HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF 1963
We're not the best class to graduate from Pawhuska High School, nor are we the worst. Yet we are unique, and the only reason we are that is that we consist of personalities that have never been here before.
We may have broken records by electing Melvin Reed either class president or class vice-president every year since the seventh grade. Sharon Hughes kept us laughing and disciplined us when our behavior was unseemly. Joe Soderstrom played his guitar and punched cows while Jim Beaird taught us to be good sports. Kay Mayfield and Stephanie Williams edited a rather controversial newspaper, and Mary Jane McCall looked shocked, Kathy Moody, Virginia Webster, and Jean Ann Covington lent us beauty. Dave Harrison was a genius's genius. Penny Friend made sure that we properly hated sheep ranchers.
Eddie Allen changed his name to Ethan and started collecting Green Mountain Boy dues. Marcy Loy constantly spouted her special brand of exuberance. Gary Alred was our strong, silent cowboy. Aaron Bighorse was all that a Bighorse at PHS is supposed to be -- a legend in itself; and Andrew Red Corn was the last of a long line of Red Corns.
Connie Blacknoll amazed us with his strength. Joan Callahan was hardly ever short-tempered. Bobby Carnagey got the most from a black Buick. Edith Endsley and Valda Boylan were always friendly. Ronnie Carter promised to be our generation's Gene Krupa. Sue Christenson was efficiency personified.
Tom Dikeman kissed the Football Queen (Virginia Webster) and a hundred other girls longed to be in her place. Pam Fortune and Mary Malaske were precision stamp-lickers. Kenny Gilkey proved himself a true Gilkey by his antics on the basketball court. Roland Ross was also a fine player. Lee Hamilton and Donna Hartness were our sophisticates. Gail Hudson was always in on a good time.
There was always a question about what Carolyn Hurn and Clinton Rumsey might do next. Cheryl Hyde and Linda Williams were always well-informed. Raymond Jech, Curtis Kekahbah, and Robert Moore caused and got out of a considerable amount of trouble. Janet Jowell had the world by the tail. Sharon McKee stormed around in a fabulous convertible. Helen Taylor and Eva Franklin kept tabs on the town in a little black Rambler.
At the Red Bud, Emma Grof had tremendous patience. Richard Patterson was everywhere at once. Jim Pierce and Rozanne Severns lived in a world of their own, as did Mary Pyle and Larry Mobley. Leroy Gullett gave us what time Kathy could spare. Carol Stephenson happily awaited her big day.
Gary Potter, Jackie Manley, and David Ray held the band together (with a little help from Mr. Arnold). Ray Roberts was our star snooker player -- or should have been. Barbara Shepherd loyally worse her '63 sweatshirt to work. Raymond Stice defied description -- he's also a wonderful athlete. Leonard Sumpter was on the All-State football team, and we were proud of him. Kenny Templeton was everybody's favorite.
Pam Weyl Carter came back, left, and came back again--with a new name. Gary Jack Willis came to school every once in a while--we miss you, Gary. Jimmy Rector was the head of the student body and a very able one. Judy Conley kept our feet tapping as she hummed. Blackie Ricketts usually had a smile on this face. Donna Wikoff was a great addition to our music department. Wanda Parsons was our erstwhile librarian, while Sharon Lane was our quiet latecomer.
We have done all the things other senior classes have done: we have elected officers and queens and cheered our teams. We have on occasion studied. But those are ordinary events; they aren't novel. They are important only as the people involved are important. Therefore, this has not been a history of events but a history of people. We shall remember each other long after the events are forgotten. We ask that the future classes of Pawhuska High School remember us, too, for we're the only one of our kind.
We also ask that you study hard and learn, for you have ahead of you a tradition to keep, people to serve, a world to hold together.
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