I've been home for a week and I'm still basking in the glow of our 50 year high school reunion. It was a blessing to see so many friends from my years in elementary school, junior high, and high school. I grew up in McAlester, a small town in southeastern Oklahoma. There were 290 of us in our graduating class. The memorial slide show honored 90 classmates who have died. That's way too many of us.
I know that coming to a reunion is hard for some in our class. I talked long and hard to one particular classmate to convince her to join us. I appreciate each and every person who came, even though I didn't get to say hello to everyone. I'm grateful for all the photos that have been shared on Facebook. Now if only I could remember the names of each and every person.
We were fortunate to have a hard-working committee relentlessly tracking folks down, planning a wonderful weekend, and creating beautiful spaces for our celebrations. Here are a few pics from our delightful gathering with some of the folks who are part of my stories and memories.
Dortha was my first friend when I moved to
McAlester the summer before 2nd grade.
We lived on the same street.
Dortha pointed out that our old house was torn
down sometime in the past few years.
That's why it's good to have old friends in your hometown.
We only lived on "D" street for a year or so
and then moved to Tyler steet, just two blocks from Dortha.
Friends from our elementary school, William Gay:
Donny, Elaine M, Dawn, me, Freddie, Elaine J. and Laura.
Dortha, Bucky, Steve, Charlie & Carol (did I miss anyone?),
we wish you were in the picture too! Some of you had already
left Pete's Place when we called for the William Gay pic.
I sat by Elaine in typing in 9th grade. We were
always competitive and I could hear
her return the carriage before I reached
the end of the line. It always slowed me
down even more!
Dawn, another friend from William
Gay, was my freshman roommate
at Oklahoma State University.
I met Susan and Jan in junior high and we
formed the OMS (Old Maid Society) in
high school. All of us eventually married!
Lunch with family and friends at
Compass restaurant in the old Hunt's
Department Store building.
How does Bucky manage to show
up in so many places?
The Okla Theatre, as we knew it,
in the photo behind the camera.
Love that my niece, Kara, another
MHS alum, and her mom Kathy joined
me for the weekend from TX and Stillwater.
Three cousins: Carol, me, & Rhonda with classmate, Kim
(he goes by Nolan now). We grew up attending church together.
Classmate Laura has written her first novel, the Hyperion Network.
I still think we should have all read it before the reunion and
enjoyed a book club discussion with the author.
Three cousins at church on Sunday morning:
George, who graduated from Crowder High School,
made the drive from Pauls Valley to join me and Carol.
On Monday morning, Jan and I drove by the empty lot on Carl Albert Parkway
where the old library used to be. I loved the stairs leading up to it.
Dortha and I used to walk there several times a week during the summer
with a stop by Rexall Drugstore for ice cream cones on the way home.
I insisted on a pic with the buffaloes scattered about town.
Jan, my BFF, always ready
for the goofy moment (even after 50 years)!
Sunset captured from the plane in Charlotte
on my way home to Greensboro, NC on Tuesday.
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