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The members of the Wildcat Reunion Committee would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who attended the recent reunion in Del Rio. Our goal is to re-unify those who share this particular experience of high school in our "remote past". Our reunion combines all classes, without discrimination, and enhances the opportunity for each of us to envision what it was like before and after we were there. Acquaintances formed during these gatherings tend to tighten the slender bond that binds us all. People we may never have met, but for the reunion, enable us all to envision a broader pallet upon which we can paint this fond memory. Since the reunion first came into being in 2001, we’ve seen some of you return year after year while some came for the first time this year. Eleven years later, here you were again and because of that, this year was, by far, the ”best” in terms of good times and shared camaraderie. Friendships have been rekindled, new friendships have been made. You’ve re-rooted, so to speak, and this was reflected in the laughter, the smiles and the good will that emanated from the entire gathering. We wish you only good things until we meet again.
Our gratitude is extended to all who assisted us in decorating and working the door. You’re the best!
Robert Brockwell ’54
Glenda (Pope) Brown ‘66
Margaret (Weatherman) Clem ‘65
Our gratitude is extended to all who assisted us in decorating and working the door. You’re the best!
Robert Brockwell ’54
Glenda (Pope) Brown ‘66
Margaret (Weatherman) Clem ‘65
Charlene Reams Manning '62
I still LOVE Del Rio. The one we all used to know, and the people who helped it be what it once was. I thank the Lord all the time for the upbringing and life I had there for over 30 years.
I still LOVE Del Rio. The one we all used to know, and the people who helped it be what it once was. I thank the Lord all the time for the upbringing and life I had there for over 30 years.
This past weekend (April 19-21, 2012), I was privileged to attend the "All Class" Wildcat Reunion. With a couple of friends who also live away now, we took a tour of our old neighborhoods, Main Street, and mourned a bit for the old hometown that has moved on into a time dimension of memories. The old high school building has an historical marker in front of it. It stands there now like a silent sentinel, gradually aging with time, waiting for the old Wildcats to come by, take a few pictures, and love that old place one more time.
Over the years, I have attended my own class reunions held every ten years. This was my first time for the All Class Reunion. I really enjoyed the experience. I liked seeing friends I knew from other classes, even some from other time frames than the late 50's. I greeted one friend of many years who graduated with the Class of 1945. There were others I didn't know, but felt they also came along several years before my Class of 1962. I met people who were "baby" brothers/sisters of my classmates. I was shocked to see they were no longer little girls in ponytails or little boys with a sling shot in their back pocket. Where did those years go? The only drawback of a reunion with this many attendees is a lack of time to hug everyone. I'm already looking forward to the next one.
In discussions about high school reunions, I hear many people express a strong desire NOT to go. I didn't quite understand this until recently. I think some didn't have a real great experience in high school. It was a time of figuring things out under a lot of various pressures. It was maybe a feeding ground for the very human insecurities we all have. Some kids grow up kind of privileged, others not. In our small community this might mean your last name was about as important as your financial status. There was and probably always will be, class systems in these little towns. But I have come to realize that many of the ones we may have admired from the sidelines have had the same anxieties the rest of us struggled with.
In any high school there is anxiety about clothes and popularity. Am I accepted? Cliques form for this very reason. All persons in a clique are accepted by each other. But then there's the angst over whether your clique is a "cool" one. The higher echelons in high school for my generation were the boys who excelled in sports, the girls who cheered them on, and to some extent, the ones who were super smart. Intelligence was admired, envied. We didn't have "nerds." They were just our bookish friends who were smarter than us.
Reunions bring back old memories. Some are good, some not so good. Many of us need healing from the bad experiences of life, and high school is a good place to start. These reunions have a way of giving space to forgive people. I begin to see this in my own case at the 30th reunion of Class of 1962. I have found that the more I let go of the painful memories, the better I felt about the whole thing. I sort of decided that I love all these people, even the ones that might not love me back. Maybe not everyone is as sentimental as I am. But I have also discovered it doesn't matter how someone feels about me: what matters is how I feel about them. These people were like brothers and sisters to me, with the same dynamic of, some you like better than others, but you LOVE them all. It was almost as much like a family reunion as a school one. Some girls I didn't much run with in high school and some boys I knew but never dated, showed me a particular affection that was very precious. I felt people were GLAD to see me. And I was so glad to see them.
I want to encourage anyone who doesn't feel good about going back. It could be a better experience than you might think. Going back with a positive outlook about it, I found some old schoolmates who were looking for the same validation I needed. I found a peace about it all.
They say "you can't go home" and "the past is what it is" but in this case, it just was not true. I have found God to be in business of redemption. For me, He has even redeemed my past.
If you are one who was unable to attend or just didn't, please be there next time. I want to see you!
This song came to mind while I was at the reunion of the Del Rio Wildcats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rmIckeEgQ
Over the years, I have attended my own class reunions held every ten years. This was my first time for the All Class Reunion. I really enjoyed the experience. I liked seeing friends I knew from other classes, even some from other time frames than the late 50's. I greeted one friend of many years who graduated with the Class of 1945. There were others I didn't know, but felt they also came along several years before my Class of 1962. I met people who were "baby" brothers/sisters of my classmates. I was shocked to see they were no longer little girls in ponytails or little boys with a sling shot in their back pocket. Where did those years go? The only drawback of a reunion with this many attendees is a lack of time to hug everyone. I'm already looking forward to the next one.
