Please visit the Profiles section. Read what everyone has been up to the last 40 years. Please be sure to update your contact information and add your grandchildren and any additional information
to your profile.
Special Thanks to the Planning Committee
Back in September, 2008; when we started organizing for the MHS ’69 Reunion, I told the members of our group my pseudonym* was Della. I told them I was Della Gator and that is pretty much “who” I have been since that day. I have been able to “delegate” responsibilities to others and see those things always accomplished.
I knew that the time two months prior to the Reunion would be a very busy time for me. But I so enjoy being a part of the organization of our Reunions, that I influenced others to “start early.”
The Planning Committee tossed around various itineraries between a one-night, two-night and multi-activity weekend; early summer, late summer, etc. It was decided to plan two evenings of activities and let everyone have the “daytime” to relax and have smaller group spontaneous activities. With those general parameters established we started to delegate responsibilities.
We had as much fun organizing the Reunion as we hope you do in attending the Reunion. There was always a member of our group that was willing to open their home or office for our gatherings and we truly enjoyed being with each other. Thanks to the gracious hosts/hostesses for the “planning parties.”
I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank certain individuals for their “valiant efforts” in making your weekend memorable in the “Summer of 2009.”
Bear with me as I walk you through the “planning process.” We contacted various venues throughout the city checking for available dates and locations, available bands, etc. and responsibilities for various aspects of the weekend were assigned.
In my usual elementary school teacher mode….I chose some fictional names for those Delegates. First up was Friday night. A “move” began to plan another party at Bob Biggs’ home, since it was the perfect spot for a party in 1999. Bob was receptive to hosting our group without any hesitation. He even upgraded his sound system for our pleasure. He was dubbed “Sir Friday Night.” The “ladies of the Night” were Arlene Tennyson Amos, chairperson (Arlene is as “detail-obsessive” as I am); Brenda Barrett Ethridge, Sally McClintock Thompson Sally, and Theresa Smith Smit. Also assisting with food preparations for Friday night were Michelle Hudson, Ginny Wright Phillips, Cissy Jackson Carter, Jen Maddox Sampson, Claire Hines Phillips, Sandra Kaiser Butler, Jan Mullin Lam, Loretta Thomas Holmes and Margaret Peters McLarty. Also providing his delicacies was the Master Chef, Mike Flannes. “Beverages” were made possible by the able logistics of Brenda Barrett Ethridge and Margaret Duck Gilliland.
Claire Hines Phillips took the reins for Saturday night’s arrangements. She and Logan had worked close at hand with Jackson Country Club in arranging a wedding reception for their daughter. She was “the Voice of Experience;” not to mention her older brother, Scott, had planned the MHS Class of ’68 40th at JCC last summer and was able to answer lots of questions for us. We were in good hands.
You can’t do anything these days without money! We needed the expertise of Madam Budget, Margaret Peters McLarty. She and the Money Men, Jerry Davis, Bob Biggs and Logan Phillips kept us on track. Their “pre-season” fundraiser made for easy planning. We appreciated their hard work and “steeri ng.”
How were we going to locate all the 460+ classmates? Call on a librarian and a school teacher, that’s how. Michelle Hudson has more recall of family connections than you can imagine. She knows the fourth cousin removed of every student that attended Murrah High in 1969. She used her “research librarian” skills and would not let one classmate go “un-researched.” Ginny Wright Phillips and her ability to stay focused on the task at hand made for a wonderful team. Ginny gave Michelle a “search engine” and the two of them located 93% of our Class of ’69. Kathy Fitts Howard also helped in locating her “part of the alphabet.” (We especially want to thank Kathy for the complimentary Refrigerator Magnets mailed to each of you earlier in the year.)
How were we going to get the word out? Call on our computer design expert. Jan Albriton Allinder has been maintaining our website since the day of its development. She has the expertise to include pages and formats we didn’t know were possible. She can post information and make it readily available. She also set up a Facebook page for our class.
