Alex Paul
“A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.”
– “American Pie” by Don McLean…
Saturday evening, music made nearly 1,700 Sweet Home High School graduates and their families smile, during the second all-school reunion held at Husky Field.
The event, a fund-raising effort by the Sweet Home Alumni Foundation, featured a full day of activities including golf, a car show, quilt show, art show, and softball game. The previous reunion was held in 1992.
SHAF president Ben Dahlenburg called the event a “success. We were a little short of our goal of having 2,000 people, but it was still a great weekend.”
Saturday evening, graduates enjoyed a picnic-style box lunch prepared by Pam Lessley, ’71, and a musical memory program coordinated by Shirley Austin, ’70.
SHAF has evolved over the past two decades, having begun as an idea by five graduates: Jim Riggs, Mona Waibel, Keith Gabriel, Marge Kikel and Lucrecia Seiber. It evolved into the Sweet Home Alumni Group and now, Sweet Home Alumni Foundation. Its purpose is to accumulate funds and to provide scholarships to deserving SHHS graduates. Some $4,800 was distributed at the 2000 awards program.
Although final figures weren’t known Monday, organizers hoped to raise $20,000 from the effort.
Jann Horner, former SHAF president, said the group’s goal is to grow the foundation funds to the point that every SHHS graduate can benefit from a scholarship.
Saturday evening, hosts Ben Dahlenburg, ’70, and Jen Brockman, ’00, used a variety of clothing styles to help introduce musical entertainment from each decade since the first class of 1912. All of the entertainers were SHHS graduates or faculty members.
David Holley, ’57, emceed the two-hour show.
Entertainers included: Jen Brockman, ’00; Paul Rowton, Jr., ’83; Brian Dickerson, ’83; Paul Rowton, faculty; Keith Cantrell, ’75; Erik Duncan, ’74; Richard Black, ’74; Jim Cook, ’74; Loren Bumbarger, ’73; Chuck Stenberg, ’78; Jim Stock, ’87; Matt Stock, ’92; Joel Stock, ’90 and Danielle Dimick, 2006.