In discussions about high school reunions, I hear many people express a strong desire NOT to go. I didn't quite understand this until recently. I think some didn't have a real great experience in high school. It was a time of figuring things out under a lot of various pressures. It was maybe a feeding ground for the very human insecurities we all have. Some kids grow up kind of privileged, others not. In our small community this might mean your last name was about as important as your financial status. There was and probably always will be, class systems in these little towns. But I have come to realize that many of the ones we may have admired from the sidelines have had the same anxieties the rest of us struggled with.
In any high school there is anxiety about clothes and popularity. Am I accepted? Cliques form for this very reason. All persons in a clique are accepted by each other. But then there's the angst over whether your clique is a "cool" one. The higher echelons in high school for my generation were the boys who excelled in sports, the girls who cheered them on, and to some extent, the ones who were super smart. Intelligence was admired, envied. We didn't have "nerds." They were just our bookish friends who were smarter than us.
Reunions bring back old memories. Some are good, some not so good. Many of us need healing from the bad experiences of life, and high school is a good place to start. These reunions have a way of giving space to forgive people. I begin to see this in my own case at the 30th reunion of Class of 1962. I have found that the more I let go of the painful memories, the better I felt about the whole thing. I sort of decided that I love all these people, even the ones that might not love me back. Maybe not everyone is as sentimental as I am. But I have also discovered it doesn't matter how someone feels about me: what matters is how I feel about them. These people were like brothers and sisters to me, with the same dynamic of, some you like better than others, but you LOVE them all. It was almost as much like a family reunion as a school one. Some girls I didn't much run with in high school and some boys I knew but never dated, showed me a particular affection that was very precious. I felt people were GLAD to see me. And I was so glad to see them.
I want to encourage anyone who doesn't feel good about going back. It could be a better experience than you might think. Going back with a positive outlook about it, I found some old schoolmates who were looking for the same validation I needed. I found a peace about it all.
They say "you can't go home" and "the past is what it is" but in this case, it just was not true. I have found God to be in business of redemption. For me, He has even redeemed my past.
If you are one who was unable to attend or just didn't, please be there next time. I want to see you!
This song came to mind while I was at the reunion of the Del Rio Wildcats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rmIckeEgQ
Note: There are multiple pages. Click 'Read More' below, which the next page will list 'Article Index' then click Page 2 etc.
David L. Horne '65
To all my fans......just kidding. I was a fan of many of you......especially the smart ones like Margaret, and all of her smart friends, to whom I sometimes had to humble myself and ask about sentance structure, etc. And if you all will notice, I did not use a preposition at the end of that sentence.
In everyday convervsation, however; even though I have lived in Hawaii for over 37 years, I still talk like I grew up in good old Del Rio, Texas. People ask me all the time where I am from. When I tell them Del Rio, they ask "where is that". I usually say "God's Country".
When God blessed Texas with His own hands, He put Del Rio there for all of us to grow up in. Oops....there I did it. Sorry Margaret. God took the boy out of God's country, but He can't take God's country out of the boy.
I had planned to attend this years reunion and am totally bummed that I couldn't. I have stopped building custom homes and joined a friend's company selling wood flooring -- called Wisteria Lane. We are having discussion about me moving to Texas next year and opening large Distribution Centers at major ports like Houston, Miami, etc to distribute some of the highest quality/lowest price flooring to the nations builders. I am open to that and would probably live in Austin close to Carl and Jerry and their families or San Antonio and travel a lot to the other "tiny" states that surround the HUGE GREAT STATE of TEXAS.
I am on Facebook and would love for anyone who still remembers me to "friend" me so we can catch up on some of the happenings. Or if you want to call me and talk about the reunion, the Dallas Cowboys or the Wildcats, ---808-478-7778 or [email protected].
Next week, I move off of Oahu and to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii to open a new store for Wisteria Lane. Since I won't know a soul, hearing from a good old boy (or preferable some good old girls).....sorry didn't mean old girls........I meant previous female friends;that would be great.
Aloha for now. When is the next reunion? Let me know.
In everyday convervsation, however; even though I have lived in Hawaii for over 37 years, I still talk like I grew up in good old Del Rio, Texas. People ask me all the time where I am from. When I tell them Del Rio, they ask "where is that". I usually say "God's Country".
When God blessed Texas with His own hands, He put Del Rio there for all of us to grow up in. Oops....there I did it. Sorry Margaret. God took the boy out of God's country, but He can't take God's country out of the boy.
I had planned to attend this years reunion and am totally bummed that I couldn't. I have stopped building custom homes and joined a friend's company selling wood flooring -- called Wisteria Lane. We are having discussion about me moving to Texas next year and opening large Distribution Centers at major ports like Houston, Miami, etc to distribute some of the highest quality/lowest price flooring to the nations builders. I am open to that and would probably live in Austin close to Carl and Jerry and their families or San Antonio and travel a lot to the other "tiny" states that surround the HUGE GREAT STATE of TEXAS.
I am on Facebook and would love for anyone who still remembers me to "friend" me so we can catch up on some of the happenings. Or if you want to call me and talk about the reunion, the Dallas Cowboys or the Wildcats, ---808-478-7778 or [email protected].
Next week, I move off of Oahu and to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii to open a new store for Wisteria Lane. Since I won't know a soul, hearing from a good old boy (or preferable some good old girls).....sorry didn't mean old girls........I meant previous female friends;that would be great.
Aloha for now. When is the next reunion? Let me know.
Mike Deaton '64
Want to thank the organizers for all their hard work in putting together the weekends reunion. It's great to get together with old friends.
Want to thank the organizers for all their hard work in putting together the weekends reunion. It's great to get together with old friends.