Every month we have two meals for former classmates. There is a breakfast for mostly guys, and it is the last Wednesday of each month at The Hotcake Emporium, 6845 Bluff Road. Last month I sat next to Richard Sickels, and we had a wonderful time.
Part of our chat involved Richard’s childhood neighborhood around Raymond and East streets, which was home to the Fireside South Restaurant and Singer’s Sunoco Service Station. We also talked about several other businesses in the area. My dad’s sister and her family lived on East Street, north of G.H. Herrmann Funeral Home.
Our class also holds a luncheon for mostly women on the first Wednesday of each month. The next one is Sept. 6 at Dawson’s, 1464 Main St., Speedway. Glenna Shotts-Warwick is handling the arrangements.
The fourth Edgewood/James Whitcomb Riley Grade School all-class reunion will take place from 5-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at The Atrium, 3143 E. Thompson Road.
I remember being somewhat overwhelmed by the size of the Edgewood building and the playground when I was a first-grader. The following year we moved to the new Riley building, which was just for first- and second-graders, and everything was much easier to deal with. I was back at Edgewood as a third-grader.
In addition to being a student at Edgewood, I was later a bus driver for the school for several years. It was special to go from being a student and being mentored by the staff to becoming a small part of that staff as a young adult. I drove Bus No. 34; the main area of my route was the Rosedale Hills.
Then on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15 and 16, my Southport High School graduating class of 1960 is holding its annual reunion. One of our former classmates, Judy Tout-Synder, can find anyone. She is our guiding force in organizing these special events. She even assists other Southport classes to find lost classmates for their reunions.
On Sept. 15 we will go out to dinner, and the following day is our picnic. It is so much fun to visit with folks who I see every month and former classmates who haven’t attended a reunion for a long time.
My class has always enjoyed getting together and recalling stories. These tales are often told and retold, back and forth at all of these gatherings. I have noticed that the stories seem to get better and better over the years.
We also try to attend a home football and basketball game each year. Athletic director Pete Hubert has been wonderful about having a small area of seats roped off and assigned to our class for these events. We have also been introduced by the public address announcers.
We have a great high school class. It is awesome that we graduated in 1960 and most of us are only in our mid-30s (never mind trying to do the math).
Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.