Why thirty-seventh anniversary reunion?  Why such an odd number?  This was our first reunion in 17 years, since our 20th in 1984.  And some are considering it as "the reunion of a lifetime".  Such distinction is first and foremost due to the spectacular turnout from those who were at any time in the CHS Class of 1964.  We thank YOU for making this reunion a HUGE SUCCESS!

In addition to visiting with all of the attendees, there was much to see and do, thanks to the following major contributors to our reunion:

* Carolyn "Sue" (Gray) and Donald Jackson for their donation of Sirloin KC and all the trimmings for the entire reunion gathering at their Carolyn's Cold Water Cattle Company.  Carolyn "Sue" is a member of our class.  Such a generous gift goes above and beyond our greatest expectations and we are truly and sincerely grateful.

* Mary Lou "Doodie" Taylor-Knox (wife of Jack Knox) for volunteering for so many duties such as: purchasing decorations and supplies; scanning, printing and mounting pictures on many of the large poster displays; providing ideas and suggestions for decorations and our Friday night gathering place; decorating the facility; preparing and bringing "yummy" snacks for Saturday afternoon.  How can we say a "THANK YOU" big enough to cover your generosity?

* Jack Knox for his kindhearted donations of all the cold drinks for both days as well as the many supplies and materials purchased by Doodie.

* Suzette (Swanson) Mabry for her many contributions including: development of the autobiography form and subsequent design and tedious and time consuming creation of the books containing those forms; for the "Cats in the Hats" icebreaker game which was not only fun to complete but through Suzette's reunion presentation, enlightened us all about the lives of our classmates; the many hours of scanning, printing, cutting and pasting to develop many of the marvelous posters seen throughout the reunion facility; and sharing many brilliant ideas for decorations.  Also thanks to Bob Mabry for his contributions in making the autobiography books a reality and any other help he provided to Suzette.

* Sherry (Bolton) Mayfield for presenting the idea of the tree planting dedication and memorial for our departed classmates at the new school grounds.  Sherry took every step necessary to carry through with the whole project from beginning to end.  I know this involved many calls and recalls and trips out of town to finalize all the pieces.  We also thank Windel for the muscle he provided to help Sherry in these accomplishments.

* Lurlene (Morse) and Earl "Gig" Mayo for their contributions in decorations and also the development of the certificate awards form, the certificates, the tallying of the votes and the presentation of such certificates to the winning recipients.

* Dianah (Alvey) Herrera for locating and handling the whole process of design and creation of the "Coleman High School Class of 1964 Reunion 2001" silk screened T-shirts which were sold to the class members as a reunion souvenir.

* Dean Constable (husband of Patricia Ann (Smith) Constable) for providing the microphone and sound system for the event.

* Mary Alice (Terry) Larson from the class of 1960 who shared her "Coleman Bluecat" creation with us and allowed our use of her artwork.  We took full advantage of her generosity and certainly appreciate her talents.

* Ralph Terry from the class of 1965 for his complete and timely updating of our CHS directory and reunion pages.  Ralph made it possible for those accessible to the internet to remember old faces and to see current information on friends and the reunion activities.  Thanks also Ralph for taking our class picture on the steps of our "Alma Mater."

* All of those who made and furnished those delicious snacks at the reunion Saturday afternoon.  They were ALL very palatable.

* And Della (Needham) McGuire will take credit for getting the ball rolling for this reunion and accept the challenge of getting another started for our 40th.  Any and all ideas for our next reunion will be greatly appreciated. 

As previously mentioned, we had a tremendous response and attendance.  The following is a list of the 55 classmates attending our 37th anniversary reunion:

Some 10 classmates registered for the reunion, but were unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances:

We missed them and all others that were unable to make the reunion or were not aware of the reunion.

We had the privilege of seeing several of our former Coleman school teachers and coaches.  We were so delighted they came by and thank them so much for visiting with us.  These included:

The reunion events started with a gathering Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Miller Building (old library) on the west Courthouse lawn.  Smiles could be seen with each arrival and those minds were testing the memory cells from years gone by.  All in all, I think most of us did a fine job remembering those friendly faces that had somewhat matured.  We all looked younger than our years.  When Lurlene was told she looked the same as she did in high school, her response was "I'm sorry, but I didn't have gray hair and wrinkles in high school as I recall!"

After the Saturday morning decorating of the Lucky Star Lodge (formerly the Gallery Restaurant), the reunion officially began at 11:00 am.  We had one hour to squeeze in as much visiting as possible before we departed for our noon luncheon just down the street at Carolyn's Cold Water Cattle Company.  Carolyn and Donald were so very gracious and generous with their gift.  In her capacity as Mayor of Coleman, Texas, the Honorable Caroline Jackson presented the Class of 1964 with the "Key to the City."  That is something we will always cherish and we are honored that one of our own has achieved such status in our hometown.  After the meal, we were allowed to "sign" our serving table cover as a memento of the event.  We will have the "Key to the City" and the signatures to display at each of our following reunions.  The Class of 1964 also presented Carolyn Sue with a "Coleman High School Class of 1964 Reunion 2001" T-shirt and a certificate of recognition for her contribution above and beyond the call of duty to her class.  Thank you again Carolyn Sue and Donald Jackson.

