By Carol Klaber, Class of 1962
Thirty class members and guests gathered July 27 at the Pendleton County Farm Bureau Building in Falmouth to celebrate their 62nd class reunion from Pendleton County Memorial High School.
A delicious, Southern meal was provided by Cross Creek Catering and served by Martha Kelly Lynn and Sandy Lyle and their staff.
Class members enjoyed reminiscing, remembering those we have lost and sharing an update on our lives.
Traveling the farthest were Kay Bowen Fisk from Thibouadx, Louisiana, and Dr. and Mrs. Phillip Sharp from Newton, Massachusetts. Dr. Sharp shared his recent retirement after serving 50 years as an institute professor at MIT.
Plans were made to hold the next reunion in two years.
The original class of 71 members began in September 1959 as sophomores in the new school, which was the consolidation of Butler and Morgan high schools.
To date, the class has sadly lost 28 classmates.
The class would like to acknowledge Mrs. Jane Bentle, one of the few remaining retired teachers of the class — a special lady.
The Class of 1962 would like to thank Jemi Chew, summer intern for the Outlook, for the beautiful article in the July 16 edition in which she referred to us as the “Wonderful Class of 1962.” We certainly thank her for devoting a whole column to our unique class members.
For some reason, we have remained connected since that graduation day in May 1962. We have praised each other’s successes, including our Nobel Prize winner, and we have shared our sorrows throughout these 62 years.
We loved our school then and now, and we celebrate our youth by giving a $2,000 scholarship annually to a PCHS graduating senior. We are still, though mainly retired, invested in our community.
Ms. Chew was a true delight, and she restores our belief in our future generation and their ability and work ethic.
What a treasure she was! As she stated, we are a “class of our own.”