The classes of 1948, 1958, and 1968 were honored Sunday as the Sheridan High School Alumni Association had their annual reunion. All officers were reelected.
Honored as the oldest graduate was Denzil McCollum, who graduated from the Class of 1948. He lives in Bellevue (NE) at an assisted living facility. When asked what the secret to living long was, he said that he had seven children and that his two daughters, who drive him around everywhere, are the ones who keep him going. “I wouldn’t be here without them,” he said.
McCollum worked in the feed store in Sheridan sending out eggs from farmers all over the country and ran the movie reel in town for four years. Then, he served 21 years in the military and 20 years in the Postal Service. His favorite teachers in school were Flossie Winemiller in first grade and Basil Churchill in eighth grade. At one point, he lived in Greenland for eight months, where he operated a film reel there. He said that contrary to popular belief, Greenland was not always cold. “It’s when the wind blows in from the ocean when it got really cold,” he said. “That’s when you’d better put all the clothes on that you can.”
Members shared some of their favorite stories and memories from their time in Sheridan. Janet (Scott) Gladstone, Class of 1971, recounted that when she was in high school, she was one of the office aides. Her duty was to take absentees and take lunch count. One time, she went to the shop to take attendance and one of the kids grabbed her arm. Everyone else grabbed hands with each other and completed an electrical circuit, shocking Janet. Needless to say, that did not happen again.
Pamela (Wake) Hunt recounted going home to a friend’s house for the first time ever after starting school and getting in tears. But she and Sharon Scott wound up becoming best friends for life.
Jack Fisher, Class of 1954, recounted taking home what he thought would be his first-ever pup on the school bus. But then he had to take it back. Sharon (Wake) Miller recalled how her 1st grade teacher got sick and had to go home. The 2nd grade teacher came and gave them math problems that were so hard, Sharon went home sick as well.
Eddie Troutwine recalled forming a threesome with Eddie Ray and Ed Nigel and walking down the hall when they were not supposed to. Mr. Keever, the superintendent at the time, grabbed the kid on one end by the shoulder, the kid on the other end by the shoulder, pulled on them, and bonked all their heads together. Larry Hibbs roasted Bill McAlister at the banquet. He said that his favorite part of school was doing band and being able to march around the streets of Sheridan. One time, Bill McAlister got so carried away playing his instrument that the band teacher yelled, “BILL!!”
Some memories focused around the Worth Tornado of 1947. Garvin Porter, Class of 1950, recalled that the afternoon had started off sunny, and the Vo-Ag teacher went to the top of the big hill west of the schoolhouse as they were planning a project that day. But then the teacher saw a huge cloud in the west and hurried his kids back into the school as he changed his mind.
Lavelle Hibbs recalled how Denzil McCollum nicknamed him, “Charlie Brown.” “And now, my daughters call me that,” he said. He said that he was thankful to have gone to a small school.
Shirley Winemiller, Class of 1961, recounted taking a trip to Alaska back in 2006 and struck up a conversation with the couple behind them. It turned out it was Jim Keever and his wife; Keever graduated from the Class of 1960. Eldon Hart recounted, “I went to Wyoming and met this girl in 1949,” referring to Loretta. He served in Korea and bought the farm that he currently lives at in 1959.
Sally (Risser) Beezley, Class of 1957, recounted another experience with the Worth Tornado of 1947. She recounted that instead of taking the kids to the shelter, Edith Parman took her students outside and taught an impromptu science lesson on how tornadoes are formed. “That one stuck with me,” she said. “I was a good boy in Mrs. Parman’s class,” added her husband, Sonny Beezley. He recalled that one time, Mrs. Parman grabbed the kid behind him and paddled him. “It did me good,” he said.
Joyce (Dowis) Chambers, Class of 1947, recalled how Sheridan was a bustling town when she grew up. She said there were no TV’s in those days, and kids went grocery shopping on Saturday evenings and went to the theater. She recalled that she was the fastest girl in her class when she grew up in the elementary school system that existed before Sheridan consolidated its schools in 1951. The rural schools that were part of the Sheridan district regularly held competitions against each other, and she ran a race representing Luteston School one time against the boys. Naturally, she got well ahead of them; however, she proceeded to fall flat on her face as everyone passed her. She recalled going to Maryville and competing in typing competition and winning because she had typed the whole piece while everyone else was still typing.
Larry Dowis, Class of 1951, thanked Denzil McCollum for sharpening his basketball skills. He recounted that they played on very physical teams and frequently fouled out, meaning Dowis got to play a lot. He recalled a time when Mrs. Wilson used some strong language in class. One of his classmates had an answer for that. He asked her what kind of toothpaste she used; she answered it. “Oh,” said the classmate. “I thought you used gunpowder.”
Bob Young, Class of 1965, recalled a time that Mrs. Parman had to leave the classroom and Duane Hammers was put in charge of the 3rd and 4th graders. Duane decided to show who was in charge, grabbed the ruler, and banged it down on Parman’s desk as hard as possible, breaking her glasses.
Linda Scott, Class of 1973, recalled that in 3rd grade, the teacher would call each kid out by name during a reading lesson and they would read. Mrs. Parman called out, “Judy,” but there was no Judy in the class. Then, she called out sharply, “JUDY!!” All of a sudden, it dawned on her that she had nicknamed her that.
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