Rattlers are looking forward to all-class reunion

 The arrival of the Rattler Reunion newspaper is always an exciting event because it reminds us of the great fun we had at last year’s gathering and let’s us know that the next gathering is just around the corner, beginning on July 31.

 As we browse through each page, we recall stories about friends and classmates and begin to look forward to seeing many of them again this year.

Seeing the yearbook pictures of the host class of 1978 leads us into their youth and prepares us to see them thirty years later as they greet us. We know how hard they have worked to get their classmates together and to help plan the main events at Rattler Reunion.

As we turn to the group pictures of classes in attendance, we stare at old friends, beginning with the class of 1945 and ending with the class of 1977. We know other classes were represented, but they didn’t manage to get into the group pictures. We also are aware that some who were there didn’t manage to get into our own class pictures, but we enjoy checking the groups and remembering some of the news they shared.
 As we read the article by Gene Peugh, Class of ‘48, many of us well remember the Jive Five and have even kept up with the various bands composed by many of the same group right to the present. We recall the years we spent in THS Band with most of those musicians and certainly recall having listened to their music at many school dances.

The article about Ann Warner Peck, Class of ‘52, also captures our interest, especially those of us who were privileged to be in her class and who have been privileged to see some of her beautiful art work.

The lengthy list of Rattlers and our teachers who are “gone but not forgotten” causes us to pause and to remember so many old friends and mentors. We realize how honored we were to know them and how much we will miss them. As we look at that list, we also realize that not many people have the opportunity to look back to the Class of 1928 and to remember others from that class. Of course, many of us can look back even farther in our memories to recall people from the earliest classes to graduate from THS.

Our all-school Rattler Reunion gives us a chance to be among friends of all ages and to recall much of the history of our town and county as we gather to visit about some of the happiest years of our lives.

We realize how very fortunate we are to have such a gathering and certainly need to thank that friend, Marian Farmer Knapp, Class of ‘45, for seeing that we have had these reunions for so many years now. We also realize how much work has gone into planning each reunion throughout the years and want to thank all of those who have participated as well as those who are currently the board members who spend so much of their time throughout each year being sure that plans are in place.

From that first reunion right on to the present one, we Rattlers and teachers have enjoyed coming home and knowing that we are most definitely at home, no matter how far we may have wandered from THS during our adult years. From July 31 through Aug. 2, we will all be young Rattlers again and will be ready to stand tall as we say “Hail to the Rattlers”!