High School Reunion Story
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6/16/2010
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Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going s…
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June 16, 2010
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Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going strong
By Laura Peters CONTRIBUTING WRITER People usually stress over their 10- and 20-year high school reunions, worried if their accomplishments (and waistlines) will measure up to their peers. But the alumni from Manchester High School’s Class of 1945 have long since let go of those concerns. Now in their early 80s, they’re just thrilled to see each other every five or 10 years and swap tales about the good old days.
Members of the Manchester High School Class of 1945 recently held their 65th reunion at the Holiday Inn Koger Center. Fourteen members of the class turned out for the celebration. Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Ob server
Special Sections
House & Home 2010
About 14 alumni gathered together at the Holiday Inn Koger Center earlier this month for their 65th reunion. Most still recognize each other by name. “I recognized everybody when they walked in the door, except for the one in the plaid shirt; that’s Bill Bryan,” Laura Near Cavin said.
Golf Guide 2010
Flipping through an old yearbook only 44 pages long, the black and white photos came to life as alumni saw the remnants of their past lives. Although their hair is now grey and their faces lined, there are still resemblances between their senior photos and present day. “I remember things like honesty, integrity and friendliness. Probably the most mischievous thing anybody did in our class was chew gum in class,” recalled Frank Lowman, president of the Class of 1945. As he looked at the old pictures, Lowman said, with a slight chuckle, that the people in the photos haven’t really changed that much. Alumni members remembered every Class of 1945 graduate, pointing out different people who have now passed. The old Manchester High building where the Class of 1945 went to school still stands on Hull Street, east of its intersection with Chippenham Parkway. The building is now in Richmond, having been annexed during the 1970s. In later years, Manchester high students attended classes in the current Manchester Middle School before moving to the current building on Bailey Bridge Road. Before the days of Facebook and Twitter, it was easy to lose touch with high school friends after graduation. The Class of 1945 believes they are different. “Our class is one of the few classes that are still real tight. I’ve talked to dozens of people, and they’ve said they’ve never even had a reunion,” Cavin said. “I tell them we’ve had one now every five years. Now, I call that a tight-knit high school class.” Spring-Summer Guide 2010
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“We were a very, very close-knit class. Everybody was your friend. It’s so different from today. In fact, the class that followed us, I don’t think they’ve ever had a reunion,” Frances Yates Hay said. “And the class behind us probably tried to have one. They just weren’t as close as our class. These people are like my brothers and sisters.” Most all of the remaining class still lives in the Richmond metro. Many described the comradeship of their high school experience. It was a different era, according to Lowman. “We didn’t have all this bickering in the class. Some of us played sports, and when we did, the others rooted for us. There wasn’t all this jealously that there is today and picking on people and gossiping against people,” Hay said. “We were very unusual, but I’m so glad I
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6/16/2010
was with that group.”
Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going s…
Gloria Garber Jones says that camaraderie is the reason they’ve stayed together so long. Jones, who now lives in upstate New York and Florida, experienced her own piece of history last week when her youngest granddaughter graduated from Midlothian High School. “We all got together for [sports], and the teachers had such companionship with us… the friendship and the camaraderie that we had together as a group…That’s why we’ve stayed together so long. So many of us had scattered throughout the country,” Jones said. “I love all these people, I do. Some of them I don’t see in a while, but some of them I keep in touch with,” Bill Hodson said. Going to school during World War II, the Class of 1945 had to make sacrifices. There was no traveling and no buses; everyone had to walk everywhere or find their own rides to sporting events. “We didn’t have all these luxuries that people have these days,” Samuel Wilds said. “Playing sports…you had to get your own way to the ballgame, and if you had to stay after school, you had to walk home. There were no buses, that kind of stuff.” “In sporting programs, the seniors played the juniors, the juniors played the sophomores, the sophomores played the freshmen,” Lowman said. “We didn’t travel, because you couldn’t travel because of gas prices.” Remembering the high school they all attended so long ago, their meeting was filled with laughter, smiles and the comfort of knowing that they still had each other. “Old Manchester High School was a beauty of a place,” Jones said. Transitions for Active Living
Fall & Winter 2009-2010
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Golf Guide 2009
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Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going s…
Get News Updates Print Edition News Archive Profile
News Front Page News News Briefs More News Family Seniors Crime Watch Loose Ends Opinions Calendar Sports Legal Notices Real Estate Sales Real Estate Classifieds Classifieds Reader Resources SPECIAL Demographics 2009 SOL Scores County Pay Helpful County Links Letters Policy About us Our Advertisers Shopping Advertiser Index Customer Service Place a Classified Ad Place a Legal Notice Pick-up Locations Subscribe Contact Us Copyright© 2005-2009 Observer, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Seniors
June 16, 2010
Search Archives
Search
Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going strong
By Laura Peters CONTRIBUTING WRITER People usually stress over their 10- and 20-year high school reunions, worried if their accomplishments (and waistlines) will measure up to their peers. But the alumni from Manchester High School’s Class of 1945 have long since let go of those concerns. Now in their early 80s, they’re just thrilled to see each other every five or 10 years and swap tales about the good old days.
