So many wonderful memories at HP Central…building our first homecoming float, Keyettes, Swim Team, laughing with and at some of my teachers…couldn’t we all tell a Bert Robert’s story by the time we graduated! Miss Mc David❤️ Great but tough teachers like Verdie B Kendall! Friendships, parties in cornfields, cruising to the Flash Market and racing at lunch to beat the crowd at McD’s or Leonard's or McLarty’s. Best job at HPC I inherited from Hilli Fick and Mary Amos was boys football coaches office helper…often included a trip to Leonard’s for an orangeade for them and us! Homecoming when Susan Koonce was crowned our Queen...it was a time in our lives when we were beginning to really shift from childhood to adulthood, including realizing we had to learn to deal with  both happy and sad events. I feel lucky to have had a special time like this time as a High Point Central Bison!

Many memories from 50 years ago. One that sticks out in my mind, is our Band Director Dave Carter. Very few of us even knew that he was a World War II Naval Aviator in a Dauntless Dive Bomber in the Pacific. He never spoke to us as students about his war experience, or the fact that he actually had to belly land his plane onto the deck of a Carrier once because the landing gear malfunctioned (this from an article in the HP Enterprise many years later). He came to our 30th Class reunion in 2005, he was in his late 80s or early 90s then. He has outlived two wives. He was definitely "old school" in his Marching Band methods, BUT he did let us play the Theme from the movie "Shaft" at the Central/Andrews Half time show in the fall of 1973, the last year in Albion Millis Stadium. The crowds went wild....including the Andrews side.

Looking back, we came through some very turbulent times in the history of our nation and in High Point. Many old walls were torn down (metaphorically speaking), and for the better of humanity. The school building we called High Point Central will soon celebrate 100 years. My dad and his brothers graduated from there. I'm sure there are probably 4th generation kids attending there now. I too remember some of favorite teachers. Syvia Cates, Dave Carter, Lilian Jones, and Verdie Kendall (she refused to give up on me).

As I was looking over the list of Classmates we have lost, we are up to 63 (that we are aware of) who are no longer with us. It brings a reminder to the rest of us, how fragile life is, how precious the days, how short life truly is. Some of us have, and are still dealing with, health issues. I look forward to seeing everyone in May.