Our next event was center stage, or steps would be more accurate, at the entrance of our old high school for a class picture.  Professional photographer Ralph Terry accepted the challenge of creating an 8x10 image and making us all look like we did back in high school.  Good luck, Ralph!

The next stop was at the new school grounds.  Sherry (Bolton) and Windel Mayfield carried in a 10 feet pecan tree and a large granite maker for the tree planting dedication and memorial for our departed classmates.  The marker was engraved in remembrance of our deceased friends.  This of course was a very touching moment for all those present.  We also thank Ronald Alvey for his words to the group and the prayer at the memorial.  Those who have departed and their dates of death are listed below:

After the tree planting dedication, we met back at the Lucky Star Lodge for the remainder of the day's activities.  Each was asked to complete a questionnaire from which the votes would be tallied for the award certificates.  Lurlene (Morse) and "Gig" Mayo graciously gave of their visiting time to ascertain the winners.   Lurlene then presented each winner with a special certificate for their appropriate category.  The winners were:
 

Greatest Distance Traveled: Deanna (Wilkerson) Ratzow for 1500 miles

Most Beautiful Gray Hair: Deedra (Quinn) Poldrack, Delmer McDorman
                                             and Reba Jo (Dieterich) Watters

Most Children:  Carolyn Sue (Gray) Jackson with 5

Most Grandchildren:  Carolyn Sue (Gray) Jackson with 11

Most Grandchildren - Runner-Up:   Patricia (Smith) Constable with 7

Least Changed:  Zanda "Jan" (Yeatman) Hudson and Jack Horne

Most Fashionable:  Linda (Boldt) Boatright and Bobby Hart

Youngest Child:  Charles Ball, with one 8 years of age

Most Years Married:   Carolyn Sue (Gray) Jackson, Deedra (Quinn) Poldrack
                                       and Jean (Crockett) Cantwell - all for 39 years

Bald is Beautiful:  Randall Jameson

Funniest Classmate:  Ronald Alvey

Sharon Alvey was presented a special and well-deserved award for "Keeping Ronald In Line"

Bob Mabry  (husband of Suzette (Swanson) Mabry) was presented with the award for being the
 Most Helpful Husband with this reunion 
 

Suzette (Swanson) Mabry accepted the microphone to go over each of the categories (or squares) in her "Cats in the Hats" life experiences game.  Again this was a very informative session as we discovered some of the unusual and/or exciting happenings in the lives of our classmates over the years.  Bertha (Templin) Devoss won the contest with more signatures than anyone else in the group.  Besides the fact that she was one of the few who followed the game instructions.  Congratulations, Bertha, on receiving a "Coleman High School Class of 1964 Reunion 2001" T-shirt as your prize.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent reminiscing about our school days and sampling all the delicious (and I am sure nutritious) snacks which so many contributed for the event.  However, time passed by too quickly as the evening came to a close.  Do not despair, we plan to meet again in three years for our FORTY-YEAR ANNIVERSARY REUNION and pick up where we left off at this one.  See YOU ALL then. 

Della Needham McGuire
Email address: mcguire.della@verizon.net
222 W. 7th Street, Irving, Texas 75060

CHS Class of 1964 - 2001 Reunion

Front Row:  Hurschel Dunn (teacher), Donald Turner, Doug Roberts, Ronald Alvey, Tommy Turney, Annette (Griffin) Dobbins, Caroline (Gray) Jackson.

2nd Row:  Patricia (Smith) Constable, Cheryl (Baker) Erskine, LaNelle (Anderson) Morgan, Lynnette (Close) Feeler, Della (Needham) McGuire, Billie Ann (Lewis) Crye, Janis (Norris), Sherry (Bolton) Mayfield, Suzette (Swanson) Mabry, Mike Fullen.

3rd Row:  Jack Knox, Skip Brookshire, Rondoe Smith, Allene (Anderson) Guffey, Deanna (Wilkerson) Ratzow, Faye (Dobbins) Faries, Sheila (Templeton) McMillan, Jean (Crockett) Cantwell, Diane (French) White, Toy (Bird) Schmidt, John Devoss.

4th Row:  Donnie Crye, Phillip Hayes, Grady Hausenfluke, Bertha (Templin) Devoss, Zanda Janette (Yeatman) Hudson, Linda (Boldt) Boatright, Bill McMillan, Wayne Webb.

5th Row:  Charles Ball, Gary Welch, Brenda (Brooks) Wisener, Janna (Rudolph) Fallin, Lurlene (Morse) Mayo, Diannah (Alvey), Bobby Hart, Reba Jo (Dieterich) Watters.

Back Row:  Darrell Hunter, Jack Horne, Ben Scott, Pat Simpson, Randall Jameson, Dedra (Quinn) Poldrack, Delmer McDorman, Polly (Baulch) Harrison, Jimmy Raffel, Gene Stroop.