Don't miss a minute of your 70th

If you are ever fortunate enough to find yourself in possession of an invitation to a 70th high school class reunion, I have one piece of advice: Say yes, and don't miss a minute of it.

I speak from experience.

On the last Friday in August, I got to be a fly on the wall as most of the remaining members of the Melrose High School class of 1953 met in a Clovis restaurant to celebrate the years they spent together as Buffalos more than seven decades ago.

A dozen of the original 23 students who received diplomas in the Melrose High School gymnasium on May 8, 1953, have passed away. But eight of the 11 who remain were in attendance -- Claude Cone, James Copeland, Wanda (Laney) Hand, Panzy (Burton) Jordan, Waunita (Laney) Jones, Bettye (Deweese) Lambirth, Norma (Draper) Rogers, and Betty (Lofton) Wall.

Nell (Stout) Jones of Clovis shared her sophomore and junior years at Melrose with this class before an appointment to a new church for her Baptist preacher father took her family to Jal for her senior year. That didn't stop her from joining in a laughter-filled afternoon with former classmates.

Except for Cone, who drove in from Albuquerque, the rest were all from Curry and Roosevelt counties, Lambirth said, noting, "We didn't get very far from home."

While some of these folks see each other on a regular basis, it's been five years since the group had formally gathered, and there was no hiding the joy of being reunited.

"It's a miracle that there are still 11 out of the 23 of us still living," Cone said. "Before the year is over, we will all be 88 or older."

Even before food orders were placed, the memories were flitting through the air as these gregarious friends recalled their long-ago school days.

"We used to play tops for marbles," Copeland said, "then the teachers found out we were 'gambling.' We played mumblety-peg with knives. Now you can't even take a knife to school."

Several of the class members fondly remembered their fifth-grade teacher, Hazel Shadle.

Lambirth went on to become a teacher herself, largely inspired by Shadle, but "at first she scared me," she recalled. "The first thing she said was, 'Holy cow!'"

Rogers remembered a geography question from Shadle that stumped her.

"One of the questions was, 'What is the capitol of New Mexico?'" Rogers said. "I went up to Miss Shadle and said, 'I don't know how to spell Albuquerque.' She didn't even blink ... spelled it for me. Later she said, 'But you still missed it.'"

Some kids might not have relished going through school as "the superintendent's kid," but Betty Wall doesn't remember that being the daughter of Superintendent Ray J. Lofton was ever an impediment.

In fact, she said, "I don't think I ever knew anyone who didn't respect him and look up to him."

Lofton's patience may have been tested with a memorable act pulled off by this class when they were juniors and in charge of hosting the annual junior/senior banquet.

While some of the facts remain in dispute 71 years later, there is agreement on this: There was a Hawaiian theme, and the event was held in the school library located a few steps below the level of the rest of the school.

The north-facing windows were just above ground level from the outside.

"Some of the boys" came up with the idea that for the banquet to have a truly authentic feel, there needed to be a beach.

A couple of "the girls" directed me to Cone as the possible instigator.

"I can't remember specifically if I was the one who suggested it," Cone said. "I might have been ... I know I was for it."

Regardless of whose idea it was, the class lore says the guys took it upon themselves to get a truck, load it up with sand from nearby sand hills, and deliver it to the library through those windows.

"That is a true story," Lambirth confirmed. "All of the boys were in on it. We had a sandy beach for our Hawaiian banquet. It was a shock to all of us. Those boys did it after we had decorated. I'm sure they didn't ask permission."

"I can still remember when Mr. Lofton came down," Cone said. "We had put a plank runway instead of steps ... he stepped out on that sand. I can still remember his face when he looked down and realized he was stepping on sand."

Cone also remembers spending the following Sunday afternoon attempting to remove every grain of that sand from the library floor, "sweeping and brushing."

Lambirth and Wall are quite certain the floor required a refinishing after the Hawaiian bash; Cone didn't remember that part. They all agreed that Superintendent Lofton did have a discussion with the class of '53 following the incident, but "no boys got expelled."

Cone went on to become a Baptist preacher and served 20 years as executive director of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico. He's still active in the profession, serving as interim pastor at Sandia Baptist Church in Albuquerque.

He recalled preaching a revival some years ago at the Bethel Baptist Church near Portales where Lofton was in attendance, along with Willard Moon, a longtime principal at Melrose Schools.

"Mr. Moon was out front after it was over," Cone said. "He was one of the best teachers I ever had. He said, 'Claude, probably your class might be the best class that ever came through Melrose.'"

Cone's classmates point to that as a reason they are still intentionally gathering after 70 years.

"We've been told by several teachers that we were the best class," Wall said. "I think it's because we were all friends."

Rogers sent all of her classmates (and this lucky columnist) home with commemorative mugs in Melrose maroon emblazoned with "Class of 1953" and these words: "Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget."

Thank you, Melrose Class of 1953, for letting me crash your party.

Your sweet reunion will definitely be "impossible to forget."

Betty Williamson is still beaming from her afternoon with the Class of 1953. Reach her at:

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