by Harry Hall

This feature is a continuation of the Front of the Pack article on Tom Mayfield in the September 2001 issue of Runner Triathlete News. To get the "rest of the story" on Tom Mayfield, please read the Front of the Pack article in that issue.

Tom Mayfield's (pictured) first job out of high school in 1957 was to stand guard at Little Rock's Central High School as nine black students became the first ones to integrate in Arkansas' public school system.

"President Eisenhower federalized all of us," says Mayfield, who was one of about 200 who stood guard the entire school year, "we were called in to replace Kentucky's 101st Airborne.

He says initial tension died out after about two weeks, but some students were harassed in the school. The guards stayed watch at the school constantly, and watched for bombs and other violent actions at night. In the end however, nothing serious happened.

"It was all for show than anything else," he says.