“And a good time was had by all”
On October 7-8, 2023, members of the Maryville High School Class of 1963 reunited for only the sixth time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their graduation.
On Saturday, a group of 40, including 28 class members plus spouses and guests, met at Louisville Point Park Pavilion in Louisville, Tenn. Lunch was catered by Buddy’s BBQ. Despite being a bit chilly for an outdoor picnic, the sun did come out, and class members and guests were able to reminisce about the good ole days at Maryville High as well as catch up with what is going on in everyone’s lives. After lunch, Class President Steve Shields shared some memories of our high school days and led the group in trying to remember those nicknames from that era. One in particular was “Red” for Phil Jones who sported a head full of red hair back in the day. Phil promptly doffed his baseball cap, revealing no more red hair, or, basically, no hair at all.
Judy Mizell shared news from class members who had responded to our emails but were not able to attend. Many of them or their spouses or other family members had health issues that prevented them from being there. Others had plans that conflicted with the dates. And still others just lived too far away to make the trip back to Maryville.
On Sunday, a group of 31, including 21 class members, gathered for a pizza buffet at the Bluetick Tavern in downtown Maryville. With photos of elementary through high school days showing on a big screen, the Class of 1963 continued to visit with each other. After lunch, Steve recalled some memories from our high school years. John Edmondson read a newspaper article he had written about returning for our 40th class reunion. Judy read a humorous article about class reunions in general from a New York Times writer, to which most of us could relate. John Kerr read an excerpt from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses which follows the character Ulysses (in Greek, Odysseus), an adventurer who, in spite of his old age, yearns for another quest. Bill Beaty discovered that we had a Class Poem written by Mickey Carringer. He read that and also shared with the group how blessed he felt to have moved to Maryville and to have graduated from Maryville High School and, specifically with the Class of 1963, which we all agreed was very special indeed.
Sadly, the Class of 1963 has lost 18 class members, that we know of (see Classmates Remembered). Several of the group on Saturday and Sunday said, “Let’s not wait so long for another reunion.” So, Steve decreed that we should hold another reunion in three years (specific dates and location to be determined). Make plans now to attend the 63rd Reunion for the MHS Class of 1963 in 2026!