Con. 8 Reunion: 2003

Saturday July 5, 2003 at the Roosevelt Sr. Citizens Center

The official beginning time for the 2003 Reunion was 4 pm Saturday, but a great deal of visiting occurred earlier in the day and during the days before, as various residents of former years collected here and there in Kiowa County. And by four Saturday the action at the Roosevelt Senior Center was well underway.

Earlier in the day, Willie Jackson got signs up outside and made sure the Center was all ready for us. Then the Committee for the 2003 reunion, Sylvia (Brewer) Terry, Ruth Ann (Dickson) Rounds and their volunteer helpers did the arrangements inside, including pleasing and appropriate decorations that will show in some of the photographs.

From well before 4:00, they were at the greeting table handing out name tags they had prepared and collecting some contact information from the attendees. A list based on this information was reproduced in a story from the Kiowa County Hobart paper.

About 5:30, a very fine buffet was set out by Roy’s Barbecue of Hobart, with an attractive and tasty choice of entrees and side dishes enjoyed by about 70 people. My impression is that the food was so much appreciated, that the exchange of news and views was actually slowed down by the temptation of the food. After the dinner we had a musical interlude conducted by Tom Avants (Con. 8 Teacher 1953-1956) who sang with sing-along participation from the audience.

Then the introduction of the members of each class represented at the 2003 reunion was made. See the photo album below.

The 2005 Reunion Committee

In a short business session, Lajuan (Nichols) Norvelle, spouse Jim Norvelle and Rita (Smith) Walker agreed to serve as the Organizational Committee for the next reunion, the Third Saturday in September, 2005.

Outside in the Heat

Spouses of the members of the a Con. 8 Reunion Committee by a long tradition are often among the volunteer helpers especially so when they also are Con. 8 graduates.

Here is Sylvia’s husband William Terry who looks as if he is just completing a last minute assignment. The density of cars parked indicate the that already, quite a number of people have arrived.

Inside the Cool Comfort of the Center

Sylvia at the greeting station. Here, Co-Chair Ruth Ann attending to some name tags is out of the picture. The table decorations as you can see are all done now.

Like spouses, siblings of reunion committee members are also traditionally volunteer helpers as exemplified by Ruth Ann’s brothers Eldon and Norris Dickson assisting Charlena (Dempsey) Mask with a balky name tag.

Ted Blish, on the right, in his role as unofficial photographer in 2001 was always behind the camera. To avoid a repeat, he was put in front here. On the left are Betty and Don Steel. Don and Ted were classmates at Koonkazachey before they were at Con. 8.

Our photographer seems to be getting the real story from Ron Reece and Maggie (Barns) Walker.

During dinner it appears all our “staff” put their cameras aside. Afterwards, however, we did catch Tom Avants on stage during the musical interlude. Tom taught at Con. 8 1953-1956. He and wife Doris have maintained close ties with Con. 8 ever since.

And in the appreciative audience are Willie Jackson, wife Norene, and then Carol (Hawkins) Cooper and Sylvia. Carol is a Con. 8 girl that grew up after the school disbanded. Her Uncle was Ralph Hawkins a member of the class of 1934.

The high school graduation collages so nicely displayed at the Senior Center are always of much interest to the reunion group and all during the year to many visitors there. The viewers here are not identified. The gentleman on the right is looking at a new addition: a collage for the class of 1934. One was not made in 1934, originally, but Carol Cooper has had one composed from old photos and made a gift of it to the Con. 8 reunion in memory of her Uncle Ralph (d. 2003).

In trying to fill in Con. 8 history by conversations of those who lived in other districts, one hears many remarks about the competitive Con. 8 basketball teams they played against. A fan of one neighboring school remarked that those Con. 8 boys and girls teams always had at least one each by name of “Jackson, Curtis, McClure and Dempsey”. We lost our detailed statistics but it looks as if McClure has the most in a single picture.

Here are six McClures. Four are the children of Herman and Clara McClure, and two of Carl and Blanche McClure. There were actually seven at the Reunion, Dwight class of 1952 missed this photo op.

A final impromptu presentation was made by the members of the Class of 1953, who were celebrating their 50th anniversary of their Con. 8 graduation. At that time they gave a spirited rendition of their uplifting Class Song. We have not yet been authorized to disclose the title or even the words of the refrain line. Contact members of the class for further information. They are identified by name in their formal class introduction picture.

The Group is using Tom Avant’s sound system. Did Tom have his tape recorder on? The audio might be an instant “hit”.