Murphy – Six decades after students graduated from Murphy High School in 1963, laughter and stories filled the air at The Ballroom downtown.
Former students gathered over dinner on Oct. 7 to remember the good old days and catch up on all the things of today. The class president at the time was John Van Horn, who was unable to attend the reunion with a friend as a result of a vehicle incident that occurred the day prior to the gathering.
Van Horn and his friend are both OK. In an email to a former classmate, he said it’s believed that a stray shot from a hunting rifle hit the vehicle.
There was plenty of talent that came from those days surrounding the Class of 1963, including staff members like Murphy High School assistant football coach Dave Bristol.
After his days at Murphy High, Bristol went on to manage the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball.
Linda Jones Owenby loved sports and played high school basketball.
“We had a winning team for four years; we were Smoky Mountain Conference champions,” she said, laughing as a former classmate brought up when Owenby fell on the court and broke a front tooth.
During the reunion there was a tribute to those members of the class who served in the military and an opportunity for each to stand and name the branch they served under.
Sadly, 47 former classmates have passed on leaving a heartfelt void that was hard not to notice.
Betsy Henn Bailey’s father owned the Henn Theater back then. She recalled sneaking in to the theater’s concession area for free soda and popcorn.
Bailey created a large memory tree drawing and brought it to the reunion with the names of past classmates written on its branches as well as blank spaces for those who will pass on in the future – a sweet tribute to a tightly knit group of friends.
The event was catered by Sequoyah and Lizz Aquarian, owners of The Ballroom. The menu included homemade mushroom chicken, roast beef and gravy as well as veggies, potatoes, salad and fresh baked rolls.
Twin sister-and-brother team Dennie Wayman Stearns and Donnie Wayman graduated together in 1963.
When asked about his best memory of school was, Donnie said, “I tackled Bob Matheson, who went on to play for the Miami Dolphins, playing in three Super Bowls. I actually tackled him. He weighted 245 pounds then, and I weighed 145 pounds. We went to Asheville in school to the playoffs and played against Boone.”
The person voted “Most Courteous” in the class was Jerry Decker.
“Times were good then, today it’s scary. Our schools are going in such a bad way,” he said.
“Back then, it was just hometown fun and everything. We were real blessed. Coach McConnell was a mentor for a lot of us guys here.”
McConnell was the basketball and football coach then, taking both sports teams to compete for state championships numerous times. He was a stickler for the rules, and if a student couldn’t obey them they could not be on the team.
Several students said he the No. 1 coach of Murphy High. McConnell even gave the football team jerseys, which Donnie said was the first time that had been done.
William Gulledge played the clarinet in the band – but not very well, according to him.
He recalled the former Dome Building, where they took their elementary school classes, having to be torn down because of all the pigeon excrement under the dome. Apparently, the birds made it their place to roost, and it had became unsafe due to all the poop.
Linda Schuyler Sheppard traveled the farthest to get to the reunion, having come from Illinois.
Eddis Dockery lives in Young Harris, Ga., but grew up to become the longtime preacher at Boiling Springs Baptist Church. He wrote hundreds of columns that were published in the Cherokee Scout from the mid-1970s until recently.
“It’s a special experience to see our classmates after all these years. I feel I’m a blessed individual by God to be a part of all of this,” he said.
For a brief period of time, yesterday came back for the Class of 1963 – and the memory of this reunion will carry on until they get to meet again.