(The following is an article by Rose Madeline Mula, as it appeared in the May/June 2003 issue of The Saturday Evening Post)
Even if you haven't changed a bit yourself, attending your high-school reunion after a certain number of years can be hazardous to your self-image.
by Rose Madeline Mula
I'm depressed. I just got back from the first high-school reunion I ever attended. I refuse to say which one. Not which high school - which year. I don't want anyone to know. I won't even admit it to myself.
What I will tell you is that none of my classmates showed up. They sent their grandparents instead, all of whom insisted they had gone to school with me. No way. I could not relate to those people. They were white-haired or bald, fat or frail, stooped and lame. None of them bore the slightest resemblance to the yearbook pictures reproduced on their nametags. (Whose fiendish idea was that?) That's what clinched it - proved they were frauds.
I, on the other hand, look exactly the same as I did back then. Well, almost, except for a few interesting character lines, which only enhance my youthful charm. In fact, all the elderly people I talked with gasped when I told them my name. They all reacted the same way, their gazes shifting in disbelief from my face to my yearbook picture on my nametag. Obviously, they were astonished at how little I've changed. Nothing else could explain their incredulity.
Of course, I tried to be kind and commented on how well the years had treated them. I didn't consider such flattery to be lies but, rather, acts of mercy. Poor things. God knows they can't often hear that. To be truthful, I don't hear it much myself. I'm sure people compliment me all the time (after all, how could they not?), but they mumble so badly that they're hard to understand.
My girlfirend Jeannie was at the reunion. (Yes - I said "girl" friend; there's no need to snicker. Don't think I didn't hear you doing that before, though I can't imagine why.) Jeannie couldn't wait to see Frank, the handsome hunk we had all swooned over in high school. (Yes, in those days we swooned - do I hear you snickering again? That's very rude.) I had bumped into him earlier. I pointed him out to her. "That's Frank over there, the one with the walker."
Jeannie gasped. "He's old!" Well, duh! What did she expect? Frank is wrinkled, his once-lean body has turned into cookie dough, and his teeth click when he talks. But at least he doesn't have white hair. He doesn't have any hair.
When Jeannie recovered from her initial shock, she gamely approached him to reintroduce herself. "Frank! You're as handsome as ever! She gushed. (Yeah, we used to gush, as well as swoon.)
"Why, thank you! Beamed Frank, the old twinkle returning to his eyes for a moment. "I'd like you to meet my granddaughter," he said, calling a lovely lass to his side.
Jeannie turned to her. "Your grandfather used to be so cute!" she gushed again.
Frank stopped beaming. "Used to be?" he croaked. "Whatever happened to ‘as handsome as ever'?
"Excuse me," said Jeannie, trying to extract her foot from her mouth. "I just spotted Andy Harrington over there. I went to the junior prom with him! I'm going over to say hello." I didn't have the heart to tell her that Andy was the feeble geezer clutching the bar to keep from falling. The guy she was rushing toward was a teenaged busboy.
As I was trying to restore Frank's wounded pride, another of the elderly party crashers approached me, squinting at my nametag.
"I remember you," he said. "You were in my typing class."
"No," I said, "I never took typing in high school."
"Yeah, you did," he insisted, miffed. And he shuffled away to squint at another woman's nametag. Maybe it was just a clever ploy to stare at bosoms. On second thought, there wasn't a bosom in the room worth staring at, other than mine, but I'm much too modest to mention that.
Just then, the pianist whom the reunion committee had hired started tickling the ivories. "As Time Goes By," "Those Were the Days," "Silver Threads Among the Gold"...he had an endless repertoire of melancholy melodies. I had a sudden yearning for heavy metal, even though I hate it. As he played, a few couples teetered across the floor, holding each other up, apparently trying to pretend they were back in the old crepe paper-decorated gymnasium.
After an hour or so of this charade, the MC mercifully asked everyone to please be seated. Dinner was about to be served. I prayed that the meal wouldn't consist of soup, puréed veggies, and Jell-O. On the other hand, if it was solid food, I worried about how most of the group would deal with it. It would not be pretty. I hoped a contingent of EMT's was standing by.
