Wanda Odum (Holt)

Thanks for all the hard work that went into making the 40th Reunion the success it was!  I have enjoyed reliving it through everyone's pictures.  I finally got mine posted today.  A special thanks to all the spouses and friends who attended.  Sometimes it is hard for graduates to attend reunions so it is even more so for spouses.  A BIG thanks to mine for tagging along.  Being a retired principal, he especially enjoyed the homage to Mr. Edwards!  Does this mean 40 years from now a bunch of 60 year olds may be dancing around a life-sized cutout of Mr. Holt? 

Well, I'll see some of you around town (chamber, family reunions, etc).  For the rest of you, stay safe until we meet again in two years for the big 6-0 party. 

Larry Vantrease

It was a very special night!  When I reflect, several things come to mind.  No one just sat at their tables.  All night long everyone continued to mingle.  There were no "Clics", everyone socialized on an equal basis.  The way it should be.  Everyone was smiling.  The best quote was from David Bryson, "This is the best reunion I have been to. Its just not a loud dance party."  For all those lucky enough to attend, they know it was special.  To special to wait every 40 years.  It was truly a healthy experience for all.  I would hope we can find some forum in the future to have get togethers of some sort.  A time, a place, a little food... That's really all it takes. A small task for such a hugh reward.  Like many others I wish we were still together..

Billy Gray Johnson

It was a very good time with very good friends.  So many of us still smiling.  Sorry I missed "Friday night Before."  I'm sure it must have been an oversight on my behalf; certainly not an "exclusive clique thing."  I had homework anyway... had to pull an all nighter before classes on Saturday and Sunday.  I'm not sure I should have gotten into this doctor thing.  Sheesh.  Our reunion was my only weekend break, and a welcome, long awaited break it was. Thanks to those of you who spoke and shared a laugh or two.

Billy

Steve Williams

thanks to everybody who had a part in planning our reunion. i had the best of times. i can truly say i did not want the night to end. the night brought make so many memories. we definately need to figure a way to see each other more often. to those of you who for whatever reason were unable to attend and will see this posting, please try to stay in touch, we missed each of you. i was so proud to be a part of our class. what a great bunch of people. may God bless each of you richly. i love you all.   steve williams  ay                                                               .                                                                                                         

Carol Rogers (Russell)

Thanks to everyone who had a part in planning the reunion.  It was so much fun to see everyone and I really look forward to keeping in touch with everyone.  The pictures and slide show have been so much fun to look at. 

Carol

Joe Timothy Jones

Just wanted to wish all of you dads a "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY"!  It's a job that I never comprehended as a teenager.  My father and I were always butting heads when I was young.  So, it wasn't until I became a father that I gained repect for what he was trying to teach me.  Well done Dad!  Life has a way of teaching you what you refuse to learn from your parents.

It's too hot to be out doors, so I think I'll be lazy this Father's Day and sit in the cool A/C with the sterio cranked and play that DHS playlist just one more time!

My love to all!

J.T.J.

Joe Timothy Jones

To All of You Donelson High School People!  I just wanted to let everyone know what a wonderful time I had!!! Everyone made me feel like I was a part of your class! I loved meeting all my husband's commrades!!  I truly hope my 30th Reunion goes off as well!!!We are in the planning stages right now!! I truly enjoyed myself and loved meeting everyone! I hope to get together with some of you before the next two years! I am also looking foward to The Birthday Reunion!!!  GREAT TIMES WITH GREAT PEOPLE!!!!!!!

 Your newest friend, Tim's wife, Denise or D.A.J.

PS Maybe my husband will remember the Stereo at my Reunion!!!!! Ha! Ha!

Susan Stockell

The reunion was a wonderful event!  I can't say it better than that.  Thank you Jane, Larry, Eddie, Barbara, Tim, Pat (finder of people), Barry, and all the other helping hands.  To everyone who attended--and to those who didn't attend, but participated in other ways--y'all rock...and roll! 

I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people, too many of whom I failed to recognize, for which I apologize.  If I looked like a deer in the headlights, that's pretty much how I felt, which was unfortunate since I missed speaking to several people who had exchanged messages with me. 

The pictures have been fun to view.  I've been testing myself by not looking first at names that some of you have kindly added.  (wry grin)

Best to all,

Susan

Margaret (Scottie ) Atchley

I had such a great time at your reunion! After I recovered from the shock of seeing a bunch of older people, I searched the faces and found the boys and girls who sat in my classroom. You will always be those young boys and girls to me.  It is nice to get to know the adults whom you have become.

Jane Hall, I had Mrs. Ruby Majors in elementary school, and then , again in high school. When I started teaching at DHS ,she was there as a teacher. Now, I live within walking distance of the school named for her. She and her husband were great people. Thanks for all of the work which you did for the reunion.

