Oak Grove High School - Panther Yearbook (Oak Grove, MO)

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'GET OUT THOSE OLD RECORDS' HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF 1953 The Senior Class of 1953 began its freshman year with an enrollment of forty pupils in September 1949. After the first semester we lost Rex Curtis Qhe moved to lndependencej and Elwanda Keeran Qshe transferred to another schoolj. Kenneth Johnson dropped out of school before the end of the first semester. Richard Workman joined the class late in September. His family moved here from Eldorado Springs, where his father was pastor of the Methodist Church. Shirley Hobbs, Gene Thomas Wilkinson, Betty Mansell, and Joyce Middleton finished the freshman year in this school but did not return for the second year. Our sponsor during this year was Mrs. Gertrude Wyatt. Our sophomore year began with an enrollment of thirty-one. We lost Charles Allen Jessee by death during the second week of this year. Early in October Richard Workman left us as his father was moved to the Metho- dist Church in Malta Bend, Missouri. We gained Norma Kirk during the second semester, but she transferred to another school at the end of the year. She came to us from the high school in Ukiah, California. Louise Wil- kinson did not return for her third year. Our sponsor for this year was Mr. Joe Wolf. Beginning our jtmior year, we found we had gained Jimmy and Ronnie Reagin, who transferred from the high school at Tipton, Missouri. Mary Mullinix from Lee's Summit, Donna Warren from Odessa, and Betty Lane from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas. Our total was thus increased to thirty-three. Dur- ing this year we lost Mary Mullinix, who moved to Raymore, and Betty Lane, who dropped out of school to go to work. We gave Life Begins at Sixteen as our Junior play on April 15, The annual banquet and prom was given in honor of the seniors on May 6. Our sponsor was Supt. H. F. Cline. We began our senior year with an enrollment of thirty-one. Those who have spent the entire four years in this school are: Joan Adams, Dorothy Axsom, Nancy Baker, Mary Ellen Barker, Mary Ellen Bozarth, Roberta Brown, Jim Cummins, Curtis Day, Bill Dean, Lawrence Dennis, Joan Duvall, Jackie Ewing, Mary Lou Grayum, Jean Green, David Heath, Sharon Lou Hutchings, Raymond Lindquist, Braddy Marble, Fae Moore Miller, Charles Nebgen, Mary Belle Sears, Norma Simmons, Roy Gene Turner, Bonnie Trabue, Arthur Lee Wilkinson, Glenn Williams, Johnny Williams, and Sonny Webb. The Senior play Oh, Promise Me! was given on May 5. It was directed by our sponsor, Miss Mary Moore. During our four years in high school we have had the following teachers: Supt. H. F, Cline, Miss Mary Moorefprincipall, Mr. Garrett O'Dell fcoachj, Mrs. Gertrude Wyatt, Mrs. Hannah Belle Peck, Mr. Howard M, Vaughan fmusicj, Mr, Joe Wolf Ccoachj, Miss Betty Kinney fmusicj, Mr. Jack Vrentas fmusicj, Miss Zelia Zulauffmusicj, Mr. James E. Embrey, and Mr. J, E, Griffith fcoachy. Written by Mary Belle Sears Bonnie Jean Trabue

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'HERPS TO YOU' se' f77g?7 PX 'y T vVx 1L ' 'Sonn-I HONORS AND AWARDS Mary Lou Grayum Seryl Webb David Heath Norma Simmons Curtis Ambrose Day John Douglas Williams Mary Ioan Adams Sharon Lou Hutchins QTw1r11ng and all around participationy le DOKHL LOLL I Ixhy wt!!!

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Hsomz or fuss: DAYS ig In this year 1983 I find myself often turning to the past, Before me is a framed picture of the Class of 1953. All the faces are still quite familiar to me. It was just 10 years ago I met Mr, and Mrs, Gene Turner at a Republican Con- vention. Mrs. Turner, the former Mary Bozarth, had kept up with many of our old classmates. They have five sweet little apes --all of them boys, too, Gene is quite the politician or was--but you know now the popular parties are the Universals and Non-Universals. The Mule and Elephant dropped out about twenty years ago, It seems Bonnie Trabue went right into Dramatic School after graduation and soon became well known as Mrs. Jimmie Durante. QHi Ya Babelj Mary Belle Sears was married in June 1953, and has had a very nice life rearing Swopes. Braddy Marble and Glenn Williams bought out the Ford company in 1969 and have enlarged the company considerably. Last year they patented the first interplanetary Fordamatic coupoplane. Roberta Brown went to work in an office in the summer of 1953 and went right to the top, She now owns Proctor and Gamble and has her best friend, Joan Duvall, as her vice president. They are both married and have beautiful homes. Jean Green, I hear, moved right to Lee 's Summit after graduation and married you know who. Now he is the mayor of her favorite town, Now get ready for a shock. Doc Lindquist is chief surgeon at Mayo hospital in Rochester and his head technician is his wife, the former Jackie Ewing. I was quite pleased to see Gene and Mary that day and also pleased to hear of my old classmates. The next day I received a letter from an old friend--Norma Skipper Simmons, She had just been honored with the Best Teacher Award. She, too, has a family and is happily married to Curtis Day, the head of the Olympics, In the letter I found news of Mary Lou Grayiun, now known as Lou-Lou all over the globe. She is a great international hostess and entertainer, It seems that David Heath is now head of the Yale university track team. He broke all former records in pole vault. About fifteen years ago I visited Oak Grove, There I learned about others of the Class of 1953. Joan Adams went to New York City and studied at the Juliard School of Music. Now she is a Metropolitan opera star, While we are on the musical idea--John Williams now has a dance band that has the high honor of being the top band on Mars as well as on Earth, Sharon Hutchings twirled herself right to the top and is now producing plays on Broadway, Isaw Fae fMooreJ Miller while I was in Oak Grove. Fae and Hubby own a lar e line of planes with Hollywood mufflers. All of the old class would be proud of Ronnie Reagin, He becarne a very abfe electrical engineer and even added to the Einstein theory on Relativity, Along the Art line--it seems we had an unknown Rembrandt in our midst. Lawrence Dennis is the cele- brated artist of our time. Prime Jimmy Reagin, the lover of our class, settled down in a large plum orchard in Cali- fornia. The ambition of Charles Nebgen was to be a hot-rod driver, but his mind was changed--it seems--after he went into the Navy. He started building race boats, and he has been undefeated for the past twenty years. To our class has been added the name Jones. Yes, Mary Barker's dream came true. She is a very happy housewife, Head of Skyways Department in Washington, D. C. , is Bill Dean, who was ace pilot until the rocket era came in, Jim Cummins is an admiral on the High Seas of Jupiter, His boat 's name, by the way, is Judy. The war of this decade is on Pluto, the Plutonians being driven back by Zeke Wilkinson, who is head of a marine base there. Another happy housewife-- Nancy Baker fnow Costinj--runs a lumber mill in Canada. The sunny one of our class, Sonny Webb, is a famous in- ventor, He is also sought after to give his famous after dinner speeches. Some call him the second Will Rogers. The class of 1953 has been covered except for one--the writer of this glimpse into the future. I have done many things--published my poems, written a play, and have been in two plays on Broadway, Also, Iam happily married. The success of our class, I'm sure, lies in the high ideals held before us in our home town and school in Oak Grove, Missouri, U. S, A. of the planet World,