I vowed never to attend another reunion.
EDITOR's NOTE -- This was submitted by Carolyn Courtney Pence. It's a timely and humorous article with so MANY LRHS Class Reunions recently, and Class 49 planned for next year!
The weekend of April 25-26, 2003 began Friday afternoon at The Courtyard by Marriott in Little Rock, with early arrivals meeting in the Hospitality Room hosted by Ron Underwood and Nancy Brickell Mashburn. Refreshments of cold drinks, chips, cookies, etc. were enjoyed by those who came to visit and reminisce with former classmates. Adding to the experience was the fun of viewing a video of a past reunion.
At 4:00 P.M., 240 class members, spouses and/or guests, and a faculty member, Mr. Paul Magro, gathered at Murray Park on the bank of the Arkansas River. Upon arrival, each class member received a packet containing name tags, an updated directory of classmates' addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases, e-mail addresses; a gold laminated bookmark depicting the familiar "Toby the Tiger" and the words to "Hail To The Old Gold". The bookmarks were created by and compliments of Athalia Knoop Kullander. Also included in the packet were reproduced copies of the October 9, ‘52 and May 14, ‘53 "Tiger Tales".
In spite of persistent wind (but no rain, thank goodness), a meal of Barbeque beef and pork, baked beans, potato salad, slaw, lemonade and iced tea along with cookies (provided by Brent and Sam's Cookies of Little Rock) were enjoyed by all. The five pavilions were decorated with black and gold balloons, and Jerry Wilson Lee supplied the recorded music from the fifties during this event. A special added touch were the delicious sheet cakes with tops decorated with pictures of the front of the LRHS building.
After a time of eating, visiting and renewing old friendships, attendees began to disperse for smaller gatherings and many took refuge from the chilly and windy evening air to return to the hospitality room at The Marriott.
Saturday morning, attendees gathered in the lobby at the front entrance of LRHS and many took advantage of the opportunity to walk through the halls of our Alma Mater and to observe the familiarity of, and in some instances, the changes taking place in what is now part of our National Park system. The most noteworthy change taking place is the installment of an elevator in the building. (No more selling of "elevator passes" to unsuspecting incoming sophomores!!) Also of interest to many was the revelation that the band room is no longer in the "tower", but has been relocated to the basement level of the building.
After a time of touring the building, everyone congregated in the auditorium where we were welcomed by current Little Rock Central High School Principal, Nancy Rousseau who gave an overview of the past history, current and future plans for the school. Due to Federal and matching grants, much refurbishing is being accomplished. Future plans include re-establishing the reflection pool in front of the school.
The presentation of colors was conducted by members of the Jr. Air Force ROTC program, and the Pledge of Allegiance was lead by Ms. Rousseau. A student of Central's Class of 2004, Emily Smith, sang The National Anthem. Two of our own classmates, directed by Nancy Barr Hall and accompanied by Carol Riffe Jackson, performed "America the Beautiful". Carol also played a patriotic medley.
Rev. Reggie Nalls shared spiritual thoughts and read names of deceased members of the Class of ‘53 (see the updated Obituary List linked to this website), and was followed by a moving rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by Nancy Barr Hall and accompanied by Carol Riffe Jackson.
The memorial service was brought to a close by the attendees' singing of "Hail To The Old Gold" directed by Nancy Barr Hall. Many expressed their feelings that this service was the highlight of the weekend for them.
Following the memorial service, the group assembled on the lawn in front of the school for a class group picture. Orders for copies of the picture(s) were taken and the finished pictures were delivered to the banquet site that evening.
For those who were unable to attend and might like to order a picture, please contact: Stephen Thornton, Arkansas Democrat/Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203, or by e-mail at: thorimages@aol.com. When ordering, please enclose a check or money order in the amount of $16.50 per picture (which includes shipping/handling) payable to Stephen Thornton. There are two different views available, a close up of the group with a limited portion of the school building in the background, and the other is a more distant view of the class members, but has more of the building in the background. Please indicate which picture you are ordering, and allow two weeks for delivery. Be sure and include your full name, address, and telephone number or e-mail address in case Mr. Thornton should need to contact you.
