PURDY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS
FALL/WINTER EDITION 2004
ANNUAL MEETING
The Purdy Alumni Association held its annual meeting at Purdy High School on June 26, 2004.
Officers met prior to the meeting and developed the agenda followed by dinner for classes of 1945 and 1946. This has become a tradition and all are welcome to join the group.
There were approximately 150 in attendance, including five teachers (Helen Bennett, Norman Gibbons, Evelyn Hardwick, Nadean Merritt, and Evaleene Whittington-Bryan) and 22 who had never attended before. There were six members of the George family present.
The class of 1954 were honored guests. Toots Lane, class of 1929, was the oldest graduate present. Having a special recognition of the 25 and 40 year classes next year was proposed. Nadean Merritt was put in charge of contacting members.
The minutes from the last meeting were read by Secretary, Velma Caruthers and the financial report was given by our own CPA, Gene Bethune. Rena Henderson gave a report on scholarships presented in previous years. The results were positive on how they had been used.
Gene Bethune presented the P. A. Roller Scholarship to Jordan Schlessman. Roger Nickle, president, presented the Leroy Howard Scholarship to Julie Moller and the Vedas Jackson Scholarship to Hannah King.
Wilma Hall, co-historian, exhibited a scrapbook she has started and asked for contributions of items anyone would like included. If you have something to donate, contact her.
Bonnie Long, News Letter editor, discussed the News Letter and urged everyone to contribute and tell where they live, what they are doing, things they remembered when going to school, funny happenings, etc.
Officers were elected by acclamation:
President • Roger Nickle
Vice President and Secretary • Velma Caruthers
Treasurer and News Letter Editor • Bonnie Long
Bookkeeper • Lyle Eugene Bethune
Co-Historians • Nadean Merritt and Wilma Hall
News Letter Production • High School Business Class
Gene Bethune and Evan Henderson discussed some amusing stories. Thanks were given to Bert Ward for furnishing the sound system. Bill Riddle dismissed the evening with prayer. Refreshments were then served by the class of 1953 and visiting continued.
~ Submitted by Velma Caruthers, Secretary
Carole Ferguson Garrison – ‘59
Rt. 1 Box 19B, Purdy, MO 65734
Greetings to everyone. It has been a few years since I have written a letter for the alumni News Letter.
I lost my husband Don in 2003; we had been married 44 years. When you lose someone you love, memories become treasures. Don and I were blessed with so many years together and a wonderful family. Our son Danny and his wife, Terri (Harris) Garrison, live near me. Terri graduated from PHS in 1982. I am active in the Macedonia Freewill Baptist Church near East Purdy.
I keep busy, especially during the summer with mowing my lawn, etc. I have learned that keeping a lawn is not as easy as it might look. However, the exercise is great.
My class of 1959 recently had our 45 th reunion with 16 classmates attending and 5 former teachers, who were – Helen Bennett, Doyle Bowman, Jewell Davis, Walker Craig and Dale Flaxbeard. Our classmate, Linus Huckstys, had not been to a class reunion in 35 years, we were all so glad to see him. Beverly (Goodnight) Ross traveled from North Pole, Alaska to attend the class reunion.
We have six class members who have passed away: Larry Veith, Phil Reid, Doris (Garrison) Moore, Robert Conley, George Roller, and Jerry Whisman.
A cruise to Alaska has been discussed for our 50th reunion. It would be great if we could get all of the class together for our 50th , maybe we can!
I hope all of our class is receiving the Alumni News Letter and I do encourage each one to write a letter for the next issue. I enjoy reading every letter.
In the Purdy school cafeteria there is a painting of an eagle with this inscription (I have no idea who did the artwork): "The eagle calls to each of us, come climb to the tops of the mountains, look beyond the horizon, your wings are knowledge, foresight, understanding. Expand your vision; learn from those who go before you. Seek your own greatness-one day at a time."
I have so many good memories at Purdy High, I was an AmeriCorps reading coach at the Purdy School two years, this was very rewarding.—
Best wishes to each of you and may God bless you.
Cathey Williams – 59’ dlwcvw60@bellsouth.net
5915 Port Anadarko Trail, Hermitage, TN 37076
I kept thinking I was writing too often. When I received the News Letter today and realized that there had been the thought of not doing the News Letter for this Spring/Summer edition, I decided to get busy! I guess we tend to think nobody out there is really interested in what is going on with us. I find I enjoy reading the notes from people I don’t even know. We have PHS in common, and many are people I have heard of over the years.
