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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2015)
A10 Community Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 8, 2015 SAVORING SCHOOL DAYS Mt. Vernon alumni gather for all-class reunion %\&KHU\O+RHÀHU Blue Mountain Eagle MT. VERNON – With ages spanning almost 80 yeaUs, the FUoZd ¿ lling &lyde Holliday State Park on the Fourth of July had one thing in common. They all attended or gradu- ated from Mt. Vernon School. Alumni were present from 1932 to 1991, the year of the last graduating class, when the K-12 school transitioned into a middle school. The oldest alumnus to at- tend was Jack &luEE, of Pend- leton, from the class of 1932. The one who traveled the far- thest to the reunion was Bon- nie Pankey /emEerger, class of 1962, who came from Fair- Eanks, Alaska. According to organizer Lin- da Mc&umEer, aEout 300 peo- ple attended – one of the largest turnouts they’ve ever had. Mc&umEer, who has Eeen on the reunion committee from the start, said they Eegan plan- ning reunions soon after the last class graduated in 1991, and have Eeen holding them every ¿ ve years for aEout the past 20 years. The Saturday picnic was only one of the happenings from a full schedule of activities which ¿ lled the three day weekend. Friday evening there was a meet-and-greet at the Wag- About 300 people turned out at Clyde Holliday State Park for the all-class Mt. Vernon School reunion over the July 4 weekend. Contributed photos Players from the Mt. Vernon 1962 basketball team visit with their coach, Jack Potter, third from left. Mt. Vernon alumni and family gather at Clyde Holliday State Park for the all-class reunion. From left, Linda McCumber of Mt. Vernon, Bonnie Lemberger of Alaska, and Barbara Palmer of Mt. Vernon visit during the reunion weekend. on Wheel and games at the &ommunity &enter. Saturday was the picnic and an evening B REAKING N EWS A LERTS By Reiba Carter-Smith and Gaye Pruit To the Blue Mountain Eagle Preventive, Restorative, & Endodontics 208 NW Canton, John Day 541-575-2725 mbddental@live.com & michaelbdesjardindmd.com LONG &REEK - Domas Gymnasium at Long &reek School was decorated and full of friends greeting and visiting of old times June 20. The week prior was filled with preparations of posters with pictures of stu- dents from 1930s to 201. Parents took their children from class poster to class poster showing what their school was like when they attended. DRIVERS WANTED WITH CARS JULY 18, 2015 Grant County Fairgrounds John Day, Oregon Mc&umEer said one anon- ymous donor contriEuted $2,000 toward that effort. Anyone interested in do- nating to the cause or helping with the reunions, can call Mc- &umEer at 51-932-8 or 51-620-8100. Alumni share memories Michael B. DesJardin Dentistry, PC New Patients Welcome! Derby Entry Fee $50/car, driver & 1 pit crew Pit Pass - $30/per person Trophies Plus $250 / each heat year after closing the school several years earlier. With no school Euilding availaEle now, the reunion commit- tee is trying to raise money for a Euilding in which they can house trophies and other school memoraEilia. C OMMUNITY VOICES myeaglenews.com/breakingnews Don’t Forget to Floss dance in the &ommunity &en- ter. &lassmates were also aEle to re-visit the school gym and view trophies and other mem- oraEilia that morning. The event concluded with a Ereak- fast Sunday morning. Grant School District #3 sold the school Euilding last Mt. Vernon School alumni chat over breakfast at the Mt. Vernon Community Center on July 5 during the reunion weekend. • Read Rules • No Imperials Sponsored by Whiskey Gulch Gang For more information and rules call Hugh Farrell 541-575-0329 GET SAME-DAY DELIVERY * and a FREE $25 Visa Gift Card with your East Oregonian subscription Contributed photos Eston Weissenfluh, Long Creek class of 1940, chats with Tebeau and Gail Piquet. Other memoraEilia were on display, including uni- forms for the majorettes in the Rose Festival Parade Eand of Long &reek. Sports shirts were hung aEout the Easkets. <earEooks and old school newspapers lay on taEles to peruse. ,n one cor- ner was a triEute to veterans from this area. Many sent pictures and records of their proud career serving the United States. Merlynne Derrick Parker is collecting information for a Eook. &ontact her to share your information. Parker, Linda Johns Hunt and Marilyn &ole- Eank GiEEs spent the week arranging items for display. Sherry’s catered the dinner and served 10 Eeef dinner plates Saturday evening. A meet-and-greet cake reception was held in the school cafeteria June 19. That’s where some help was needed knowing who is who, after 50 years of not seeing each other – fun and laughter times. The Long &reek Historical Society served a continental Ereak- fast and a lunch of lasagna with homemade sauce Sat- urday. The guests were very generous donors. Thanks so much. ,n the afternoon, Monica Johnson of Oklahoma sang and played, while the John- son family of Mt. Vernon accompanied. Grant Dick- erson, a past student, played Only the East Oregonian delivers the region’s most comprehensive news coverage and shopping information five days a week. Plus, your subscription includes unlimited access to EastOregonian.com. Rates are as low as $21 a month when you sign up for EZ Pay! You must call 800-522-0255 to take advantage of this gift card offer. *Offer valid only for those who have not subscribed to the East Oregonian in the past 30 days. It is only available by calling the East Oregonian at the number above. Gift cards will be processed four-to-six weeks after payment is received. Mail delivery day may vary in some areas of Grant County. 2830 10th St., Baker City, OR 541-524-0122 EVERY OTHER TUESDAY Gail Ledgerwood Pholot and Eldon Johns, Long Creek class of 1947. his music as well. For the dance, Frank &arlson of Baker &ity performed. A ticket raffle was held half- way through the dance. Odds and ends were the re- ward for the winning dinner tickets. Though our crowd thinned, he played energet- ically until nearly midnight. Some of us were less ener- getic. Sunday, June 21, the farewell Ereakfast was pro- vided Ey Allovars organi- zation. Oven-Eaked French toast, with fresh ElueEerry syrup over the top, is hard to Eeat. <um. ,t is hard to say µadios’ after such a Erief time. To some it was an A-plus time even with few attending, Eut that meant one could spend more visiting time with in- dividuals. For some it was their first time to attend, espe- cially for those from &ana- da. Others have not missed one reunion, and are excit- ed to come every five years to enjoy old and some new friends. Bill from Germany en- joys and helps clean up. &harley from ,daho helps stack chairs. Dwight from Oklahoma fills in wherev- er there is a need and with sacks of garEage. &hris from &alifornia with a camera on demand. Kent wore a mountaineer costume. Eldon Johns and Gail Ledgerwood Pho- lot were two from class of 19. Eston Weissenfluh was the eldest graduate at- tending from the class of 190. What a great weekend for the city and alumni with gorgeous weather – perfect in the green Long &reek Valley. Reiba Carter Smith and Gaye Pruit are members of the Long Creek Historical Society.