box, he climbed on its roof to paint the white beam and old flag poles.
"My wife was a little worried about me falling off of it, but I'd lay on my stomach while I painted" he said.
John Scott, president of the Class of '90 and the R-1 school board, has been friends with Taylor since kindergarten, he said, so he wasn't surprised one afternoon when he found his buddy drenched in sweat, his face and maroon T-shirt both covered with specs of paint.
"Brian has always been a doer," Scott said. "He doesn't just talk about doing things, he actually goes out and accomplishes them."
Scott said since they were little, Taylor has been a great team player and as an adult, he's consistently supported the school's athletic program through his involvement with the Booster Club.
"It's difficult for me to come up with things to say about Brian because we've been friends for so long. But after seeing him out there, he deserves more than a pat on the back. He's putting in an incredible amount of work out of his own dedication to the school. He's truly an asset to Poplar Bluff."
Taylor said even though "The plaster's still trying to fall off," he is happy that it's now all one color.
"Hopefully the stadium lasts another 80 years," he said. "But I mean, even if it starts to rust again in a few, at least it looks good for the kids now."
When asked where his Mule Pride came from, Taylor said it was instilled in him through examples set by a few of his hometown role models.
"There was Sam (Giambelluca), Mr. (Tom) Hoover, Coach (Paul) Webber, Coach (Jim) Brown, Coach (Mark) Barousse," he said. "I mean, Coach (Dave) Sievers has taken excellent care of the field for years. To me, it's the best grass field in the entire state."
Though Taylor didn't intend to receive recognition for his work, Scott and Dill agree it hasn't gone unnoticed.
"This is what makes our community a great place to live," Dill said. "Individuals who are willing to step up and accept responsibility for the solution. It's that initiative, that heart, and that love for the school district that makes this community so great. He is awesome."
As for "the Class of No Class of '90," coined by former assistant principal Howard Garrett, 27 years has made all the difference. Taylor said their carefree reputation inadvertantly created a wide-spread inside joke, as well as a common identity for the group to bond over.
"We were late bloomers," Scott added with a smile.
Many members of the Class of '90 are still in Poplar Bluff today and have helped the community make great strides. They've also passed on a bit of Mule Pride along the way.
Taylor is a financial advisor with Edward Jones and Scott is an attorney.
There is also Eric Schalk, Chairman of the Three Rivers College Board of Trustees, Martha (Kissinger) Kirkman, business and marketing instructor at TRC, Mindy (Redding) Garrett, special services director at Poplar Bluff R-1, Kim (Darlin) Glick, history teacher at PBHS, Larry Hafford, loan officer with Southern Bank, James Scobey, owner of Scobey Automotive, Michael Wiseman, financial advisor with Edward Jones, Rob Rowland, family dentist and former Poplar Bluff R-1 school board member, Jennifer Richardson, principal at Oak Grove Elementary, Jason and Julie (Norton) Smothers, owner of Sunset Pool, Spa and Metalcraft, Jennifer (Stiber) Rosener, director of Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Marcus Sowell, of Dowd Supply Co., Christine (Holrath) Vinson, administrative assistant at Poplar Bluff R-1, Eric Wilcoxon, insurance agent, Michelle (Boyers) Dugas, of Butler County In-Home Services, and many others who would make this list endlessly long. So, congratulations to Taylor and to the rest of Poplar Bluff High School's graduated class of 1990.