I'm proud of all of you. A's all around.

Donna Adwell

What a night!  It was great to see everyone.  I can't wait for the 60 yr celebration and gathering.  To everyone who had anything to do with putting this together, what a great job.  Jane Hall - you're the best!  I don't think I sat down more than 10 minutes all night.  Every time I looked around there was a face I recognized.  It was a great night of laughter and fun.  Let's do it again!!!

Billy Gray Johnson

I finally got to see you-uns agin.  Oh how I've missed many of you.  It was almost unreal.  And so many of you I shared lunch with in that very room for six years!  Hope you're all doing well.

Billy

Billy Gray Johnson

You know.... I never said "you-uns" when I was growing up.  In fact, when I heard other people say it, I always figured they were either Yankees or Hill Billies.  But it's just fun to say it now.  Give it a try.

Billy (from the hills of TN)

Cynthia Moody (Loring)

What a great time I had at our Reunion! I was surprised at how many faces I recoginzed right away (most likely due to this wonderful website Larry put together) and how good it felt to be with old friends! Thanks to everyone who had a part in planning and working on such a great event! Hope we have as good a turn out for our Birthday Bash!!

Many Hugs!

Cynthia

Billy Gray Johnson

Listen y'all,

Is it OK for me to say "Y'all" ?.

Anyway, if I've been hard on some of you, please forgive me and accept my sincere 'beg your pardon."

I really do love ALL of you.  I don't want to be mean to any of you.  I love you all.

billy

Joe Timothy Jones

Okay, Due to unrelenting peer pressure, I have joined facebook.  However, since Denise and I both share the same E-mail address (DT1712@yahoo.com) Facebook would not let us have seperate accounts and use the same E-address.  So, I had to use a seperate E-address which is as follows: Swamphawk12@yahoo.com .  I don't use this address very often, so you might do well to continue sending mail to the DT1712 address, and use Swamphawk when doing Facebook stuff.

Jim Walton

BIlly under your last post it includes your picture and says to click here to change picture but it doesnt work!   BAWAHAHAHAHA!

Still love ya man!

===JIM===

Billy Gray Johnson

Jimbo,

I'll get in there and fix it.... somehow!

Odd..... that's what I say to many of my psychotherapy patients.......

Thanks for alerting me to this.

Believe me..... you are the only one who has alerted me to this....

billy

Billy Gray Johnson

Hey Jimbo,

EVERYBODY'S says "change photo."  We all probably should change photo.  sorta like changing socks, ya know???

billy

Joe Timothy Jones

Okay, Summer is cooling down, finally.  I'm still doing garden stuff and the wife is gearing up for her 30th High School Reunion in Van Buren County.  I trust everyone has had a great summer.  I hope that we can all keep this web site active.  Billy, how much more do you like on your Doctoriate?  Denise and I are hoping to get back and finish our degrees at Tech., but that is probably going to be in the Spring.  I've been on Facebook for about a month but I think I like this Donelson site much better.  Fewer games and no adds. 

Carolyn Kirby (Meeks)

Hello fellow classmates, hope all is well in your lives; seems as though we all must be pretty busy since there has not been many post since our reunion in June. As for me there has been a lot of health issues but I'm taking them day by day and I'm sure for many life is full of stress but God is always good and will see us through the toughest  times. Bob and I have some exciting news to share, can you believe we are going to be Great Grandparents! Well, we can't either but life hands us a big surprise sometimes. The arrival of Grandson Hayden Ty should be in late January. More exciting news to follow soon! Just wanted to let you know what was happening in our lives. Hope all is enjoying this beautiful fall weather, until we meet again take care.

God Bless,

Carolyn

Carolyn Kirby (Meeks)

Good morning to all, just reading the paper this morning and saw in the Qbituaries that James Hatcher passed away. It's always hearfelt  to see sad  news of a fellow classmate. I did notice he did not join the website or come to the reunion.

Hope all is well with everyone, take care and enjoy the upcoming holidays!

Love, Carolyn

Jane Hall (Greene)

Billy Johnson, that is the biggest pile of dog poop I have ever read!

Billy Gray Johnson

While we're on the subject of poop.... as a quick aside I will tell y'all the one about encountering a bear up in Russell Field out of Cades Cove, Smokie Mountains.  1971 it was, and all year long!  I drove my 1964 VW Beetle from Nashville with my kid bro, Alan.  We met up with Hawk Man and Bill Fuqua in Cookeville, and pushed on to Knoxville to rendevous with Henry Benagh.  We got up there late Friday p.m. and jumped up early Saturday a.m. to climb a mountain.  After a grueling 7 mile hike we settled in at Russell field shortly before dark. 

