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| Courtesy of Nat Scavone |
| At the 50-year reunion for the Hickman High School Class of 1958, Ed Stephens of Mobile, Ala., seems glad to see classmates Bette Scavone, left, and Dorcas Holden. |
In 1958, Elvis
Presley was inducted into the Army, Tim Tam won the Kentucky Derby, the
federal debt was only $279 billion, Broadway was the main street in town,
Newberry’s was the biggest “dime store,” and perhaps of more importance
to many Columbians, 228 seniors graduated from Hickman High School. That
class of Kewpies celebrated its 50th reunion Aug. 8 to 10 at Stoney Creek
Inn with 95 classmates reliving those “happy days.”
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| Courtesy of Mary Jane Vemer |
| Pat Jackson, left, and Sharon Winner are ready to pass out “memory books” at the Kewpies’ 50-year class reunion. |
The weekend started on Friday by renewing friendships in the hospitality room and looking through the reunion books being passed out by Pat Aslin Jackson and Sharon Todd Winner. The purple-bound books contained bios, photos, articles from the Purple and Gold newspaper and ads from the “Cressent,” many of which were provided by “chief packrat” Cindy Morris Stewart, who kept scrapbooks from those years, including even half-century-old flowers. Ronnie Palmer kept the room open continually so classmates like Evelyn Roberts Harned, Betty Keene Scavone and reunion Chairwoman Dorcas Jeans Holden could mingle. A DVD made from Bob Shaw’s original slides of three years of assemblies and verse choir programs was playing constantly. Later that night, a picnic was held at the Columbia Country Club.
On Saturday morning, a tour of Hickman was arranged by Khaki Lang Westerfield, which brought back special memories, particularly of the school’s original north front door, “senior heaven” in the auditorium balcony, the cafeteria room, the wide staircases, where many of the yearbook pictures were taken, and the football field.
Mike Hood served as emcee at the Saturday night banquet, announcing the usual awards of who had changed the least and the most, who had the most grand- and great-grandchildren and who had traveled the farthest. The award hardly anyone wanted, however, was the one for who had the youngest child, won by Larry Quell of Denver, father of a 4-year-old son. Go, you Kewpie.
Mike extended appreciation and congratulations to the 1958 athletes for having won the CEMO conference championship in every sport, recognized the doctors, lawyers and educators, and thanked former Mayor Bob Pugh for contributing to the publishing of that special reunion book. One thing Mike tactfully didn’t do was ask cheerleaders Julie Faurot Crum, now of LaCanada, Calif., and Judy Paul Williams of Kansas City to perform their jumps and kicks.
A reunion highlight was visiting with several 1958 faculty members who were able to attend — Vice Principal Bob Shaw and wife Mary Ann; director of guidance Hank Steere; chemistry and physics instructor Russ Thompson and wife Ruth; and Spanish and French teacher Mary Virginia Holland Schmidtlein with husband Gene.
Among the Kewpies who helped through the two-year process of planning this reunion were Mary Margaret Mitchell Bayer, Patt Ott Bedsworth, Alan Leach, Connie Bennett Agan, Susie Burford Early, Kay Callison, Connie Grogger Pugh, Evelyn Roberts Harned, Janice Ballenger Critchfield, Marilyn Kurtz McCarty, Gloria McBaine Renfro, Carolyn Roberts Douglas, Martha Cottle Featherstone, Van Stone, Bill Whitesides and Joe Mahan. Many out-of-town classmates combined their trip back home with family reunions and visits to local cemeteries.
When will the next reunion be held?, out-of-towners wanted to know. Dunno know yet, but it was promised that when the time comes, everyone would be notified by e-mail, not snail mail.
My, how times change.
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