Carrollton High School |
The Bond Survives Bonnie Coonrod approached his former classmate with unsure eyes. "Are you Bonnie?" Lorene Gentry Pirkle inquired, decidedly more sure about the face of the gentleman that stood before her. "You look good !" Coonrod declared, extending his arms to Pirkle. "Well, I work hard at it," replied a spiffy Pirkle, swinging an arm around Coonrod. Exchanging smiles, hugs and memories of that last year in high school before life took them on divergent paths, seven of the nine surviving graduates of Carrollton High School's Class of 1933 gathered for a 65th reunion that they were all happy to make. Having lost, within the past year, four members of an original graduating class of 23 students, the longtime friends were eager to be in one another's company again. Earl Johnston, one of two classmates who pursued a career in the ministry, and Edgar Mayes, one of 10 siblings who graduated from Carrollton high School, reminisced about their favorites teachers, like E. P. Berryhill, who taught math, and Janie Stark, a math and Spanish teacher. Ellouise Chastain Reed hosted the get-together at her home in Dallas. Wanted to re-create their graduation day, Reed prepared a meal of beans, cornbread and all the trimmings. "We had a year-ending function that we called Senior Day. We were excused from classes just for that one day," Reed said, "I remember we dressed up like little kids in our short sleeves and bloomers. My mother sewed me an outfit of blue and white checks." Frances Kirkham Butler, also known as "Tince" (a nickname from birth that endured through the years) and Zelma Simmons Plumlee recited, almost simultaneously, the class colors, blue and white, and the class flower, bluebonnet. Classmates Marshall Hartline of Arizona and Naomi Godfrey Jones of Dallas were unable to make this, their fourth meeting over the years. They also celebrated the 25th, 50th, and 60th reunions together. "We're so excited about getting together. We decided, at our ages we needed to get together as much as possible," said Reed jovially.=, touring her living room to ensure everyone was comfortable and having a pleasant time. She didn't have much of an explanation as to why the small class was so close, only to say that the times were so tough. The early 1930s were poor times for everyone, she said. The Great Depression took its toll on every family, then the nation sent its young men and women to fight in World War II. "It was a poor time money wise, but it was a good time. I really enjoyed school, especially high school and my classmates," Reed said. Coonrod made sure he spoke to everyone, occasionally winking across the room at someone, indicating he was about to enter into a yarn about times long since passed. Everyone agreed he had been the mischievous one of the group. Pirkle and Plumlee were friends in high school and even share the same birthday. They recalled how Pirkle, who was younger, wound up in the Class of 1933. "I didn't remember that, but there's a lot I don't, said Plumlee, a resident of Coppell. She rode a bus to high school in Carrollton every day because it was the only such institution in the area then. Just before lunch, the ladies began thumbing through remembrance books prepared by Reed and her daughter, that contained questionnaires everyone filled out chronicling the best memories of their lives. Butler thumbed through the pages, chuckling as she read everyone's thoughts. "Now, I remember who Ellouise was sweet on in high school!" said Butler, meeting the eyes of her girlfriend who stood across the room. Reed wrote she danced her graduation night away with a dashing young man at a party to celebrate their coming of age. Notes:
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Carrollton-Farmers
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May, 2014