About 200 Forty-niners and their spouses took advantage of a special opportunity April 17 to make a trip down memory lane inside the 73-year-old school.

     Near the school, I noticed that the neighborhoods that once boasted sparkling, majestic houses that people worked a lifetime to buy had changed to dark and dingy ruins.   Whole streets, whole sounds and sights and sensations, just seemed wrong.   Empty, boarded-up stores stood where we used to buy candy and pop.   Interstate highways crisscross the city on elevated lanes, their giant concrete columns reaching up from where once were whole neighborhoods and playgrounds.   Fifty years later, this part of Little Rock was like the dark side of the moon.

     Most grads said they were amazed at how some of the school's hallways had shrunk but some noted the massive, 2,000-seat auditorium and stage appeared larger than when they were students attending one of many assemblies, plays, boxing and wrestling matches or basketball games there.   In the old typing lab rooms, the typewriters that some recalled had been replaced by computers and monitors.   There still were many familiar sights and sounds though.   The principal's office evoked stern meetings with Jess Matthews or his assistant Harry Carter.   If you looked hard you could still find that twinkle in Opie's eyes as you glanced toward her old desk.

     After the visit, a class picture was made.   They are available through special purchase.   If you want one and didn't make an order, contact the photographer, Wayne Smith, (see Tiger for his number).   An 11 x 14 is $20; an 8 x 10 costs $12.

     Next, small groups braved gray skies and chilly winds to chat about long-ago memories of their stint at the school.   Some recalled the smoke-filled boys' bathrooms, others the antics of troublemakers and some their successes or failures with members of the opposite sex.

     Many also visited the LRHS Museum at a converted gas station at 14th Street and Park.   A series of photos, some by our classmate Will Counts, and words tell the story of the school's forced integration in 1957, an event that made headlines and history around the world.

     It was the best of times for most of the 1949 LRHS class, but the worst of times for students who belonged to fraternities and sororities.

     The organizations were prohibited by the Little Rock School Board and any student who was a member of one of the "secret organizations" was not allowed to take part in any school activities.   No exceptions.

     "I could not read the Bible in home room," recalled Joanne Hamilton (Riddick), a sorority member.   "I couldn't receive a typing award I won on the stage with others.   Mine was mailed to me."

     One of the most punitive results of the rule, which later was upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court, was that students could have nothing listed under their senior picture in the PIX.   Many colleges at the time required even straight-A students to participate in some extra-circular activity to be admitted.

     Also, most classmates of the "outcasts" never knew if they were top scholars, award-winning writers, potential Nobel prize scientists or just great people.

     "I knew a lot of the class members by their activities, but I doubt that very many even knew my name," Riddick remembered.

     To offset this, the frat and sorority members hung out together and formed a closer relationship as a result.   They had their own parties and other social events and even participated in fund raising.

     Fraternity member George Nicks of Denver, who has been labeled by his peers as "an advertising genius," said there was a plot among the group at the graduation ceremony.

     "We were going to grab our diplomas without shaking the hand of the school superintendent (Harry Little)," George said.   "He must have heard about our plan because he wouldn't give us the diploma until we shook his hand."

     After graduation and over the years, many members of that tight-knit group found they had a strong love for the school that far outweighted their bad memories of the ostracism.   They are the core of the reunion organizers and planners.

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A History of Our Reunions

     The first reunion of the 49 class -- the 15th -- was in June 1964 at the Skyway Room of the Lafayette Hotel.

     Another 13 slipped by until the group met again in 1977 -- as part of LRHS' 50th anniversary, each class was assigned a room in the school to meet with former classmates.   Those who attended said another reunion should be held as soon as possible.

     Records from the first reunion were used as a foundation and a search for current addresses was started.

     In the summer of 1978 a small group met at the home of Hollis Conway Kennedy.   There, Hollis and Joanne Hamilton Riddick were named co-chairmen of the reunion committee.   "We have never figured out those job descriptions," Joanne said.

     Hollis handled the finances and planned and presented a hilarious program with a group called "Not Yet Ready for Prime-Time Players."

     Joanne ended up doing the typing of mailouts and a resume-style booklet.   She also handled reservations as they arrived.

     Maude Watkins Simmons did the decorations and that became her permanent position.

     Sonny Fulk and Al Blacklaw also have worked diligently on every reunion.

     Despite the enthusiasm generated by the 30th reunion in 1979, it was another ten years before the next one became reality.   Hollis and Joanne had requested replacements, but none came forward so they formed a committee of the whole and formed other committees with volunteers.

     The 40th reunion was a huge success.   There was a dinner dance at the Robinson Auditorium.   Again Hollis planned and directed the program.

     Then came the 45th.   It had no set program and about 160 people attended.   An added attraction was a Sunday brunch at the home of Tom Raney with Jean Ann Rosenbaum as caterer.

     There have been 250 to 325 persons at the major reunions.

     Phil Tackett and his wife, Freddie, have worked hard and long in the printing of material for every reunion, including a massive job for the 50th.

     Why does Joanne and the others do all this just for us?

     "Pride and love of Little Rock," Joanne says.   "Fun and fellowship planning the events.   But most of all it is seeing so many fellow classmates from afar who have really wanted to come back home and refill their cups."

     As for the others, they say they have loved getting together, planning, sending out mailings or fellowship with a great group of folks.

     We couldn't agree more.

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ROMANCE BLOOMED FOR 14 AT LRHS IN 1949

Puppy love, teenage romance, galloping glands.   Whatever you call it, at least 14 of our classmates met or dated their future mates while at LRHS or in earlier grades.   It wasn't just infatuation for them though.   They fell in love and were married.   All of them still are together.

