|
30 Year Reunion Memories AHS Class of 1974 |
|
"We May Never Pass This Way Again" was the class song for the
Atlanta High class of 1974, but they did -- 30 years later at the class
reunion June 12 at Mattie Lanier Richey CommunityCenter. About 85
attended the evening festivities, including 49 classmates, said reunion
organizer Steven Smith. The class of '74 had about 175 graduates. The
reunion committee also included Keith Crow, Linda Bickham Smith, Jeri
Mason Steger, Karen Heath Tromza, Margaret Miller Fitts, Leigh Walker
Stanley, Judy Waldon Lanier, and Belinda Law Pettit.
The reunion day began with an informal picnic at the sports complex, then alumni gathered that evening for dinner and music by classmate Cathey Cannon Foreman of Bryan, who has a classic rock band with her husband, Bryan. During the program, Smith and Crow presented a dialogue of events for the class's years together. About 40 classmates started first grade together and completed all 12 years in Atlanta. Smith and Crow recalled the time one classmember lost her skirt in elementary school when it got hung on the playground swings after she jumped out, bus trips to football games, pep rallies, being the first class to complete four years in the then-new high school, band competitions, the boys' basketball team going to state in their senior year, and a few pranks, including the time some girls in home economics spiced up a casserole with dish detergent and sent it to the office to be sampled. Awards were given for a variety of "accomplishments" -- such as "best preserved" to Linda Bickham Smith and Chuck Partain, most gray hair to Pam Green Coats and Keith Crow, |
most children to DennisStarling, longest married to Cheryl
Rounsavall King, and most changed to Belinda Law Pettit and Jerry D. Wall, among
other awards. Some classmember faces in the crowd that evening: Joe and Pam
Thompson of Atlanta, Jim Collom of Clinton, Ark., Luanne Kennedy Bishop of Queen
City, Cyndy Vaughan Chamblee of Atlanta, Kenn Hogue of Atlanta, Terry Beck Knapp
of Duncanville, Leonard Mathews of Bivins, Lee Thompson Mays of Atlanta, Gwin
White Robinson of Austin, Alisa Stingley of Shreveport, La., Charles Scales Jr. of
Queen City, Lisa Parks Sloterdijk of Pasadena, and Linda Flory McCalla of Georgetown. In the past 30 years, class members have succeeded in a variety of careers: interior designer, school teachers and administrators, office manager, news reporter, business leaders, nurses, truck dealers, and entrepreneurs. Steven Smith said, "I do feel it is important that we gather together for reunions as many of us began this trek in life together, were raised with many of the same values and in life we have experienced many of the same experiences." He said many of these friendships formed at such an early age are "friendships you can count on for life." He added, "As time has passed many things and people have changed but at the same time many things have not changed. Generally we find that most classmates have mellowed over the years and have turned out to be pretty good folk." |
|