| Reunion attended by many former Springville School students,
teachers. About 250 persons gathered July 9 at the Paris Convention
Center on East Wood Street to enjoy a reunion with former Springville School classmates,
teachers and guests.
Among the group were 12 former teachers at the school which closed as a high school in
1969 and closed entirely in 1996.
The event, which was open to anyone who ever attended the school, drew former
Springvillians from several different states, as well as many Tennessee cities.
Among the states represented were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Using the theme from the song, “Friends are Friends Forever,” Elizabeth Brooks
Hamlin welcomed the group, after which former Springville School principal Charles T. Cate
recognized teachers and individual classes and gave a tribute to deceased members of the
classes represented.
The earliest two classes were represented by Julia Hutson, from the graduating class of
l935, and Edith Wall Jackson from the graduating class of 1937.
Also present was Mitchell Evans of Springville who was the last person to receive a high
school diploma from Springville High School.
Following the invocation by Cate, a catered lunch was served. Afterward, Yvonne Burnett
Solvedt of the class of 1958, in celebration of their 50th anniversary, presented plaques
expressing appreciation to three of their former teachers, Marie Cate, Hannah Fitch
Crosser and James Cate.
A video prepared by Marie Cate showed yearbooks dating from 1949 to the closure of the
high school. Background music prepared by Don Nichols included top songs from each year.
Attendees had also been asked to provide memories of their Springville school years and
those were on display with other memorabilia.
Planning committee for the event included Hamlin, Crosser, Marie Cate, Shirley Litchfield
Baker, Marilyn Smith Townsend, Peggy Burdin Wimberley, Peggy Doherty Cunningham, Sue
Hudson Watkins, Jean Medlock Oliver, Minnie Lou Walters Perkins, Henrietta Walters Hill,
Faye Carter Turner, Polly Doherty Bell, Ernestine Clendenin Mann and Don Rogers. |
