By Ray Collett

Hello Readers, Another column this week using the "hunt and peck" system since my right hand and forearm are still in a cast. It is so aggravating since, if I may say so myself, I am a pretty fast typist. Oh well, another couple of weeks. It don't stop me from using the "remote" on the television though. Lots of days, when I can find the time, I will slip one of RHS reunion DVDs in the old DVD player, and drift back to our school days. It is a real pleasure seeing the smiles on our classmates faces as they see their "ole" classmates, some for the first time in fifty years or so. It is coming up again June 8 thru June 14, 2008, right around the corner.

Susan Poland Golliher (Class of 1971) has been a really big asset in the planning all year long and she sent me an email directed especially to the classes of the 70's and later.

Here is Susan's letter....TO THE ROCKWOOD HIGH CLASSMATES OF THE 1970s

"I consider us bringing up the rear of the generation that Ray Collett so often writes about in his column. I guess you could call us the last of the "Tiger Boomers." We are the last ones to remember what it was like to have attended the old school. We are the last to remember what it was like when downtown Rockwood was thriving because there were no strip malls on the outskirts of town. We ushered out the ritual of circling Archie's and Ralph's over and over again. We remember Bennie's Sandwich Shop and the B&J. We have all had dates at the Roane Theater. This is why it is so important that we keep such a small town legacy alive in our hearts and memories.

"The classes of the 1950's had the ingenious idea to start a Rockwood school reunion several years ago. They decided that we had something unique, a small hometown that was bound together by a genuine love for each other. They started having a reunion for all class years every year. It was a huge success. Soon the 40's joined in. Then the 1960's started coming. The 1970's have made a showing every year but nothing to what we could do.

"The first time I attended was three years ago. I had been invited to come and show my artwork of Rockwood landmarks. After that, I was hooked. It was so laid back. Everyone just sits around and talks about different things, especially old times at RHS. I don't think I have laughed more in my life. I personally think we were very lucky to have been raised here. I don't want to take that for granted. I also do not want to take for granted the friendships and memories that I have made along the way. This is a huge opportunity for us, made possible by the hard work and determination of a select group of people. Let's not let this die on the vine. It is up to us, the last of the "Tiger Boomers," to keep this going strong. I love my hometown and I love my school. How about you? Can you make time in your schedule to visit with old friends, talk about old memories, make new friends and new memories?"

"I have a gift for my classmates. If you went to school with me, and have a reservation to the reunion, I will have a print of Ralph's or Archie's Drive In ready for you when you arrive. I will need for you to pre-register in order to know how many prints to have available. Just write somewhere on the form which print you prefer. I was a freshman in 1968 and whenever I was a senior in 1971, the freshmen of that year were the class of 1974. So if you were the class of 1968 thru the class of 1974, you went to school with me."

Your Fellow Classmate, Susan Poland Golliher

Thanks Susan, I will miss the reunion week due to my granddaughter's graduation in Virginia.

The reunion will be held June8-June14 at the First Baptist Church Lake Property on Eagle Furnace Rd. in Rockwood,TN. There will be a catered lunch on June 14. You DO NOT have to have graduated to attend. Anyone who attended Rockwood School is invited. The cost for the reservation is $20.00. For reservations or for more information, you can contact Susan Golliher susannes.art@gmail.com, Mary Kau marykau@mac.com, Barbara Loyless loyless@frontier.net, or Don Wicks donwicksd@aol.com.
Until next week, Ray