Songs, Poetry, News

Judy Winn, NHS Queen

(Article from The Natchitoches Times, Thursday, May 3, 1962)

Judy Winn was elected by the student body of Natchitoches High to reign as queen at the spring dance sponsored by the Student Council held Saturday night in the school gym.  Escorting Miss Winn was Van Barker.

A Hawaiian theme was carried out with the queen's chair decorated to resemble an orchid.  Tall palm trees stood at either side of the entrance door and artificial flowers were used throughout the room.

During the floor show Patty Graham rendered a Hawaiian dance while Suzanne Maynard, Glenda Durr, Norma Collier and Bevely Glass sang two numbers accompanied by Mary Nell Lott on the alto harp.

Refreshments of punch, cookies and mints were served.  Larry Fisher acted as master of ceremonies.

Maids to the queen and their escorts were Bonnie Allen and Joe Beasley; Emelyn Morrison and Robert Deason; Nelwyn Mayeaux and James Lilley; Sue Davis and Johnny Whittington; Janet Durr and Charles Pridgen; Barbara Tauzin and Eran Buckley; Susan Thompson and Jim Hollingsworth; Claudette Wallace and Donald Cormack; Janet Butler and Roger Greene; Jo Ann Richardson and Wayman Ham; Geraldine Neal and Don Mitchell; LeLone James and John Otwell; Judy Duriez and Duke Richardson; Cheryl Spinks and Harry Creighton; and Nancy Clayton and Kenneth Arthur.

 

Natchitoches High School Alma Mater

Thy hallowed halls will always live though time passes on.
The memories of the joy stays near though all else is gone.
Truth and guidance thou hast brought us
Through the years thy hand hath wrought us.
High the standard thou has taught us,
Dear Ole NHS.
 
Through the years, we've traveled over life's every hill.
Yet, thinking of you, NHS, our hearts with rapture fill.
Those we loved have gone forever;
New ones walk old paths together.
New or old, it changes never,
Dear Ole NHS.

 

Natchitches High School Fight Song

Cheers, cheers for ole NHS
We'll show the world that we are the best.
Send a volley cheer on high.
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
We're always loyal.  We're always true.
We're all on hand and we're backing you.
Stand and fight with ALL YOUR MIGHT!
Fight onward to victory.

 

Tribute to A. B. Simpson by John Ropp

A Salute to Mr. Simpson, Our High School Principal

As we reminisce about our high school days, we remember our principal in many ways,  Just closing our eyes we still can see this admired man we secretly called A.B.

Mr. Simpson served Natchitoches High for years.  Our memories come back with laughs and tears.  He walked the halls as quiet as a ghost, but respect for his leadership stands out the most.

We think of all the contributions he made, the time, effort, loyalty and price he paid.  He could show a serious but friendly face, and walk an extra mile, any time, any place.

Remember the assembly we had each school day?  He hoped his lecture would guide our future pathway.  The man touched our lives as he would a friend; Oh, how we wish we could hear him again.

Built like Lincoln, his hair was sandy red.  Go to his office and you retained what he said.  Education and discipline came first - no doubt;  his mond ethical values were strong and stout.

Now when your life shadows slowly fall, And all about our high school days we recall, A treasured reflection of Mr. Simpson will always be there.  We cherish his commitment, his trust and his care.

When we all reach Heaven in the blue, if a school house is there for me and you, we know Mr. Simpson will be our principal in space, making sure we are all present in the proper place.

John Ropp, Reunion 2005, Classes 1942-1946, Natchitoches High School, Natchitoches, Louisiana.  Used by permission.

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From The Natchitoches Times, August 1982

NHS Classmates of 1962 Gather For Second Ten-Year Reunion

A Friday evening cocktail party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Gwinn on upper Cane River was the opening activity for the "second ten-year" reunion of the Natchitoches High School Class of 1962.

The reunion activities for the week-end of July 30-31 also included a family picnic, fish fry, and an evening program.

Norma Collier Melder, chairman for the planning committee, was assisted by Carolyn Buckley Aldredge, Linnye Wimberly Daily, Sandra Quimby Rougeou, and Sue Breedlove.  They were thanked by the evening program masters of ceremonies, Lloyd (Duke) Richardson and Ross Gwinn, who also extended the class members' appreciation to Diane Baker Voss, whose father Glen Baker printed the mini-yearbooks.

Remembrance of three deceased classmates -- Charles Rollo, Glenda Durr and Larry O'Quinn -- was acknowledged by Eran Buckley.

Faculty members at NHS during the years the class was in school were also recognized.

