Before the Homecoming
Reunion I asked NANCY to be sure to let me know how it went, who was there or
who was missing. I really didn’t expect her to send me much, as I know she was
planning to spend a good part of the time with hubby Jake’s Class of ‘54. I was
delighted to get the following in the mail yesterday, with a promise to send me
the class photo that was taken so I could publish it on the blog as well. If
any of you took photos that you could send me via email, I would love to post
them for all to see.
Class
President JAMES HAYS called the meeting to order. Observers NANCY THOMPSON BAKER
and PEGGY VIRDEN SHARP (troublemakers) should have been told to keep quiet! (By
the way, several of the guys have really put
on weight – just an opinion!) The
topic of the meeting was to come up with a plan for a big blowout in two years
for our 60th reunion.
We
were all having a good, comfortable time at the House of Grace, hosted by
RODNEY FLANAGAN and his wife Carolyn, where the price is right, there are
plenty of bathrooms, wheelchair access, and air conditioning. Treasurer RODNEY
offered his home place three miles out in the country. He also said that no one
would want to drive from Colorado for a one day affair. (GENE?) DON SIMMONS never stated his opinion. The girls – worker ants,
and planning committee – PATSY BERRY BOMAR, VIRGINIA HARRAL EGAN, DORIS STOKES
WHITE, PEGGY VIRDEN SHARP, JERLINE PIEL STEEL, the AMARINE twins, and ANN KEELE
ELLIS (and maybe more that I cannot remember) will all work on the food.
President JAMES HAYS read off a list of the deceased members of the class, the most recent ones first, and after looking through the annuals, the list became quite extensive. Hoping in two years, there are at least a dozen of us left to attend!
All
in all, the women are quite nice looking still, even if some of it is due to
makeup covering up the scars of old age creeping up!
It
should be noted that a lot of the people do not have computers. Because no
mailers were sent for some of the activities, no one knew where to go at what
time. Therefore, in my opinion, the whole 5-year reunion was not as well
organized as previously done. New teachers, new crop of students do not
recognize those of us who have been around for 75 plus years. Tradition also
has been forgotten!
There
is too much walking to do at the big new high school (Junior High building
complex.) People were continually turning off their hearing aids as the noise
level was terrible. The most frequently spoken words were “what?” and “huh?”
They
need less parking lots, more automatic sidewalks at BHS, or better access to
medical assistance! There was actually one person in attendance from the Class
of 1942. I saw a couple of people over age 90 – still able to walk unaided!
Some
mention of enjoying the Class Blog was acknowledged. Some of the ones missing
from this reunion were named, i.e., JUNE HASH CURRY, DOROTHY BISHOP ROGERS,
MARTHA NORTHINGTON, PATI COCKRELL PRITCHARD, BARBARA SHARPES BROOKS, SHEILA
GREGORY DANKWORTH, JERRY EOFF, MIKE FOY, GLENN SMITH, PAT SMITH MULLINS, WALTER
THOMAS, ROSALYN URBANTKE HOELSCHER, MACK
WOOD, and RUTH ANN HENNIGER WOOD. (I’m
thinking NANCY forgot a few like JIMMY COWLISHAW, DENNY HILL, and PAUL MOTA.) Hoping
to see these people in two years!
A
few of the ones who were in attendance were RODNEY FLANAGAN, BOB BURTON, NEIL BROUSSARD, JAMES
HAYS, GENE ROUTH, JIMMY STUBBLEFIELD, DON SIMMONS, BILL KING, HAROLD HUDGENS, and
a woman nobody remembers came as well. Her name is Mildred Tabor. (Anyone out there have a clue?)
BOB
BURTON brought a few old photos, and we played “Who is this one?” for awhile.
And “Wonder where they are now?” DR. JAMES HAYS, our go-to for medical advice,
was told he needs to cut back on carbs as he is expanding in girth along with
the rest of us. As far as I know, no politics were discussed at the reunion.
When
our class picture was taken at the high school, there were not enough chairs
for the women so I stood up in front of HAROLD HUDGENS – the shortest in the
class in front of the tallest in the class!!
Although
Jake and I did not go to the ballgame, I understand the highlight was the
arrival of the Shannon MedVac Helicopter transporting Jim Slaughter (former
BHS football player and coach) and the game football! Thankfully, the
helicopter was not needed to transport any patients. Wonder who paid for the
helicopter? It cost $9,000 to $10,000 for transportation to Shannon Hospital
from Ballinger eight (8) years ago! (I
remember that cost as well!)…All of this was written between 2 and 4 am..
Good night all.. Nancy
***************************************************************
Editor: I’ve tried to put all of my comments in italics. I cannot believe NANCY wrote all of the above and more in longhand. She also included notes to me from some attending (a couple will tickle your funnybone). I’ll publish them in the next blog post. In the meantime, if any of you can, please forward photos for those of us who were unable to attend. Any other incidents of importance (or fun) that might have taken place when NANCY was absent that you wish to share, please feel free to let me know.
Marilyn
