The following article about a HGHS reunion appeared in the Aug. 11, 2005, Monroe County Sun. [Photos of this event are found under HG Photos, on this web site's Main Page.] -- Jane Dearing Dennis
Reunion honors five Holly Grove classes
By Sun press services
The fellowship hall of the Holly Grove Presbyterian Church was the site of a large Holly Grove High School alumni reunion on June 4. The 1950-55 classes were honored.
Four of these classes had been together 10 years ago in Clarendon. At any reunion there are always comments about aging and changes in appearance after all the years have passed and this one was no exception. Most of the alumni eventually recognized everyone, though they may have needed a little prompting about names.
Alumni began to arrive at 9 a.m. and by the time the noon meal of fish, chicken strips, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, hush puppies and chocolate cake were served, the fellowship hall was a hive of activity. Cameras were flashing, old annuals were open everywhere and alumni were asking about this person and that person. And of course, there were those members of each class who had died being remembered.
Some of the guests began leaving at about 3 p.m. because they had long distances to travel to return home. There were hugs, tears and promises to meet again. Since the Class of l952 passed their 50th year three years ago, they have been meeting every year.
Don Dearing of Holly Grove was the only member of the 1950 class attending.
The class of 1951 members were Bobby Julian and Mary Ann Talley Skinner of Clarendon; Neil and Bobbie Coleman Harrod; J.T. Richardson of Holly Grove; and Beverly Lambert of Little Rock. Class members of 1952 were Julia Hill Hudson of Pickens; Shirley McNeill Crawford of Hanford, CA.; Ken Turner of Little Rock; Frank Miller of Holly Grove; Bill Brooks of Memphis, Tenn.; Bobby Moore of Stuttgart; Elizabeth King Hansen and Betty Jean Harrod Gerlach of Jonesboro; Dorothy McCurly Davis of West Helena; and Gloria Jean Johnson Lewis of Pocahontas.
Class members of 1953 were Betty Ann Dillard Spurlock of Granite City, Illinois; Patsy Miller Benz of Little Rock; Geraldine Everett Smith of Clarendon; Martha Hill of Pearl, Miss.; Frances Williams Hayhurst of Landsdowne, VA; Earlene Skinner Booker of Holly Grove; Kathlene Gannon Sanborn of Lakeland, FL; Keith Helms of Stuttgart; and Lila Mustin Browner of Little Rock.
Class members of 1954 were Ken Fisher of North Little Rock; Stanley and Ozella Coleman Chastain of Holly Grove; Gail Kittler Curry of Hot Springs; B.J. “Bill Joe” Houser of Little Rock; and Ann Staton Clark of Garland, Texas.
Class members of 1953 celebrating their 50th year were Keith Beadles of Forrest City; Junius "Junie" Davidson and Margaret Boals Brooks of Memphis; Mary Ann Chastain of West Memphis; James “Shorty” Yelvington of Scottsdale, AZ; Bill Self of Garland City; Betty Ruth Moore Atkins of Little Rock; Betty Morris Owens of West Helena; and Donna Sue Hill Goings of Cabot.
Teachers, spouses and friends attending were Margo and Bob Low, Mary Jo Moore Turner and guest Bob Penix, Jeanie Wilson, guest of Don Dearing, and Fern Davis, pastor of the Holly Grove Presbyterian Church.
Ethel Rae Chism, who had fully served as secretary to superintendents for many years, came to visit all the "youngins" she had watched grow up over the years.
Jean Dillard Knight of Nesbit, Miss.; Darrell Beadles of Brinkley; Ann Roswell Conrad of Hot Springs; and Mary Frances Morris Coleman of Holly Grove, members of other classes, signed in during the day. Holly Nickell, daughter of Shirley Crawford, came with her mother from California.
Spouses of graduates were Melba Richardson, Mary Murtishaw Phillips, Bobby Hudson Cathey Turner, Jenny Breeding Miller, Paulette Moore, Margaret Beadles, Billy Gerlach, Jeff Davis, Ray Benz, Milton Booker, Brenda Fisher, Mary Harrod, Jean "Punk" Davidson and Bob Atkins.
Any class member wanting prints of any or all of the photos of the classes may contact Elizabeth K. Hansen at 2516-B Ecumenical Drive, Jonesboro, AR 72401, or call (870) 268-8627.
-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 18:59, 2005-08-19
This appeared in the July 21, 2005, Monroe County Sun:
HGHS Class of 1985 holds 20 year reunion
The Holly Grove High School Class of 1985 held its 20 year class reunion July 1-2. The reunion was hosted by Sandra Hampton-Johnson and Judy Enlow-Sanders. The group consisted of 20 classmates.
The reunion started off with a meet and greet night on Friday, July 1, at J&J's rental hall in Holly Grove. Everyone got together and talked about their "good old school days." Also during this time, t-shirts designed by and printed by classmate Carolyn Langston were passed out to the classmates. Each classmate attending also received a Class of 1985 20-year reunion towel with a panther emblem on it, along with a souvenir book to place photos, signatures, addresses and other memories in.
The group met again on Saturday, July 2, to decorate the truck which they rode in during the Holly Grove Homecoming parade. Later in the afternoon, the group met to hold its reunion ceremony. During the ceremony, some of the classmates received prizes from a "How Well Do You Know Your Classmates?" game that was played on the night before.
Before closing the ceremony, the group decided to hold a reunion every five years. For more information on future reunion plans, contact Sandra Hampton-Johnson at (870) 462-8615 or email at sandykj1@yahoo.com
PHOTO CAPTION: Class of 1985 ... The Holly Grove High School Clas of 1985 held their 20 year reunion during the homeciming activities July 2-4. Attending were (front) Steve Williams; (second row) Lynise Wade-Grayson, Sandra Hampton-Johnson, Judy Enlow-Sanders, Darlene Hally-Bynum; (third row) Yuvern Moore-Strong, Wendell Mitchum, Geraldine Johnson and Tony Jackson; (back row) Tyrone Morrow, Raymond Holmes, Regina Fletcher-Flenory, Carolyn Langston, Tracey Brister, Joe Piggee, Calvin Williams and Henry Hardiman.
Elizabeth King Hansen has contributed some photos from the recent June, 2005 HGHS reunion. I've added them to the Unofficial Holly Grove website. Be sure to check them out! And thank you to Elizabeth Hansen
For those of you who visit this board and will be attending the reunion, I'd love to have some photos from the reunion....and any stories or memories you'd like to share!
The Holly Grove High School classes of 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955 will hold a reunion on June 4 at the Presbyterian Church fellowship hall in Holly Grove.
A catered lunch will be served. Reservations must be made by May 15. Cost of the luncheon is $15 per person.
Interested classmates may contact Betty Moore Atkins at (501) 225-7928, Margaret Boals Brooks at (901) 763-1460 or Gloria Jean Johnson Lewis at (870) 892-8250.
-- from the Monroe County Sun, May 5, 2005
Also, I understand it's an "all day" affair, with the luncheon at noon, so come early and stay late.
-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 22:44, 2005-05-07
-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 17:16, 2005-05-08