The host committee welcomed their former classmates at the cocktail party at the Gwinn home, where one of the decorations on the fruit table was a palm tree of fruit and leaves created by JoAnn Breedlove Ford.

Phil and Mary Lou Pierson Brown and their family led the afternoon games of flour and water bomb tosses and raw egg throw during the family picnic at the Shrine Club's Sibley Lake facilities.  Watermelon was also served by Lloyd and Judith Richardson and their son, Andrew.

Harold and Norma Melder planned the fish fry where the 1962 graduates frolicked, awards were presented, and appreciation noted.

Class members present, most of whom were accompanied by their spouses and children, included Judy Winn Warren of Singapore; Mary Lou Pierson Brown of Woodbridge, Va.; Tot Thomason Cargile of Nashville, Ark.; G. Roger Greene of Clinton, Miss.; Suzanne Maynard Forsberg of Barrington, Ill.; and Steve Hyde of Laguna Beach, Calif.

Also Diane Baker Voss of San Jose, Calif.; Lloyd I. Richardson of St. Louis, Mo.; and the wife of Kenneth Arthur of Poway, Calif.

Texas residents attending included Frances R. Bouis Adkins of Carrollton, Sue Breedlove of Houston, Donald Cormack of Katy, Martha Noah Ewell of Plano, Bevely Glass Ford of Dallas, Sidney D. Green of Conroe, Charlotte Breedlove Leach of Georgetown, Sarah Ferguson Lockridge of Longview, Dalton P. Lofton of Spring, JoAnn Gourdon Sewell of Baytown, and Michael Wayne Wedgeworth of Crosby.

Also present were Jerry Blankenship of Lafayette, Lynn Straughan Book of Monterey, Harry Creighton of Clayton, Paul L. Crow of Shreveport, Linda Crawford Gross of Monroe, Sandra Sewell Jordan of Keithville, Carolyn Rose Masson, Don Mitchel and Barbara Guin Vercher of Bossier City.

Also, Cheryl Spinks Mose of Lake Charles, Katy Watkins Parker of Baton Rouge, Sandra Quimby Rougeou of Bunkie, William D. Wallace of Youngsville, and M. Hampton Carver of New Orleans.

Classmates attending from the Natchitoches area were Carolyn Buckley Aldredge, Van Barker, Joe Beasley, Eran Buckley, James Cade, Beanie Brown Carney, Linnye Wimberly Daily, Ross Gwinn, Norma Collier Melder, Mary Nell Lott Whitaker, Bruce Guilliams, Liz Simpson Parnell, and David Bailey.

Former NHS faculty and staff members invited and other guests were Mrs. Andrew Hargis, Mrs. Glen Greene, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Slater, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Tynes Hildebrand, Dr. and Mrs. Trent Melder, Dr. and Mrs. Leo Albritten, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Adcock, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Ainsworth, Dr. Derwood Duke, Sheriff Norm Fletcher, and Don Book.

Members of the Class of 1962 became techers, lawyers, secretaries, salesmen, engineers, pilots, and housewives.  There are also an investment supervisor, timber dealer, tour coordinator, media specialist, audit manager, nurseryman and landscape contractor, commodity specialist, librarian, mechanical technician, and computer audit specialist among the classmates.

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20th Class Reunion, July 1982

by Liz Simpson Parnell

The date is set; friends notified, but the days creep slowly by.

Friday is almost here now and excitement seems to multiply.

It seems like only yesterday that we were kids in school

Learning English, math, biology, and even the Golden Rule.

Penny loafers and bobby sox -- they were the mode of the day.

Turned up collars and ponytails we thought were here to stay.

Listening to "Elvis" and the Everly Brothers, "dreaming" our time away.

Dancing the twist, the jitterbug, even the slow dance was okay.

Wearing his sweater with a letter and going steady was the craze.

Math equations, English lit., and history filled our days.

The bell would ring, everyone on the stairs enmasse,

Hurry to the locker, grab your books, can't be late for class.

But that bell no longer rings for us; twenty years have passed since then.

And the kids that hastened to its summons

Have changed into women and men.

What will they be like?  These friends of mine from the past?

Some may be doctors, lawyers, politicians or singers and actresses in a cast;

Homemakers, artists, teachers, construction workers or even preachers.

How have they chosen to live their lives?

Have some remained single?  Or all husbands and wives?

Have the years been kinder to them than to me?

Do they still have their figures?  We shall see!

But as I ponder these things, I realize

The years added to me are quite a few

But I'm still picturing them as in 1962.

 



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