The trail shelters were full of boy scouts so we camped in the open field.... not a good idea.... there were no trees nearby in which to hoist our packs.... and like the geniuses we all were... we plunked down beside our packs.  There was a thunderstorm brewing just the other side of Thunderhead Mountain a few miles from us and we got quite a light show.  We passed around a jug of Almaden Mountain White Chablis, and then we passed out.  I woke up at 3:00 a.m. like I always have, and still always do.  I sat up and breathed in the wild mountain air and looked at the billions more stars than you can see from a lit-up urban area. 

I heard something go "wuff" behind me and turned around to see a large black bear standing there looking at me from about 4 feet away.  I watched it rather closely and I felt alarmed, quite honestly.  I could feel my carotid arteries bump against my shirt as my bod prepared to jump and run.  But I didn't have to.  The bear looked away from me, picked up one of our 40-pound packs in it's mouth and ran off with it like it was weightless.   I'm thinking, maybe the god-blessed beastie won't come back.  Wrong!  Here it came again, got another pack and ran off into the black of night.  In a few minutes it came back and got another pack and ran off.  Thinks I, this sucks, ya know?

I woke everyone up and they were all really grumpy... thought I was making the whole thing up (who me? make things up?), but here came Yogi back and grabbed yet another pack... and ran off... just like I was saying, know what I mean?  There was a shocked moment of silence, then all of us in unison said, "SHEEE-UT!!!"  Then the bear came back and got the last pack, and son of a gun, ran off again.

Well there went all our food, extra clothes, Benagh's wallet (of course it would be Benagh's wallet; what a Joe Bitzflick!)  We still had some Almaden left so we quickly passed it around before the frickin bear came back and got that, too.

We were not happy campers. Everybody but me crashed back out.

At first light I started tracking the packs down.  As the bear ran, things fell out of the packs leaving a trail I could easily follow.  I found Benagh's wallet... and his money was still in it!  I found his pack later, but it was torn to smithereens where the bear got into his food.  It took me a couple of hours, but I found everybody's pack and brought the tattered remains back to camp.  I woke everybody up and said, "Hey look, y'all. The bear brought back our packs!"  They took one look and said, "Billy, you're fulla poop."

More later, re: Bear Poop 

Billy Gray Johnson

Hey DHS boys and girls,

I went to visit Donna Wallace (Berg) this Saturday at her new home way out in BFE (near Lieper's Fork).  Holy mackeral!  What a beautiful place! She's surrounded by loving family and beautiful trees and hills and valleys.  She owns her own little lake which is way down the hill from her house.  There's so many deer they knock her fences down. There's even one in her "deep freeze." The house is a huge log-built structure with a giant stone fireplace.  She and her family occupy all three levels, but there's enough room they don't get in each others' way at all.  The kitchen is bigger than my living room. Her new home exceeded my wildest imagination (and it has been known to go wild at times).  Way to Go, Bella Donna! She's still the most beautiful "girl down the street" I know. And yes, I love her to pieces.  I have since she and I were six years old, but y'all knew that already.

Billy

Jim Walton

VW STORY……..

Billy, since I had the hot VW and have yet to post any stories, I thought I could write a little one. See if I can impress Cynthia anymore…….

 Picture looks good doesnt it. >>>>>>>>>>

As Percy Priest was being built for some reason the lake seem to rise and fall quite often. We would drive around the old lake area for something to do at night. One evening my cousin (Harold York from Two Rivers) and I were out riding around on the old back roads. We could tell the lake was down so we took a portion of Stewarts Ferry that had been submerged but we knew would not be since the lake was down again. As we rode down the narrow road a Corvette was coming up the road as well. (You could tell by the headlights) SO, the lake was not over the road for sure.

The corvette pulled over into my lane as if to play chicken. I was not about to yield (hey I am in a VW) so I called him a couple of nice things and gunned the little blue VW. Around him we went tossing gravels and all.  As our eyes adjusted after passing him we could see the lake immediately in front of us and we were wide open! (That’s about 80 MPH in a hot VW)

KEEERRR PLUNK and under we went! Could not see anything but water!  Motor kept running, we bobbed on the surface and floated to the other side.  Wheels dug in once we reached the pavement and we took off like a ……..  My cousin kept saying “don’t open the door”.  VWS REALLY DO FLOAT!

I often wonder what the driver of the Vette thought.  He apparently was trying to warn us not to go down there. I guess he thought we were some kind of amphibitious car. I don’t know.

Anyway that’s my story for today Billy. Your turn! Love ya man!

===JIM===