On Saturday, July 11, a crowd of older and younger Pea Ridge High School alums gathered at the High School cafeteria for the ninth annual All-Years School Reunion. Several people had traveled great distances to meet again with old classmates and former schoolmates. Probably the longest trip was from the east coast of the U.S., the trip for Avis Wilkerson Dubuai of the Class of 1960. Several others, such as Mac and Marilyn Hardy from Shreveport, La., and John McBride from Augusta, Kan., were present, having driven approximately 300 miles.
One member of the Class of 1940 was present, Emma Pamplin. The Class of 1940 graduated 75 years ago. Mrs. Pamplin lives on Hayden Road in Pea Ridge. A sizeable contingent of the 50th Year Class was present for their Friday evening reunion and also for Saturday's Alumni Day gathering. The Class of 1965, which was my sister Donna's class, had their reunion gathering Friday, July 10, and most of the class members also attended the All-Years Reunion on Saturday. Present for the newspaper's picture were Janice Smith Reddell, Burline Reddell, Millie Reed Webb, Bruce Bowen, Sherry Winchester Blaylock, Jimmy Weston, David Webb, Jane McKinney Cooley, J.C. Beaver, and Jeannette Nichols VanLaningham. Also present on Saturday morning, but not available for the picture were Larry Price, Beverly Webb, and Gary David. The class's Friday reunion also included Larry Laramore and James Jennings.
Saturday's All-Years Pea Ridge School Reunion was sponsored by the Pea Ridge High School Alumni Association. The Alumni Association was established in 2007. One of the Alumni Association's main programs is the Scholarship Program, devoted to helping a number of PRHS graduates get started in college. For the 2015 graduates, nine scholarship awards were made. Each scholarship provides $500 for the fall semester's work, and is renewable for a second semester at the same rate when an adequate gradepoint is maintained. The scholarship recipients for 2015 Alumni Scholarships are: Christian Meador, Courtney Lowe, Lauren Ivy, Wyatt Garrett, Sandra Gonzales, Rilee Patrick, Casey Tidwell, Gloria Vargas and Stephanie Wood. Rilee Patrick, Gloria Vargas and Sandra Gonzales were able to be present for Saturday's Alumni Day gathering and each spoke of their college plans and expressed appreciation for the support they are receiving from their fellow PRHS alums.
So far, each year the Alumni Scholarship grants have increased by one additional scholarship. Beginning with a single scholarship grant at the program's beginning in 2007, the program has grown so that for this ninth year, nine scholarship grants were made. Alumni scholarships are funded by membership fees paid to the Alumni Association, as well as by special fundraising events and projects such as the annual Ham 'n Bean Dinner, BBQ Dinner, Blackhawk chair sales, stadium seat cushion sales, and memory book sales.
During the Saturday morning alumni reunion, alumni elected three of their number to serve on the Alumni Association's Board of Directors. Those elected to the 2015-2018 term were: Linda Schooley, Fayrene Jones and Barbara Owen. Other current members of the Alumni Board are: Jerry Nichols, Penny Schwitters, Robin Hudson, Marcia Cothran, Jamie Cotton and Ron David. The current board officers are Jamie Cotton, president; Robin Hudson, vice-president; Fayrene Jones, secretary; Penny Schwitters, treasurer; and Jerry Nichols, communications coordinator. The board meets monthly on second Tuesdays at the School Heritage Building on the Intermediate School Campus downtown.
I thoroughly enjoy our school reunions, not only for my 1957 graduating class, but also to visit with others who were schoolmates during my teen years and others who have grown up going to school at Pea Ridge. During the early years, before the growth spurt which took off in our community during the 1970s, we could almost know everyone in school, our fellow students in all the grades. That isn't possible in today's larger school, but it is fascinating to me to follow some of the fortunes and trials and achievements of our school through the years. We in Pea Ridge have a rich educational legacy, going back to the old Pea Ridge College of the late 1800s, with our community's weathering the challenges of the Great Depression of the 1930s and the school consolidations of the late 1940s, and we are blessed with a great school today, functioning in wonderful mostly new facilities, and with our students enjoying very significant academic accomplishments.
For information about activities of the PRHS Alumni Association, view the Alumni website at http://www.prhsalumni.com or follow the Alumni Association on Facebook.
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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.
Editorial on 07/15/2015