They are:   Gerald Andrews and Stella Mae Barrett, Bill Carloss and Wilma Jean Casady, Leon Duff and Rita Jo Cheever, (the late) Tom Dygard and Pat Redditt, Richard Moose and Margaret Davis, Jack Perry and Gail Orton, Jimmie Tribble and Maxine Hogan.

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TRIVIA

Another disappoint no-show for the reunion was Aline Hight, of Wimberely, Texas.   She had the best grade average in the class.   We all wanted to see what she did with all of those smarts.

Another top scholar, Sonny Fulk, was there though.   He has worked in Little Rock for more than 40 years in the investments game, many of them as a broker.   To everyone who paused for a minute and gave him an ear, Sonny was touting the merits of stock options.

In 1953 Little Rock Senior High School was renamed Little Rock Central High School.   A new senior high school was being built in Pulaski Heights so the school board decided it would be unfair for one high school to get the best name and most of the glory.

In 1932, a 30-minute radio program was broadcast from the band tower on the fifth floor of the school.   It was on the air once a week.

A 1938 concert at the school by opera singer Mary McCormick cost students 10 cents.

Nearly everyone can remember where they were and what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.   Do you?

Jess W. Matthews became principal of the school in 1946.

Girls were allowed for the first time to wear pants to the class picnic in 1948. But they weren't allowed as proper attire at the school until 1970.

A highlight of our senior year (1948-49) at LRHS was the painting of the entire interior of the school.   It was the first time the whole school had been painted since it opened in 1927.

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Dinning and Dancing at the Country Club

     The highlight of the reunion was a buffet dinner for about 250 persons and dancing to the soothing sounds of Jug Wallace and the Townsmen at the opulent Country Club of Little Rock.

     Forty-niner Jimmie Tribble was resplendent in his tux, but most of the men wore only a dark suit and a tie.   For many it was the first time a tie had been knotted around their necks for years.

     The women donned fine silk or velvet after-five dresses, smart skirts and blouses and gold and diamond jewelry.

     Some guys even bought their gals an orchid corsage.

     The food was a work of culinary art.   The buffet line stretched the length of the long banquet room, enticing diners with salads, fruits, esoteric vegetable dishes and finallly concluded at a carving bench where boneless prime rib was served.

     The overflowing dessert table contained cheesecakes, pies and a chocolate cake that everyone agreed was clogged with calories but worthy of highest flattery.

     Class president Bill Demmer made a short talk, sometimes in Spanish, and the band swung into action, moving effortlessly from oldies but goodies to swing and back.   The small dance floor was filled until the enchanting evening came to an end.

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A Brunch to Remember ...

     The finale for the class of 1949's 50th reunion was a bounteous brunch at the home of classmate Tom Raney.

     The food, with eye appeal that would make Julia Child envious and taste that instantly converted everyone into a gourmand, was catered by Jean Ann Rosenbaum Morris, a member of 1949 class.

     The huge buffet included small but scrumptious sausage biscuits, puffy cinammon rolls, ham balls, spinach quiche and various salads.

     Tom's elegant home is decorated with original sculptures, paintings, fine antique furnishings, chandeliers from another century and Oriental rugs.   It is situated alongside the golf course at the Country Club of Little Rock.

     Even the weather shed grace on the event, offering a near cloudless sky, light breezes and plenty of sunshine.

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A Peek Into The Future How many of us can see ourselves in this essay as we approach the 60th class reunion?

     Now, that people are eating all the right foods, getting lots of exercise and taking drugs like the ones some baseball players take, we're seeing some results of the old promise of better living through chemistry.

     With such bottle miracles as Viagra and other attitude-adjustment pills, the aging process could almost be a thing of the past.   This is good news.   If you're going to be an old codger, you might as well be a lean, mean old codger.

     Some of the details still must be worked out.   What good, for instance, are bulging pectorals if you droll a lot?   And why own a jar of Viagra if you can't remember where you put it?

     And, we still don't know all the turnings this great vitality breakthrough may take.   We're not sure, for instance, if all the chemicals that arrest the atrophy the general deterioration of our brain tissue.   But who cares?

     It doesn't take a whole lot of brain cells to run up and down Pinnacle Mountain, especially, if you've done it a few dozen times.

     Nor has it been determined if old people who look and act like young ones will smell funny anyway.   But technology will figure this out because it usually does of muscle tissue will also arrest.

     Eventually, technology may even do away with muscle-tissue injections, supplanting them with a salve that can be rubbed on like sunblock to touch up whatever needs touching up.

     With breakthroughts like that in prospect, later life might become such a long stretch for millions of us that some, after years of rarin' to go, may find themselves rarin' to go.

     The sandy-haired, muscular guy in the checkout line is wearing running shorts, a running shirt and running shoes, and as he looks over his cash register tape, he hands it back to the clerk.

     "What about my senior citizen's discount," he says.

     "You have to be 65 years old to get that," replies the clerk.

     The hunk grins, "Well, I'm 67."

     "Can you show me some picture ID?" the wary clerk asks.

     The guy pulls out his running wallet and shows a driver's license listing the year of his.

     "The one you just asked for."

     Birth as 1932. "OK," says the surprised clerk.   "It looks like I owe you $2.87."

     "$2.87?" says the guy.   "What for?"

     "The senior citizen's discount."

     "Discount?   What discount?" says sandyhair."   "Oh, yeah, I forgot."

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