100 YEAR ALUMNI REUNION
Earlier this year, Rita, a dear friend of mine from grade school asked if I might consider creating a piece of art work to be donated to the Silent Auction for the Hartford High School Annual Alumni Reunion. The money raised goes to the scholarship fund. This year will be celebrating a 100 years of Hartford graduates. The Class of 1962 is hosting this event. Hartford Arkansas is my home town. I did not graduate from the high school but I did attend grade school up to the 5th grade. That's when my family moved to Michigan.
A lot of years have passed but I've kept in touch with a few of those classmates and have returned many times. Since this was such a significant event I agreed to "come up with something" to help celebrate not only the Alumni but the 50 Year Class reunion as well and I would be attending both. That was the beginning of a wonderful walk down memory lane. From an old black and white photograph of "Old Main" I created the color oil painting pictured on the left. The original building was demolished a few years ago although a couple of the other buildings still remain. Pictured below are most of the Hartford classmates I would have graduated with had I not moved away. The Alumni Dinner/Dance Reunion was held on May 12, 2012 and was a huge success with approximately a hundred and fifty alumni members returning from many other states. I think the oldest member was from the Class of 1939. An event such as this requires a tremendous amount of work and the planning committed did an outstanding job.
It was such a nostalgic feeling to return to my home town and see some of "the kids" I used to go to school with. I guess that's why we travel long distances for reunions. They are a tangible reminder of youth.
