Our 40 Year
Reunion - August 2003
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Friday Night
Picnic |
I didn't take the time to snap any photos but here is
brief report on the event:
Our picnic and bonfire at the American Legion drew about
120 for beer, hot dogs, side dishes and toasted marshmallows. Dennis and Jean Peyton
Weathers made the arrangements and hosted the event. Tom and
Marlys Peck and other committee members brought the food and drink. Bob Trumbull
(husband of classmate Linda Stroup Trumbull) cooked over 200 dogs and Penny
(wife of Dennis) Hatt's cookies were a big hit. Bill Forbes moved a lot of
firewood. |
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Saturday Morning
Tour |
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We met in the west parking lot. Note that the entire end of the building
has been expanded to include an elevator and wider stairways.
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Here are some of us waiting for the tour. The class of '83 was also
taking a tour that morning. We were pleased when a few of them mistook
us for their classmates. |
Here is another group waiting outside the new west entrance.
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The tour group assembled outside the main entrance.
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Our guide was the superintendent of the general contractor. He told us of
all the changes that were made but that there was always an eye toward
keeping the original appearance.
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Almost all the classrooms are designed to be uniform. About the only
changes we noticed were the new windows and that the ceilings have been
dropped from 13 or 14 feet down to about ten.
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Withington Stadium now has artificial turf and the baseball diamond has
authentic Georgia red dirt.
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This is the hallway outside the Shakespeare Room. We knew it as Miss
Pitts' classroom. The woman at left is the new principal. She was in the
class of '70.
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The room has been restored to its 1926 grandeur, except for the stained
glass windows. They will be seeking separate funds to rebuild them.
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Four members of our tour group were in Miss Pitts' homeroom.
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The Latin Room was also restored. Miss Chambers was the teacher. She was
on the original staff of the school in 1926 (Dedication
Booklet). According to her memory, Nancy was her only student that
went on to be a Latin teacher.
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This view is from the library looking toward the area that was the study
hall. The two rooms were combined as part of the renovation. We learned
that the library's fireplace is still operational but the fire marshal
says open flames are allowed only in the science labs.
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Some elements of this display even predate our time at JHS.
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It seemed like just the other day we were using these stairs to get to our
next class.
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The Viking statue is still on guard outside the auditorium.
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The auditorium now seats only about 1400 (down from 1800) because of the
installation of new seats (wider with rows farther apart) and room for an
orchestra. The audio-visual equipment is state-of-the-art.
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Mike Miller, a recent graduate, has created some murals that display an
uncanny mastery of painting. Our guide predicted we will be hearing more
about him in the future.
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The new Science Wing was named in honor of Mr. Holman
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This is one of the new science rooms. An interesting safety feature is a
"panic button" the teacher can use to shut off all the gas and
electricity.
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This is a view from the cafeteria into what was once the girls' gym. As a
part of the expansion, they left the wood floor (great for dances), built
an enclosed loggia (at right) and opened up the old girls' locker room
(far end) into more seating they call "The Bistro."
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The old gymnasium sure looks familiar.
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Here's the old swimming pool. It had been closed since 1970 but now has
been renovated into a weight and exercise room. We didn't make it to the
new pool.
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Finally, we arrived in the new gymnasium. The seats retract into the wall
at each end (note the Vikings name) to make lots of floor space. When the
seats are extended, the venue can seat more basketball fans than any place
in the county.
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Saturday
Afternoon Golf Outing
Twenty of us participated in a nine-hole golf outing between the tour and
the Main Event
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Saturday
Night - The Main Event
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Our theme was "Jackson as we knew
it" so the decorations were consistent with our high school days. The
Cascades and the Viking statue are still around...
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...while the Regent Cafe and L. H. Field store
are not.
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On the panels at right, photos from our
yearbook have been marked with stickers to indicate participation in
reunions since the 20 year edition.
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Some pre-dinner reminiscing
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Almost two dozen marriages came out of our
class. Here are two of them.
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Three moms came out to the dinner. Here is one
of them
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The Gene Davis & Sons Banquet Center
provided a very nice buffet.
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The only time the room was even close to quiet
was when everyone first had their meals.
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The same fire marshal that prohibited use of
the fireplace in the school library also asked us not to put an
appropriate number of candles on our cake.
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As part of a surprise visit by
"Norma Jean, " she honored the lucky classmate who won both
50-50 raffles at the Friday night picnic.
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Our classmates have a wide range of talents.
One is professional disc jockey. He and his wife treated us to familiar
sounds that rekindled fond memories.
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We had a bubble-gum blowing contest.
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We found that at that least two classmates
have not lost their touch with hula hoops.
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While many of us may no longer be able to
sprint of jog, we found that we can still "stroll."
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Our party was so much fun that it was crashed
by members of a wedding reception next door. Can you spot the crashers?
Hint: they aren't wearing nametags.
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As the party wrapped up and the hula hoops
were being retired, a few of the more musically proficient classmates
joined to sing the "JHS Alma Mater."
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Here are examples of the nametags and a copy
of the booklet provided to each attendee on Saturday night. There are some
copies of the booklet left. They are available for $5.
Contact me if interested. |
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