Members of the Manchester High School Class of 1945 recently held their 65th reunion at the Holiday Inn Koger Center. Fourteen members of the class turned out for the celebration. Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Ob server
Special Sections
House & Home 2010
About 14 alumni gathered together at the Holiday Inn Koger Center earlier this month for their 65th reunion. Most still recognize each other by name. “I recognized everybody when they walked in the door, except for the one in the plaid shirt; that’s Bill Bryan,” Laura Near Cavin said.
Golf Guide 2010
Flipping through an old yearbook only 44 pages long, the black and white photos came to life as alumni saw the remnants of their past lives. Although their hair is now grey and their faces lined, there are still resemblances between their senior photos and present day. “I remember things like honesty, integrity and friendliness. Probably the most mischievous thing anybody did in our class was chew gum in class,” recalled Frank Lowman, president of the Class of 1945. As he looked at the old pictures, Lowman said, with a slight chuckle, that the people in the photos haven’t really changed that much. Alumni members remembered every Class of 1945 graduate, pointing out different people who have now passed. The old Manchester High building where the Class of 1945 went to school still stands on Hull Street, east of its intersection with Chippenham Parkway. The building is now in Richmond, having been annexed during the 1970s. In later years, Manchester high students attended classes in the current Manchester Middle School before moving to the current building on Bailey Bridge Road. Before the days of Facebook and Twitter, it was easy to lose touch with high school friends after graduation. The Class of 1945 believes they are different. “Our class is one of the few classes that are still real tight. I’ve talked to dozens of people, and they’ve said they’ve never even had a reunion,” Cavin said. “I tell them we’ve had one now every five years. Now, I call that a tight-knit high school class.” Spring-Summer Guide 2010
Summer Camp Guide
Health Matters Special Sections
Newspaper web site content management software and services
“We were a very, very close-knit class. Everybody was your friend. It’s so different from today. In fact, the class that followed us, I don’t think they’ve ever had a reunion,” Frances Yates Hay said. “And the class behind us probably tried to have one. They just weren’t as close as our class. These people are like my brothers and sisters.” Most all of the remaining class still lives in the Richmond metro. Many described the comradeship of their high school experience. It was a different era, according to Lowman. “We didn’t have all this bickering in the class. Some of us played sports, and when we did, the others rooted for us. There wasn’t all this jealously that there is today and picking on people and gossiping against people,” Hay said. “We were very unusual, but I’m so glad I
Holiday Celebrations
chesterfieldobserver.com/…/Mancheste…
1/3
6/16/2010
was with that group.”
Manchester’s Class of 1945 still going s…
Gloria Garber Jones says that camaraderie is the reason they’ve stayed together so long. Jones, who now lives in upstate New York and Florida, experienced her own piece of history last week when her youngest granddaughter graduated from Midlothian High School. “We all got together for [sports], and the teachers had such companionship with us… the friendship and the camaraderie that we had together as a group…That’s why we’ve stayed together so long. So many of us had scattered throughout the country,” Jones said. “I love all these people, I do. Some of them I don’t see in a while, but some of them I keep in touch with,” Bill Hodson said. Going to school during World War II, the Class of 1945 had to make sacrifices. There was no traveling and no buses; everyone had to walk everywhere or find their own rides to sporting events. “We didn’t have all these luxuries that people have these days,” Samuel Wilds said. “Playing sports…you had to get your own way to the ballgame, and if you had to stay after school, you had to walk home. There were no buses, that kind of stuff.” “In sporting programs, the seniors played the juniors, the juniors played the sophomores, the sophomores played the freshmen,” Lowman said. “We didn’t travel, because you couldn’t travel because of gas prices.” Remembering the high school they all attended so long ago, their meeting was filled with laughter, smiles and the comfort of knowing that they still had each other. “Old Manchester High School was a beauty of a place,” Jones said. Transitions for Active Living
Fall & Winter 2009-2010
Business Profiles 2009
Spring/Summer Guide 2009
Golf Guide 2009
chesterfieldobserver.com/…/Mancheste…
2/3
