*** The 50^th Reunion of the Albany High Class of 1959 ***

Reported by Bill Cato

 If on April 25, 1959 you had said to a member of the graduating class of Albany High School, “let’s get together in 50 years and celebrate old times”, you would likely have been thought to be a bit wacky. You might as well have said I’ll see you on Mars in 50 years. No one was thinking 50 years into the future. There was too much to think about for the next 12 months. Summer fun, college, for some, marriage was all that was on their minds.

Then, on April 26 and 27 2009 the great event happened. And a great event it was. I have attended all 8 of the previous reunions and this was the great topper. Ruthie Hatfield attended for the first time and Harry Ort came for an encore. There were a total of about 80 class mates from 1959 and about 70 spouses. There were the usual folks who seem to like the class of 1959 and attend most of their reunions and are always welcomed. This year the Pollards (Joan Cato ’61 and Reginald ’58) attended because they just wanted to see why people raved so about the class of ’59 reunions. It was noted that Butch Clifton’s wife Mary Nell raised her hands and shouted “HALLELUJA!. I’ve finally met Ruthie”.  You think Butch mentioned Ruthie over the years?

The festivities kicked off for some of us on Friday morning at Pearly’s for breakfast. At the same time, some, including Ruthie, were at the Stonebridge Golf and Country Club for a round of golf. I never heard who the winners were, but Al Garrett plays about 5 times a week at his home course, so he would be tough to beat unless there were distractions. The main event for Friday was held at the Flint RiverAquarium. This was a casual event allowing folks to meet, greet and reacquaint. There was much food and beverages provided primarily by the local members of the class of ’59. The only downside to this event was the complete lack of cool air. Someone forgot we were going to be there (FRQ apologized and refunded the fee). It was good to see Bill McKnight on Friday. Unfortunately, because of health reasons, he had to return home before the Saturday festivities.

After a few hours of partying, reminiscing, and class pictures, the party moved to the Merry Acres Motel where, as I understand, Spencer Lee arranged for a suite of rooms for the party to continue. Coley Brown and Harry Ort pretty much held court with many stories of their misadventures from 1956 – 1959.  A real treat at the Merry Acres was the presence of the bear and ice cream sign from the Arctic Bear. It was actually lit up and rotating. There was also a teepee at the entrance to the suite. When you are the county attorney, you can make these things happen. 

Saturday began with more golf for the duffers. Unfortunately, the golfers missed the great lunch at the Thronateeska Heritage museum (old train station). This lunch was so well attended that someone had to go for more box lunches and additional tables had to be set up. A great turnout! Lunch was followed by a viewing of “Black Holes” at the adjacent Weatherbee Planetarium. This was a great show featuring the very first operational High Definition Digital projector in the world. This is a great achievement for Albany. 

Finally, the grand finally came at the Doublegate Country Club on Saturday night.  The weather was perfect for cocktails on the patio and the night was perfect for everything that followed. There was a very good buffet dinner to begin the evening activities. This was followed by a tribute to Butch Clifton given primarily by Spencer Lee. Butch then shared some personal moments about his career. It became apparent from all that was said that Butch was the persona to the adage “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach”. Butch was a great high school and college basketball coach finishing his career at the University of Georgia.

The remainder of the evening was devoted to dancing to the 50’s music provided by The Missing Links. For myself, I rate the weekend a rousing success. I saw folks I had not seen in 50 years. I heard stories I had never heard before (they are much embellished after so many years). It was good to see Coach Graham Lowe who actually looked younger than several members of the class. Other teachers present were Carolyn (Dunning) and Bobby Faudree. A survey was taken some weeks prior to the reunion and one of the questions was “who would you most like to see at the reunion”. My answer was Richard Peek, my Auburn roommate. I was very disappointed that Richard, who lives in Albany, did not attend, but Stafford Moznette, who lives on the west coast, was again present.    We thought that Buster Vansant held the record for wives with 4, but Freddie Elder has had 5 including the same one twice and another one for only a few days.

 For all who came, thank you.

For those who pulled it together, an even bigger ... Thank You.