The rest of the afternoon was free of scheduled events in order to allow attendees to get together for smaller group luncheons, visitation opportunities and sightseeing of vast changes in Little Rock since the 1950's.
On Saturday evening, 260 classmates, spouses and/or guests gathered in the Little Rock Club atop Regions Bank Building in downtown Little Rock for a dinner consisting of Chicken Marsala, Beef Tenderloin, accompanied by a mixed green salad, bacon-wrapped green beans, mixed vegetables and assorted deserts. Betty Fowler, long-time Little Rock musician/entertainer, played background music for the reminiscing, and classmate Carroll Crutcher of Dallas, who performs under the name of "Mark Carroll", sang while accompanying himself on the piano.
Table decorations included mementos provided each attendee. These were bars of soap emblazoned with a photograph of LRHS, and sample-size bags of Aromatique products. Also adding to the table decor were centerpieces in black and gold, reproductions of the front cover of the Class of ‘53 commencement program, and a plush toy tiger.
The Class of ‘53 Student Body President, Hawkins Miller, presided in the introduction of class officers, George Davis, Tissa Wilson Davis and Billy Gene Jones; and introduction of members of the 50th Reunion Planning Committee, with special recognition of Pat Brown Spann and Bobbie Custer McElroy for their extraordinary efforts in planning for this and prior reunions. Pat and Bobbie were each presented with a bouquet of red roses in appreciation of their hard work.
A screen-printed tee shirt and signed copy of Aging Successfully by Dr. David Lipschitz, with the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, were presented to the oldest class member present, Ozzie Berryhill. The class of ‘53 graduate who traveled the farthest to attend the reunion, Tommy Skiles (Puyallup, WA), was presented a plaster three-dimensional sculpture of LRHS.
The weekend reunion events concluded and attendees departed to return to their respective homes with a renewed appreciation for the brother-and-sisterhood we share as members of the last class to graduate from LRHS (prior to the opening of Hall High School and the name change to Little Rock Central High School).
NOTE: Regrettably, on Tuesday prior to the reunion weekend, planning committee member, Charlotte Cooper Roberts, was a victim of an automobile accident which hospitalized her for most of three weeks. We are happy to report she has recuperated and is able to resume many usual activities.
Also on the "injured and recuperating" list are Nancy Kay Donham Davis who suffered a broken arm during a fall at the airport while en route to Little Rock, and Phyllis Dillaha Brandon with a broken wrist experienced in a mishap in her back yard. "Get Well" cards were signed, by all attending the reunion, and delivered to the hospital rooms to Charlotte and Johnny Nutt who was also hospitalized with pneumonia a few days previous to the reunion.
Following the payment of all reunion-incurred expenses, it was decided to close the Class of ‘53 checking account and to donate the remaining balance to Little Rock Central High School on behalf of the "Class of 1953" with the funds to be used toward the restoration of the Reflecting Pool, and including some type of plaque acknowledging this contribution.
A complete video of the Friday and Saturday events, including "personal interviews" with most, if not all attendees is available at a cost of $32.95 ($29.95 plus $3.00 S/H per video). To receive your 2 hour reunion video, send a check or money order along with your full name, "Little Rock High School Class of ‘53" and your mailing address to: Raines Video Productions, 180 Golf Club Road., Ste. 157, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, or call 1-800-654-8277 and charge it to your Visa/MC. "If you are not completely satisfied with your tape, you will be given a full refund. (Please allow 2 - 4 weeks for delivery)
LRHS Class of 1953 REUNION COMMITTEE P.O. BOX 3372 LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203
Changes of E-mail addresses should be sent to:
Carolyn Courtney Pence 8201 Linda Lane Little Rock, AR 72227-5943 or at email address: Carolyn F. Pence
EDITOR's NOTE -- Carolyn Courtney Pence contacted Scott Johnson of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and he dug out the REUNION pictures. The paper itself is therefore credited with taking and sending the original shots!