Hiwassee Dam – Some 60 years ago, students from Hiwassee Dam High School were facing the world with hope and anticipation.
Those former students were reunited with their old classmates June 10, at Reid’s Chapel United Methodist Church for their long-awaited class reunion. The 60-year celebration started at noon and provided lunch, which was catered by Southern Charm of Blue Ridge, Ga. Gifts were also handed out.
For a few hours, the graduates reminisced about their high school days and caught up on years gone by.
J.M. Verner was vice president of the Class of 1963. His fond memories of those earlier days include just being among other boys and girls.
When asked if he was involved in sports, he said, “Back then, all we had was basketball, and I was too short to play.”
His favorite teacher was A.Q. Ketner.
“He was a fun guy,” Verner said with a chuckle. “He was bald headed, and we’d rub his head. He was just fun to be around.”
Edward Dills was also in the Class of 1963. The local resident was not only a student, but also a school bus driver during his junior and senior years.
“Back then, the state would approve a student to drive, but it was real strict,” he said. “You’d have to go through training and get a license, and if you messed up you’d get fired.”
Dills was able to buy the clothes he wanted as well as a car with the money he made driving, while still maintaining good grades. He recalled a couple of times when he did his rounds picking up the kids for school, only
to find out when he arrived at the school that it had
been canceled due to the weather, which meant he had to take everybody back home.
“At the time there were no phones, so I didn’t get any calls letting me know on those school days that were canceled,” he said.
There were almost 60 people in attendance at the reunion. Some lost connections were found while socializing.
Birdie Hart cried through the graduation ceremony in 1963, as she was unable to finish and walk with her class. Due to illness, she had moved to Michigan.
“I hated that I didn’t get to graduate with my class,” she said.
One of Hart’s school memories involved sleeping in class, but it wasn’t her who did the dozing.
“We had a teacher who fell asleep, so we’d be really quiet and let him sleep so we wouldn’t have to do any work,” she said with a smile.
Hart wasn’t allowed to participate in sports because her father didn’t want her riding the bus with boys. Her advice to kids is, “Have more respect for teachers and learn, because out in the world it isn’t easy.”
It was a fun reunion, but as time goes on it gets more difficult to locate and gather everyone together.
“We’ll all be in our 80s when the next one comes around,” Verner said.