Doris Monday, at 103 years young, was honored at the Worth County Alumni Reunion Sunday. She graduated from the Class of 1937. She went to school with Doc Swift, and she had teachers like Berniece Faubion (Grammar), Sadie Simmons (History), Glenn Marr, and Ollie Erickson.
She remembers Rainbow Park well, including the pool, the building where they had music shows, the ferris wheel, and the ball park. “I’m blessed to be able to halfway function,” said Monday. “I’m not sure I’m going to make it another year, so I thought I’d better come.” Monday will turn 104 in August and is one of Worth County’s oldest residents. Wilbur Osborne, at 106, is Worth County’s oldest living resident. The oldest Worth Countian ever was Maude Logan, who lived to be 108 and passed away in the 1980’s.
At 103, Doris Monday can still take care of herself, drive a car, and can still make pies. She is a fixture in Sunday School classes at the Allendale Baptist Church.
Bill Lutes, who graduated from the Worth County Class of 1953, was the second oldest person present, sneaking in late. He and a lot of other kids used to go swimming in his dad’s pond during summers, after Rainbow Park was taken down and donated to the war effort during World War 2 and before the current pool was built later that decade. He was a fixture on the football teams of those years under Glenn Marr, whose son, Ted, was present.
Richard Williams opened the event with prayer. Carolyn Hardy emceed the event as always.
The Alumni Association awarded three scholarships this time. Lance Abplanalp was awarded the vocational scholarship, while Paige and Kaydee Sherer were awarded the other two scholarships.
Tucker Owens was unable to be there for the reunion, so teacher Julia Wideman gave a talk about her work organizing the annual Veterans Day program at the school, including the building of the Memorial Wall. It is similar to the Vietnam Memorial and includes all 1,428 people from Missouri who were killed in action in Vietnam.
Wideman talked about how the students were able to celebrate our veterans over the years, including a real-life replica of Iwo Jima, a reenactment of Lee Teter’s “Reflections” picture, of a broken-hearted businessman at the Vietnam Memorial grieving for a loved one and soldiers from beyond the grave reaching out and comforting him.
She also talked about the year in which students got to wear the uniforms of family members who had served in the military. She played Tucker Owens’ original song, “I Need a Hero,” played at one of the Veterans Day celebrations at the school with David Wideman, in his grandfather’s World War 2 uniform, sitting beside him.
Jason Davidson of the Class of 1997 reflected on the people he grew up with who made him who he is today. He mentioned Victor Bollinger, the long-time pastor at Allendale; Vicki and Joker Miller, who created a family friendly place for kids to come to on Saturday nights at the Pool Hall; Randy James, who maintains cemeteries around the county; Debbie Roach, who has done a lot of work behind the scenes to make the community better; and teachers like Edith Fletchall, Vonda Terry, Mary Kay Hunt, Clella Goodwin, Scott Darrach, Doyle Bounds, and Dale and Joanna Healy. “It’s fitting that Chris and April Healy are continuing what Dale and Joanna have done for the school over the years,” said Davidson. “It doesn’t matter who you are; anyone can be successful in life.” He has worked at several TV stations, starting with KQ2, and still gets people who remember him from his TV days. Now, he runs a successful advertising firm and has made almost 5,000 ads.
There were 28 graduates and 11 guests present. There were six alumni books sold for a total of $180, and collections totaled another $139. The Davidson family had the most people present from one family. The classes with the most attendance were the classes of 1965 and 1971. Ed Roberts of Harrisonville was the farthest away.
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