The Childress School Reunion will begin Friday, June 30 with registration Friday evening at 6 at the New Light CME Church. The “meet and greet” program will begin at 7 p.m.
The class of 1967 will celebrate its 50-year reunion as well. All classes beginning with 1937 will be recognized during roll call.
Classes from 1968 through 1977 will present the program either with a class introduction or other recognition. The speaker for the evening will be Rondy Briggs who would have been a member of the class of 1972 before integration.
Other Friday night program participants include Fred Snell, James Neal, Sylvia Graham, Lillian Hutchinson, Pearlie Snell, Billy Dale Lofton, Cynthia “Mae Mae” Hendrix, Opal Lofton Scroggins and Winston Johnson, Tracy Patterson, son of the late Ruth Polk Patterson (former Childress teacher and author of the Seed of Sally Good’n) will present a tribute to his mother.
Cheryl Haislip (phone 870-200-0752) and Pearlie Snell (870-200-4166) are collecting names of classmates in all classes past 1967; call them to be included.
For Friday’s event, everyone is asked to wear a T-shirt with their state or city name on it or school sports shirt. On Saturday, everyone will wear traditional reunion shirts.
The Childress Parade will be Saturday morning, July 1 at 11 o’clock in downtown Nashville. Parade lineup time is 10 a.m. at the Nashville football parking lot. Providing water for the parade will be Fred Turney. The parade will end at the old Childress school site.
A picnic lunch will be served afterward at the New Light CME church.
The Saturday night banquet will begin at 7 at the Nashville Western Sizzlin restaurant. The class of 1967 will present the program, and the banquet speaker will be Charles McGhee.
On Sunday, July 2, the reunion will conclude with a 12:30 p.m. program at the Dodson Street Church of Christ. During the program, candles will be lit in honor of all deceased alumni, and a $500 Childress scholarship will be awarded. Lunch will be served after the program.
The Childress School Homecoming Reunion is open to all former students, as well as teachers, employees of the school district, friends and family and the community.
The Childress School – named after R.C. Childress, a well-known educator – held its first graduation in 1936. There were three members in the class: Lena Mae Hamilton Williams, Julie Mae Hickerson White and Roxie Ann Booth; all are deceased.
The first principal was Ms. U.M. Hill and the second was James H. Crofton, Tommy Patterson and Tommy Walton followed.
Some early members of the Childress School Board were Wily Kelly, J.P. Hamilton, Charlie Wynn Sr., Calvin Kelly, Jeff Young, Jim Bobo, Almira Brown, Tom McGhee, Harts Wynn, Ludd Atkins, Clifford Thomas and Tot Coulter.
On Dec. 11, 1950, Childress High dedicated its new building, which had been moved from Center Point, where it had been part of the Dunbar High School.
The school remained Childress until 1965, when the name changed to Southside High School. The school remained open as Southside until 1968, when it closed because of integration and consolidated with the Nashville School District.
Reunion fees are $60 per adult, which includes a T-shirt and can be paid in full or only pay for the parts of the reunion. For more information, contact Geneva Walton at (870) 845-0250 or Jimmie White at (870) 451-1090.
