Class Reunions

[chet]

Ron, were you a Hilltopper or a Redskin.    

[Sedgehammer]

Besides sports , I hated high school . I saw it as such a huge waste of time . my senior year i missed 128 days of school . I had a note from my dad to the school that I had permission to come to school when i came and leave school when i wanted too , as he wasn't writing any more 'excuse' notes . The kids had to park in the school parking lot at the back of the school and couldn't take their car out of the parking lot until school was done . Since I had to leave for farm related reasons (most of the time) , I was leaving the school parking lot during school hours and coming back . The principle read me the riot act and was going to have the police take my keys when i arrived and not give them back until school was done if i left the school parking lot again . I calmly told him if it was such a problem , i'd just park on the street in front of his office . His face got so red , didn't figure a face could get so red . after that he never said a thing 


I felt mostly what was taught was just more detail over what we were taught in the lower grades . i found school fairly easy , so it was boring . Out of a class of 92 i graduated 88th . plus we had a dairy farm and up @ 5 before school and chores after school , so no time for homework . i had to finish it all at school . My daily work suffered , but my test scores were usually very high . I kept getting 'you're not working up to your potential' bs (when I joined the military my asfab test was one of the highest in the country at that time) 


since I was a farm kid , i didn't really fit in at school . There were the 'jocks' , while i did very well in sports , i never really fit in , as i couldn't hangout with them after school etc , plus they were into not treating the high school girls with respect , so i was always at odds with them over that . Then there was the farm kids . here too i didn't fit in , we had one of the highest producing farms in the country , so i don't know if it was jealously or what , but just didn't click . Then there were the 'nerds' , my best friend in HS was in this category , but after he started college , never really heard from him again 

[WV Sawmiller]

   One thing I had forgotten was one of our classmates commented about how a bunch of us used to hunt before and after school and our guns would be in the gun racks in the back window of our trucks and another said "Yeah, and nobody ever locked their car doors."

   I remember picking up a couple of new hire teachers (Freshly graduated from UWF and probably 21-22 y/o) who drove/car pooled from Pensacola every day. They had a flat tire and I took them to the neighborhood garage and he found and mounted them an old used tire to get them home. I don't remember if he charged them or not. They were a pretty forlorn looking bunch when I first pulled up as they did not know anybody except their students in the community. I was on my way to afternoon duck shooting and I am not sure they were reassured to see me stop with Dad's old double barrel Parker beside me. They were pretty liberal for our part of the country.

[doc henderson]

I have gone to most.  I usually know some of my close friends will be there and get reacquainted with others.  It works well as our small town of Concordia, Ks, has a fall fest and all the classes have a reunion every five years, that weekend.  makes it harder to find a spot to get together.  we ride in the parade and can see others from nearby classes as some come home every year for the weekend.  Can see a game, tour the High School to see what is new.  We are losing more and more each year.  class of 78.  usually, a little drama and most folks are the same person on the inside.

[doc henderson]

I did a little bit of everything in HS.  3 sports a year, band and choir.  part time jobs.  scouts.  I was officially in 9 clubs my freshman year.  As seniors, most of my buddies were friends with or dating a few sophomores, and we are still close between the years.  My best friend Greg and I are still close.  We had a group of about 6 of us that hung out, and we are planning a get together in Aug. in Colorado.  Out next reunion is next September.  Class of 220 and the largest ever in CHS history.  I go to my wifes and she goes to mine.  At the last one, a former homecoming queen must have referred to her spouse as her "X-husband" 2 dozen times.  I found my stride in college.

[gspren]

I thought I typed in a reply this morning but since I don't see it  >:( I'll try again. My class of 1969 quit having reunions 30+ years ago due to poor attendance, they were formal affairs with the guys wearing suits, that's not for me, if they restart with a more casual get-together I'll go. I do like my Navy ships reunion, USS O'Brien DD725, I was a teenager on the last cruise she made to Vietnam and she was decommissioned in Feb 1972, 50 years ago. Other than 2 years halted due to covid we meet every year in different spots all over the country. It's mostly enlisted guys but when one of the officers shows up they are now just one of the gang, works well.

[beenthere]

gspren
Organize a reunion for your class. Likely others didn't like the formality either. 

