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Harry and Carol do it.
Carol and Tracy do it.
Marilyn F. does it.
Mr. and Mrs. Hawkeye do it.
Ferdy does it.
Bomargirl does it.
Tools does it.
Mommanurse does it.
Cissy does it, and by using it just reconnected with several old classmates.
Rita does it too, as does brother Mike.
I wrote in this post how I got back in touch with Bob P., and via him and others hope to find other schoolmates and friends.
Let me re-emphasize...
Don't be frightened to "stick your toe in".
Facebook is wonderful, and it makes "reaching out" to find old associates easy and fun.
Take a look. Try it.
I bet you'll be glad you did.

Vandy's Kids-Class of '71

Last Friday night I was sitting at Buca di Beppo's with 21 other "girls". I haven't seen them in 38+ years. Two were fellow classmates. The rest were from the classes of '72 through '75.

Wow...

I really didn't have the time to go, but I wasn't going to miss this for the world. My son, Mom, and I were leaving for Nashville, TN at 5:30 the next morning. I didn't care--I had to see these old friends. I packed my senior yearbook into the car that morning before I left for work. Leaving from Crane cut off about 20 minutes driving time. I arrived a couple of minutes after the 6:00pm meeting time. There were only two girls there, and I didn't recognize either one of them. That's ok...they didn't recognize me either. But we had a common thread. We were graduates of Center Grove.

Before long, the huge round table was filled with 22 chattering women, all anxious to catch up on the lives of each other. We each took a turn standing, introducing ourselves, and giving a short synopsis of our lives since Center Grove. One had a Phd, one worked at Center Grove, some were retired. I wish I'd written in all down.

Later I asked everyone to go around again, stating the most unusual thing they'd done since graduation. I started, telling the group that I had ridden a camel in the Thar Desert in India. The next two, including the one with the Phd, were "Harley" girls. One of my classmates had ridden in the Goodyear blimp. Another girl was on the verge of producing a children's TV show when 9/11 hit and the plans went south.

Most of us had decided on dessert and coffee, when the waitress brought in a gorgeous cake she said was delivered by a man who requested it be sent to our table. The cake read, "Center Grove Sweeties". We all thought it was the husband of one of the '72 graduates; later we found out that it was a member of the class of '71, and he was "lurking" around to see the reactions. Thanks, Tom!

After cake and coffee, there was an open invitation to Janet's house...but I really needed to get on the road and head back to Loogootee. I think most of them went, and I heard it broke up at 1am. That's almost a slumber party!

Saturday I'm meeting up with my best friend Brenda, and maybe even her folks. I haven't seen her in probably 20-25 years. I can't believe time can go by that quickly. Gosh...I can't wait. I think this is what we both need--a reconnection with the past, and the tearing down of an imaginary wall between us. This blog inspired me to step out and make the effort to find my old friend and my other classmates. Mr. V would be proud to know he was still making a difference in his students' lives.

Above is my class photo from fifth grade--Mr. Stewart's class. My best friend is sitting next to the window behind the tall kid in the plaid shirt. We weren't friends that year, but by 7th grade we were inseparable. If I remember right, this was taken in November. There was snow on the ground. The year was 1963, so this was taken right about the time Kennedy was assassinated...

...46 years ago? Is that really possible?

"Cissy"

Telstar!

When this tune first hit the airwaves, Tools called excitedly and asked, "Have you heard it?"
...Satellites bein' launched, and the first music being augmented by synthesizers.
We had front-row seats to history, folks. Later generations take this stuff for granted.

It's Friday forum time.
Do you have news "for'em"?

Frankly Scarlet...

My Dad and I had been down to St. Petersburg, Florida to attend a cousin's 50th wedding anniversary celebration and were on our way back home. When I'm not in a huge rush I like to drive different routes from point A to B in hopes of seeing something out of the ordinary.
Not far from Harry and Carol's house I looked at the map and decided to get off the Interestate and take the most direct "blue highway" route back home. That decision lead us to the bridge between Georgetown, Georgia and Eufaula, Alabama, about midway across the "Walter F. George" reservoir, AKA "Lake Eufaula".
We turned North on highway 431 and almost immediately I was sorry
I was driving and couldn't take my eyes off the road more. On my left, overlooking the lake, were some of the most beautiful old homes I had ever seen. One after another, they were breathtaking. I made a mental note to pass back through one day with Sara Jean in tow so she could see them. (And the day that happened it was pouring down rain, so she couldn't enjoy the view and I was once again disappointed.)

Eufaula, Alabama has an interesting history that you can read here, including the fact that Eufaula is home to the largest "state of the art condom production factory in the United States"! (I wonder if they give tours?)
In April every year they hold an event called "The Eufaula Pilgrimage" where you can tour these beautiful anti-bellum homes. (At that link you can see that Southern Belles also dress in Civil War era costumes for the celebration... neat!)

So we've begun planning on another VK mini next April, and you have plenty of warning to start juggling your schedule around to attend. H&C are beginning to look at rental homes to accomodate us, and many of these are located on water with an available pontoon boat so we could cruise or fish as desired. We obviously cannot make firm plans about housing until we have a fairly solid number of how many would like to attend, but one unit we already looked at will sleep 14 and would cost $140 per night which, seems to me, would make staying at Eufaula cheaper than staying home! (And this cost included access to a pontoon boat, didn't it Harry?)

So if you have an interest in viewing these old Southern homes, or if you love to fish, or if you just want a chance to meet and greet old/new friends once again, we'd like to begin to get a feel for how much interest we'd have in a "Gone With The Wind" mini.
Think you'd be interested?

Once again, Friday befalls us,
so let your comments fall on willing ears!

CG celebrating 125 Years

Tonight was the homecoming game at CG playing against Ben Davis. CG kicked their butts.

They had a full front page write up last week in the Daily Journal.

This is one of the pictures that was on the front page.

This is some of the article:

At Center Grove High School, a four-room schoolhouse has become a 2,000-student building. And the barn for students' horses has been replaced by acres of parking lots. The original school nickname, Swedes, has become the Trojans. Among all the changes, though, a spirit of community and pride has remained. Those qualities will be on display all year long, as generations of Center Grove students mark the 125th anniversary of the high school. "You need to know where you came from. You need to know why things were the way they were before you can know where you are," said Meresa Girdley, a 1975 Center Grove graduate.

The first year of high school classes in White River Township came in 1884, in a two-story building that had four rooms. Dubbed Center Grove, the school was named due to its location in the center of the township amid a stand of trees. When the first class graduated in 1888, four students received diplomas. More than 500 graduated in May.

DID YOU KNOW?

• In 1915, teachers could not be married or dress in bright colors. They had to sweep their classroom at least once daily and start a fire for warmth by 7 a.m.

• The school nickname during the 1930s was the Swedes, a nod to the heritage of the boys basketball coach, Swede Chambers. After Chambers left the school in 1938, the student council voted to name themselves the Trojans.

• Men in the early 1940s were granted diplomas as soon as they turned 18 so they could enlist in the military if they chose.

• The first graduating class of Center Grove High School, in 1888, consisted of four students: Edgar Shufflebarger, Paschal Earl Dorrell, Harvey Harrell and George Ballard.

SOURCE: "Center Grove: Unveiling the Past."

Forty-Four Years?

Yeah... Summer of 1965.
Look at those young faces!
Got thoughts to share?
Please do.