Sometimes I have to ask Daddy and Mother (Tim and Olive Larkin), and they can help me know who the people are. I want to send my condolences to those who have lost loved ones! There were several that I knew and remember very well. The list included Shirley Ozburn Larkin. She was the wife of Daddy’s cousin, Wayne.
It was fun to hear about the "Purdy Consolidated District Number 8." I remember hearing about this. I began school at McDowell so when I went to Purdy my sophomore year I knew some of the kids.
Well, the past is fun to remember, but the present is great! Darrell and I have been married for almost 44 years and with our son, Lynn Alan, his wife, Anissa, and our grandson, Colin, living close enough to enjoy, we feel very blessed. I can remember thinking, "Why are these people always talking about their grandchildren?" Now I know! He will be in a program at their church on May 2 with Lynn Alan running the technical support. We will be there!
Darrell is retired and enjoying it so much. This allows him to do things that work hours did not allow. We are so blessed with our health and enjoy our trips back to MO to see our families.
I am hoping to hear about a reunion for ’59 very soon. This will be our 45th! This is always such a highlight!
I hope you are all well and thanks to everybody who works so hard to make this publication possible. I noticed the "Thank You" to Kay Wright and the students for
compiling and preparing the News Letter. A big ‘thanks’ from me, too. God Bless you all with His rich blessings.
Charles King - ‘56 ckinghelp38@wmconnect.com
1521 E. Vincent, Springfield, MO 65804
I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed last Saturday night. If there is anything I enjoy more than visiting with people from Barry Country I have forgotten what it was. I attended the 2004 PHS alumni meeting where I made Bonnie Long a solemn promise to write a few lines for the News Letter. A promise is a sacred thing when made to a banker or a PHS alumna so here goes.
Last night was wonderful. It just didn’t last long enough. There were so many old acquaintances to renew, questions to ask, and stories to tell that it was time to leave long before I was finished with half the things I wanted to do and people I wanted to visit with.
The last 48 years of my life have passed faster than the first 18 and I found myself wondering if the years I spent at PHS were a reality or just a dream. A couple of days before the meeting I dug out some old school annuals and sure enough, there I was, class of 1956… then I began asking myself, am I really this old or have the last 48 years been a dream and will I wake up in that green house six miles east of Purdy, late again for school?
Shortly after graduation I wandered around some. I worked and lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kansas, and California. I spent two years in the Army on the East coast in the early sixties, and then finally settled, home again in Barry County. In 1968 I left again and have not lived there since.
Somewhere along the way I met and married Linda Morrison, (a human) from Humansville, MO. We have five children (part King and part human) and four wonderful grandchildren (pure angels).
In the last thirty-some years, though I’ve only worked for two companies, we have lived in Edmond, OK; Cincinnati, OH; Parker, CO; Memphis, TN; and Springfield, MO. In 1996 we tired of chasing my job from state to state so I retired and we moved back to Springfield. My wife took a teaching position with the R-12 school district and in 2002 I persuaded her to retire as well.
By most standards our life since retirement has been pretty low key. I do a little writing and a lot of procrastinating. I do a bit of genealogy research and mow the yard once in a while in the summer if I am home. We couldn’t be considered jet setters but we occasionally do some traveling (in a pickup and fifth wheel trailer). We usually are somewhere high in the Rockies each June, but this year we decided to postpone our trip west so we could attend the alumni meeting and spend the Fourth with family. Each winter since my wife’s retirement we have taken the trailer somewhere warm for the winter months. We spent last winter in Ocala, Florida and our plans are to be in Yuma, Arizona from Dec. until April this coming winter.
For all the people I didn’t get to visit with and the ones I didn’t get to visit
with enough (which includes everyone), email me, call me, write me, or feel free to
invite Linda and me along on your next trip to the French Riviera.
A special thanks to Roger and Bonnie and all the others who give unselfishly of
their time and effort to make the News Letter and the annual meeting possible. The wonderful memories I have of my years at PHS give me a great deal of enjoyment,
especially after they are sparked by another issue of the News Letter.
Keep up the good work. Again…thanks so much, I am so ashamed and regretful that I haven’t attended sooner.
continued on page 2
