Remembering the good old school days

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The school days for these classmates may have ended years ago, but they can still recall the memories fondly. It’s the class of 1940 of North Emery High School. They meet often to renew old friendships. One such meeting took place recently at the Star Grill and Fun Center in Huntington.
The group met to reminisce about the old days and create new memories. The old friends traded stories on their families and how things are going. These classmates walked out the school doors 58 years ago, but that’s OK, they still have plenty to discuss.
Karl Truman recalls his days of running track at the school. In 1939, he remembers going to the World’s Fair held in San Francisco. His calf took fourth place there and did well. His classmates also reminded him that he rode a donkey one day down the stairs at the school. Classmates also joked they couldn’t tell which one was the donkey.
Marie Cowley remembers running track and being in the plays and always participating in speech and drama. She was also a cheerleader.
Blake Jones recalls their class was one of the largest graduating classes. Students from Elmo, Cleveland and Huntington merged together for the high school. The students went to elementary through junior high in Cleveland and then came to Huntington for high school. Jones recalls playing sports in school and was the fastest in the dash. His team broke the medley relay record that year and Karl Truman was one of his team mates. They played baseball and basketball but not football because it was too expensive at the time. North Emery competed against Price, Helper, East Carbon, Central High, South Emery and Green River.
LaRue Kinder said their class was the best. They had 33 classmates and three boys left for the service. Sometimes the whole school would go out and play games together. She recalls one day when the entire school sluffed and the principal and teachers went looking for them. “I really enjoyed my schooling,” said Kinder.
Some of the men recalled heading to the Buckhorn on Easter and chasing the wild horses and smoking George Washington tobacco in pipes. They would chase horses, sit by the fire and hunt rabbits. “We weren’t the meanest kids, we were just kids,” they said.
Ruby Rowley recalls moving to Huntington in 1938 from the Hiawatha coal mine. She participated in debate and remembers her debate teacher Elmo Geary. She once went to BYU for an extemporaneous speaking contest. All the kids were good to her as she became acquainted with everyone and became friends with Rita Jensen. Rowley enjoyed chemistry, chorus and English. “We had a lot of good teachers and our principal Mr. Bennett was really good. My husband was older than me and I met him when we went riding horses. Sometimes for seminary we would go for moonlight rides on horses out in the foothills,” said Rowley.
Lael Jensen said she remembers the senior trip to Boulder Dam. She was also the class Valedictorian. “We’ve been a close class all these years and we’ve kept in touch with each other. We like to get together,” she said.
The senior trip was taken by school bus and they rolled up in their quilts to sleep out on the ground. They didn’t have sleeping bags. They cooked all their own food, only stopping at a restaurant once to eat and to find a place to take a bath. Mr. and Mrs. Mortensen accompanied the seniors on their trip which was great fun said Jensen.
Getting together for this special occasion included classmates and spouses: LaRue Kinder, Helen Majnik, Blake and Wilda Jones, Marie Cowley, Karl Truman, Leah Neilan, Rita Kinder Jensen, Claudia Aubert, Mary Lynn McNatt, chauffeur, Lael Miller, Ruby Rowley, Kurt Young, Scott Nielson and Lila Nielson.
They gathered from Huntington, St. George, Grand Junction, Thousand Oakes, Salt Lake, Minersville and other locations for an afternoon of food and visiting with old friends.
They appreciate the Star Grill for allowing the reunion to take place in their restaurant.