[pigman]

I attended my 50th class HS reunion in 2013. With a class of 60, about 30 came. We had already lost 15 members. After a meal, the speeches started, first by the class "leaders" and then by the two teachers that came. When the long talks finally ended, we had a short period where we were able to mill around and meet people we hadn't seen in 50 years. Our school was intergraded and  100 percent of the black students came to the reunion, Shirley. She asked if I remembered her and I replied yes, since  she was unique in our class. She laughed and said I suppose I did stand out.  We then got together for a group picture. By then it was  getting late and I had to get home to check on my very sick wife.  We had a 55th reunion planed by my current wife and a couple of other non class leaders and we all had a ball.  One of our members had a small singing group and sang a few old songs, we had a couple shorts skits with people acting the parts of our old teachers. We had plenty of time to meet and discuss our lives. Our HS was about even divided between country and small town kids. Everyone seemed to get along for the most part.

[doc henderson]

My dad was born in 1935.  his catholic school had one black student in 30 total.  They all got along.  and my dad had handwritten letters that this gentleman wrote almost every year after the reunions.  my dad and mom kept them.  he would summarize and talk about how good it was to see everyone.  there are many who never come.  I wish they knew how people they may have never thought gave a hoot, ask around about how they are doing.  

[aigheadish]

I was the perpetual new kid in all school, but more so in high school, we moved around a lot, mostly in Cincinnati, but all over the place. I ended up going to 4 different high schools in my freshman and sophomore years, it was rough and I was shy and weird, so I didn't make friends easily. 

I graduated from Lebanon High School (same school as Woody Harrelson) in 1995 and I've never heard a thing from them regarding any reunions and I haven't missed any really either. I ended up with one friend who stayed a friend for several years after school but then he got burnt out on some drugs so we faded away from each other.

It'd be interesting to see some of the folks from those times but I was another one that really did not like school and I was the kind that just squeaked by. Even though I'm not hugely successful I do have it made with a beautiful life. It'd be neat to see who else did the same, though I doubt I'd remember many names. 

[Al_Smith]

I think some of it is just the nature of people .Some prefer a tight circle and some are friendly to all  .Of course you have the country club set but can't afford a hamburger sandwich. 
A couple times each year a small group of Georgia's HS buds come over and sit around the fire ring .Sip wine or iced tea and roast hot dogs just like they were teen agers while being very classy grand mothers .Of whom I might add were kind of hoity toits some decades back .This is not the mid 60's any more .
Now of course as being a cohost in these events it's my duty to entertain them with stories of my antics from when I wore a younger mans clothes .It' a lot of fun being the class clown once again  8)

[Dan W]

Was in the top ten of 1953 NMHS graduating class!!!!
Question: How many in your class?
Answer: Nine😏

[SawyerTed]

My dad was an itinerant preacher -aka Methodist minister.  We moved between my 8th grade and freshman year.  I was new at the high school. Seemed like everyone else grew up together.  I was also the second youngest person in our class.  So on a lot of counts I was sort of on the fringe.  

Some how I got hooked up with the Civil Air Patrol.  I have had way more lasting memories from that than high school, except for the girls, I clearly remember the girls.  Seems like they remember me too.   8)

My "glory days" weren't high school at least not as a student, maybe when I was teaching high school.  

[Ron Scott]

Ron, were you a Hilltopper or a Redskin.    

A Redskin! The Hilltoppers were our rivals!

[justallan1]

Although I graduated early with a GED, I have bunches of friends on FB that I grew up with and get invited to the reunions every time, but haven't made it yet because of my job and needing to be here. They generally have it at fair time for that county, then kind of take over every bar in town.
It's nice that the cliques during HS have seemed to disappeared and we're all just enjoying life the best we can. I will say that I'm amazed that I have as many "friends" from school that remember me at all, as I was never there.
I may go to one someday, but can't guarantee it. 8)

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeah, I hope you make it and have a great time. I like the idea of the multi-class school reunion too because we all had friends in the grades ahead of and behind us too. Heck, after 50+ years the ones 5-10 years different now have lots in common with us.

 We made it back home this afternoon just in time to get to the bank before it closed and to the court house for the last day of early voting. Stopped at a Flea Market with a big farmers market on Hwy 421 near Exit 73 off I-77 in NC and made a real haul from the Amigo running the place. He was stocking for tomorrow and Sunday but happy to make a sale. Now just to get the grass mowed and catch up on some sawing work and hope the next reunion works out well too.