We also got the word out with enthusiastic “phone chains.” Jen and Steve Sampson single-handedly contacted many in our class to encourage their attendance. There were others that helped Gail Jones Pittman, Chris Reagan, Pat Pray Sneed, Kit Whitsett Fields, and Amy Strickland York with every thing from addressing envelopes to writing a personal note.
How were we going to “keep up with everybody?” Let the same person do what she has done every time. Brenda Barrett Ethridge has this Registration thing down pat. She has maintained the Registration for all Reunions. We appreciate her continued willingness to “maintain the records.”
Speaking of maintaining “previous records;” the Nametag Ladies were back in action. Sandra Kaiser Butler and Jan McWilliams Annison made the nametags we all needed to “recognize the Class of ’69.”
Audie Norville Dodson is entertainment personified. I smile when I think of some of the amusing things she has said through the years. She also has ties to media through her “radio days as Gretchen.” Audie and Robert Bass worked tirelessly to develop a wonderful “memorabilia media” DVD of the Mustangs of ’69 and Memorial Area. Both rose to the challenge. Please take the time to go to the Memorial area and the media area and view their “valiant efforts.”
We did the right thing in 1969, when we had Duke Cain as editor of the Hoofbeat. Each time we have had a Reunion; Duke has voluntarily published a “new edition” of the Hoofbeat at no cost to our class. Be sure to get your copy from the 40th! His contribution does not need to go unrecognized.
Last, but not least, I want to thank Chuck Anepohl for his motivation. The daily dose of nostalgia was so much fun! I have music on my computer that I would have never gotten had it not been for Chuck. I know first-hand how time-consuming it can be to keep up e-mail. He was a trooper!
HAIL TO THE MUSTANGS VALIANT!!!!!
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your attendance of the MHS ’69 40th Reunion. You have helped make this event special for me.
*Once again, as I’ve said in years past…..Thanks, Ms. Russell and other wonderful teachers of MHS for teaching me big words like pseudonym; but please forgive me for the various changes in tense from first to third person.
AnBonita (A.B. Clark) Nichols
And a huge Thank You to A.B.!!!
Remembering...
Glance back,
glance back on a year once part of you.
Let it tumble down the dusty halls of your mind.
Recall the warmth of those halls after the parking lot haul.
In the beginning there was revolution;
but the revolution was without form and void.
The pep rallies; mustering spirit and stamina for the test,
and wondering now and then if it was all worth it.
There were football games; you wore your new sweater,
shouted hoarse, memorized numbers and positions, won and lost.
You made friends and lost friends, and maybe didn't bother with either;
for as the air grew colder maybe you did too... just a little.
The Routine consumed you, Senior or not. The weekends Krystalized into
frenzied, freewheeling nights, awakening to lazy, do-nothing-but-something
afternoons. The questions you asked weren't always answered, and what
you sought wasn't always found. It was this and these that made "69" different.
The Planning Committee tossed around various itineraries between a one-night, two-night and multi-activity weekend; early summer, late summer, etc. It was decided to plan two evenings of activities and let everyone have the “daytime” to relax and have smaller group spontaneous activities. With those general parameters established we started to delegate responsibilities. 
In my usual elementary school teacher mode….I chose some fictional names for those Delegates. First up was Friday night. A “move” began to plan another party at Bob Biggs’ home, since it was the perfect spot for a party in 1999. Bob was receptive to hosting our group without any hesitation. He even upgraded his sound system for our pleasure. He was dubbed “Sir Friday Night.” The “ladies of the Night” were Arlene Tennyson Amos, chairperson (Arlene is as “detail-obsessive” as I am); Brenda Barrett Ethridge, Sally McClintock Thompson Sally, and Theresa Smith Smit. Also assisting with food preparations for Friday night were Michelle Hudson, Ginny Wright Phillips, Cissy Jackson Carter, Jen Maddox Sampson, Claire Hines Phillips, Sandra Kaiser Butler, Jan Mullin Lam, Loretta Thomas Holmes and Margaret Peters McLarty. Also providing his delicacies was the Master Chef, Mike Flannes. “Beverages” were made possible by the able logistics of Brenda Barrett Ethridge and Margaret Duck Gilliland.