The 2025 Alumni Weekend and the Class of ‘65

In 1976, Random House published What Really Happened to the Class of ‘65, written by Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky, two members of the senior class at Palisades High School in an upscale section of Los Angeles. Truman Grogan and I read the book, and although it featured California students, were surprised at the similarities with our high school experience in the Ozarks.

 

Now, it seems obvious. We listened to the same music—The Beatles, The Beachboys, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Supremes, and The Four Seasons—and watched the same TV programs: Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Donna Reed Show, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Moreover, the stock high school characters were the same: athletes, popular cheerleaders, band members, student council members, high-achievers, and loners. 

 

With only three major networks, we saw the same TV news—The Today Show, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, and Walter Cronkite—and experienced the Kennedy Assassination, the Vietnam War, the Draft, and were musically transformed by the “British Invasion.” Not surprisingly, when classmate Dan Zimmerman and I worked in Yellowstone Park the summer after graduation, with kids from all over the country, we fit in without missing a beat.

 

The Class of 1965 was part of a national phenomenon. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the high school graduating class of 1965, nationwide, was the largest in U.S. history up to that point, with approximately 2.7 million graduates. This record was driven by the birth rate in 1947, the year in which most of my classmates were born at the leading edge of the Baby Boomer generation.

 

Willow Springs was a part of the boom. A headline in the 1962 Willamizzou reported “Willow’s Largest Freshman Class Enrolls in ’61-’62,” and the freshman class pages had 126 photographs. By comparison, the Class of ’64, (the first-year of the Baby Boom generation) showed 92 students, and the Junior class (the last year of the Silent Generation) had 75 photos in the yearbook. 

 

What happened to the WSHS Class of 1965? This past Memorial Weekend on Friday night, 23 members, some with their spouses, gathered at Cattlemen’s Steakhouse and pondered that and other questions. 

By far, the prevailing question was how could sixty years have passed so quickly? It reminds me of the character in Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, when asked how he went bankrupt, he replied, “gradually and then suddenly.” 

 

From our tenth reunion, which back then felt like a long stretch since graduation, time meandered. The years tumbled forward, with reunions seeming closer together, until suddenly, the sixtieth arrived with all the solemnity of "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year’s Eve. Nevertheless, our evening event was not a solemn affair. The room was filled with laughter, as folks remembered the fun times of being Willow Springs Bears in the 1960s.  

 

Several recalled our rambunctious 10-year reunion at the Legion Hall, when some rowdy classmates climbed the fence to the municipal swimming pool for a midnight swim. That evening, just after one classmate, who shall remain anonymous, executed a perfect dive from the high board, Willow’s constable appeared on the scene with the lights on his cruiser flashing. Then, someone yelled, “Don’t worry! Whit will get us out of jail.” Thankfully, legal representation was not required, and my rowdy friends have settled down. (Apologies to Hank Junior)

 

Our class, which seemed perpetually young, can’t outrun Father Time. Recently, I read an article about a Stanford University study on aging that indicates we age in plateaus rather than as a steady decline, and ages 30, 62, and 78 are significant turning points for biological aging. Yikes, 78 is the age of most of my class. 

 

Yes, age has taken a toll. The brochure for our graduation ceremony listed 91 members, but Carol Hale Aldridge says her transcript lists our graduation number at 98. Of the ninety-something, 43 have passed away. The remainer of the Class of ‘65, however, will continue to give Father Time a run for his money. 

 

Alumni Weekend never fails to provide stories to share for this column. I heard a couple anecdotes about WSHS teacher Mrs. Jessie Munford, whom I have mentioned numerous times in this column. Chances are, if you went to Willow Springs High School from 1927 to 1967, you had Mrs. Munford as an English teacher. 

 

Classmates Jerry Brazeal and Joe Corn shared two stories about our venerable English teacher I had not heard before. One day in English class our freshman year, while we reviewed the results of a test, Jerry raised his hand and said, “I didn’t get this here number 4.” Mrs. Munford’s eyebrows elevated and she began lecturing him, at some length, about his improper grammar. At some point, Jerry could not resist interrupting her and said, “I meant to say ‘that there.’” The words had barely passed his lips when she sent him to the principal’s office. 

 

Joe’s story is from the same era. He asked Mrs. Munford how to spell a word, and she told him to look it up in the dictionary. Joe said, “How can I look it up if I don’t know how to spell it.” Mrs. Munford also had Joe’s father as a student and remarked that Joe was just like his father. Perhaps, she thought they both were clever.

 

On Saturday at the Alumni Picnic at the airport, I chatted with David Barnes (WSHS 1962), whom I had not seen since my freshman year. David, a star basketball player, was also a fine baritone who portrayed Curly in the lead role of the WSHS production of Oklahoma. His father Ernest owned a barbershop directly across the street from the present-day Howell County News office on Main Street. I reminded David that he was present in the shop, offering instructions to his dad and me, the day I received my first flattop in 1960. 

 

The process Mr. Barnes used has been discontinued. After sheering my Brylcreemed, Ricky Ricardo-style pompadour to a spiky style, later made popular by Bart Simpson, he covered my entire head with shaving cream. He removed the shaving cream by rubbing my scalp with a block of alum the size of a bar of soap. The shaving cream magically disappeared leaving my shorted hair stiff and standing. No need for Butch Wax.

 

With a little research, I learned the method Mr. Barnes employed, which is now effectively prohibited by Missouri sanitation regulations for barbers and cosmetologists, probably evolved from the days when barbers regularly shaved faces. After a face, lathered with soap, was shaved, an alum block was used to remove the soap and serve as an astringent for cuts. 

 

Among the many events available on Alumni Weekend, a must-stop for me is the open-house luncheon at Bailey Chevrolet. I enjoyed seeing local members of the Bailey family, Wendell, Jayne, Jill, Vicki Cave, and owner John Bailey and his wife Valerie Kissee Bailey. 

 

Soon after I arrived, John Bailey ushered me into his office to tell me about two upcoming matters in Willow Springs. First, the 100-Years of Bear Football Celebration on September 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. John mentioned that players from different decades would be recognized, which prompted a discussion of notable players from the past, including Sonny Stringer, Neil Hanks, Bill Flood, Junior Christopher, and Ike Lovan from the glory days of the early 1950s.

 

Secondly, John showed me an impressive brochure for a proposed new YMCA building in Willow Springs. The project is spearheaded by Bailey Chevrolet General Manager Derek Fredrick, who told me the proposed facility would have a gym and provide space for much-needed childcare.

 

Interestingly, I had cruised Main earlier and lamented the businesses that no longer existed. But hearing the enthusiasm of John and Derek and about the YMCA project, I was encouraged that the future of Willow Springs is in good hands, with civic leaders like them. 

 

A couple shoutouts: Thanks to Tom and Phyliss White and all the volunteers and event managers who pulled off another excellent Alumni Weekend. And thanks to the Patel management and staff at the Comfort Inn that provided excellent hospitality. 

 

Go Bears!