Theresa Parker Pierce: Class of ‘75-Fifty Years of History
In 1975 a gallon of gas cost fifty-seven cents. I remember we all pitched in our change to buy enough to ride around together. We danced at the prom to Shining Star by Earth, Wind and Fire. The Steelers were the Super Bowl Champions but we were more interested in who won the games at Kinston High. Bill Gates founded Microsoft but we had no idea how that would impact our lives in the future. We had books and encyclopedias. Gerald Ford was president. The voting age had lowered to 18 four years earlier. We used terms like, “Far out, cool and Can you dig it?” The movie Jaws came out that year. We lived close to the coast and it scared us out of the water.
It has been fifty years since our class graduated high school in1975, so this summer, we celebrated big. It started with a golf game and ended with a memorial service to honor those who are no longer with us. The planning committee outdid themselves. Much has changed and much has stayed the same. Our hair is silver or thin. We gained a few pounds. Our smiles have wrinkles and we move a little slower except on the dance floor.
My personal favorite part of our reunion was the stories. My classmates have had wonderful full lives. They gave me permission to share so you will see them sprinkled throughout.
One young man shared how he was dropped off at an event in which he had no interest. He waited until his mother had driven away and walked to his favorite hang-out to order two of his favorite foot long hot dogs. Satisfied, he returned back to the event. When his mother came to pick him up, she rewarded him with a, you guessed it, a foot long hot dog. He recalled that as the day he ate a yard of hot dogs.
On Friday afternoon of our reunion, we were greeted with open arms and words I grew up hearing, “Let me hug your neck.” It was great to see everyone, collect our swag bags and check into our rooms. That was followed by a reception, dinner and entertainment by one of our own, a comedian. We laughed so hard we cried. The team had a 360 set up that made images of us dancing in 3D. We reminisced about the days we put change in a machine that made four black and white photos of us. Times have changed.
There was a delicious commemorative cake. The caterer outdid herself with drinks and delicious food. We even recognized each other from our days working at the local dairy bar where we developed ice cream scooping muscles.
We reminisced about classes, try outs and younger classmates and their shenanigans. We caught up on our paths since we had been together. We laughed about our bell bottoms, hair styles and leather fringed vests. One teacher was there to remind us of how far we have come. I was so proud to hear how well everyone had overcome obstacles and led beautiful lives.
At the picnic on Saturday, I sat with a classmate who recounted a story about our time in elementary school. We had a music teacher whose piano was on wheels. She always called on a few boys to roll the piano to the next classroom which happened to be down a long hall. My friend said, “All was well until one of the bigger boys decided to drop a firecracker which echoed down the hall. We got scared, left the piano and ran down the hall.” Everyone laughed at the story which led to paddling in school. It kept us all in line.
At the picnic we enjoyed box lunches, Italian ices and conversations with a nice breeze. The park where we met had not changed except the trees were bigger, proof that time marches on. Pictures were made in our commemorative t-shirts. We laughed and we cried. We looked at old photographs and pictures of our families. We asked about families and shed tears for those we had lost. It is hard for us to believe that now we are the older generation. It happened fast.
Another classmate shared how she was Peter Pan in a play when she met her husband. They had a lot in common including the theatre. I loved how unique their lives had been. He explained how a company from London had helped her fly across the stage. He laughed that her legs were still green. He told us all, “I married Peter Pan. I was a lost boy.”
On Saturday night, the team outdid themselves planning a dinner, dance and stories. Dignitaries welcomed us back with open arms. I shared how the love of a teacher inspired me to follow in her footsteps. I was in the first grade and had gotten in trouble. I don’t remember what it was for, probably talking. The teacher left me inside for punishment. The problem was she also left two boys in the room who talked me into putting a tack in the teacher’s chair. When the teacher returned, she sat on it. I cried, softly at first and then so much, the teacher checked on me. When questioned, I said, “You are sitting on a tack.” She stood. The tack had turned over so no harm was done. After I explained what happened, there was a surprising turn of events. The teacher said, “The fault is mine. I should never have left you inside.”
We line danced and a classmate even taught us ballroom dancing. We had to look at each other’s name tag pictures when we weren’t sure who each other was. Then we told more stories, remembered things like what downtown looked like, how we watched the C.S.S. Neuse battleship get dredged up and who dated who at the prom.
My absolute favorite story followed. A dear classmate and her husband took turns sharing the story of how they met. He was a bartender wearing a red ruffled shirt and in walked a pretty sorority girl. He asked her out. She replied, “I’m dating someone.” He asked, “Who?” When she answered, he replied, “He’s a lounge lizard.” The bartender persisted, “What do you like to eat?” She said, “Seafood.” He asked for her address, picked her up and the next day she forgot about the lounge lizard. He did add that she had a summer job at Morehead which meant a free place to stay at the beach. He wrapped up the story with, “I’ve been paying for it ever since.”
When I thought the reunion could not get any better, we celebrated Sunday morning with testimonies, stories and music. Many of us marveled at how we forged strong friendships through integration, hardships and impossible situations at times. Sports, clubs and classes taught us more than just how to survive but how to thrive. We celebrated Viking Strong. Happy golden anniversary to the class of 1975.
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