Reunion Meeting Reminder: February 2

Reminder for in-town classmates, there will be a reunion meeting Saturday, February 2 @ 5pm at the Associated Engineering Offices. For those that are able, we will go out to eat afterwards.

Drive north on Church St. toward the railroad tracks. Church St. deadends at the Associated Engineering office (green building) parking lot. The address is 103 S. Church- go through the gate to the double glass doors.

The building is the old Caldwell Furniture building.

If you are in town, please try and come.

To date we have found 196 classmates out of our graduating 296. We still need to find everyone so keep sending in addresses and emails! We appreciate everyone's help!

"Never Say Goodbye"

Who was your favorite band in high school? If your are female, I know Bonjovi is at the top of your list. I remember many nights cruising and listening to "Slippery When Wet". I think Janet Stallings and I played it until the tape disintegrated. Jon was the ultimate long-haired guy. Amazingly, he is still just as sexy... His concerts must be awesome today... A bunch of 40 year olds throwing their underwear on stage. Now if your male, I know your saying "Appetite For Destruction" by Guns n Roses. Unfortunately Axl did not remain as attractive or successful... I know they are pretty mainstream. What other bands did you crank while cruising?

New Blogger Alert!

Get ready for a new blogger to appear in the coming days. This JHS classmate was involved in many high school activities including: Camerata Singers, Mu Alpha Theta, Beta Club, Cheerleading and French Club. She was also a cast member of several JHS dramas and musicals. I especially remember her playing "Rosie" in "Bye, Bye Birdie"—one of my favorite musicals. Thank you for volunteering to help post!

Snakes, Whips & Skulls

Who's ready for the new Indiana Jones movie, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" coming out in May? I love me some Indiana Jones. I've got the vision of the young "Indy" in my head, so I hope they sprinkle some cinema magic on him so he resembles the Harrison Ford from the 80s so I won't be too disappointed. They've already done some great Photoshop work on his movie poster. :-) What's you're favorite "Indiana Jones" movie? If you're a child of the 80s, you've got to be a fan of Dr. Jones.

Great 80s TV

Guess what I am watching right now? My favorite TV show from high school. Can you guess? It's "Miami Vice"!! I remember videotaping the show on Friday nights because I was always at a JHS football game performing with the band. I would get home and watch my favorite show and just dream, dream, dream about Don Johnson. That show embodied all of the decadence that was the 80s. Neon colors, big hair, loafers without socks, Don Johnson. It's good stuff people.

So what were some of your favorite 80s TV shows?

In Memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was first honored with a national holiday in his name on January 20, 1986. Stevie Wonder created a single, "Happy Birthday" in 1980 in support of making King's birthday a national holiday. There was also a tribute song recorded and dedicated to him in 1986 called "King Holiday". It was sung by a group of 80s artists including: El DeBarge, Fat Boys, Lisa Lisa, Teena Marie, Menudo, New Edition & Run-D.M.C.

Drama Queen?

In searching my brain for a post, any post having to do with high school or the 80s (you people are more than welcome to help post, just send me an email and you can be added as an author) I thought about this. If you could go back to high school, is there something you wish you would have tried? Or something you wish you could have changed? Either one. I always wished I would have tried out for a drama production or at least helped out backstage. Always thought about it but too scared to get up there and audition. I loved Mr. Salter's speech & drama class, though. That gave me a little fix. I always thought life would be so much fun as a musical even though I can't sing. Now it's your turn. If you're lurking and haven't commented, now's your chance.

Hey Trendsetter!

Have any of you paid attention to the state of today's teenagers? The Seniors of today have morphed into one general-looking person. Most of the girls are rail-thin, have long hair, wear jeans that show some of their crackage and look like they are 25. The boys all have wind-swept hair and look like they've stepped out of an add for Old Navy (notice I didn't say Benetton, which ROCKED the 80s). I look back through our JHS yearbook and see wonderful individuals! Sure, the girls had crispy-sprayed big hair and wore tapered jeans and the guys wore ripped Levi 501s and thin cotton ties but we all had our own unique look.

What was a favorite outfit or look that you rocked in the 80s?? I think mine would have to be my faded Guess jeans (tapered, of course) that had an authentic rip which occurred in Madame Guillaume's French class. I had a lumberjack-ish flannel shirt (before Kurt Cobain made them stylish) and big, big hair! The outfit was completed with my black high-top Reeboks and white scrunch socks. Ah! Those were the days.

Now, lets hear from you!

Who Needs Encyclopedias? Use Wikipedia.

Remember the cumbersome set of encyclopedias we had to use in high school (ours were from the 70s so it wasn't the most updated info). I'm sure you do like I do now and just "google" a search to find an answer to almost anything you'd like to know. By the way who knew "google" would become a verb? Then again, who ever knew we'd communicate like we do over the internet (probably Al Gore). But if you ever yearn to use an encyclopedia again, use one that is continually updated. It's called "Wikipedia". "Wikipedia (pronounced /ˌwiːkiˈpiːdiə/ or /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdiə/) is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. The name Wikipedia is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's articles provide links to guide the user to related pages with additional information. (from Wikipedia)" You can find so much in here. I even found information on Jonesboro High School. Check it out.

The big snow

Our senior year had something special: A big snow.

It wasn’t the typical 2 inches of slush that melts 3 hours after the sun comes out, like is more typical of Arkansas. What fell on January 6-7, 1988, was 8-10 inches of ski-quality powder that stayed on the ground more than a week. In fact, some of you did ski Stroud hill.

Having just come back to class the previous Monday after the holiday break, we got out Wednesday through Friday, leading into a weekend.

We probably shouldn’t have been out that Wednesday. Superintendent Bill Beasley decided to cancel classes that day in anticipation of the big snow on its way. But the snow didn’t start until about 4:30 that afternoon. I guess he made up for it the following Monday when we went back to school even though most of the secondary roads were still covered by snow and ice.

The photo above from the yearbook shows our classmates Meredith Fairhead, Stephen Watkins and Ashley Lincoln, along with Meredith’s junior class sister Margaret Fairhead, trudging back to class one of those early days the following week. Looks more like Duluth than Jonesboro!

Many of you who were in band have an unhappy snow memory later in 1988. What was a pretty puny snow in Jonesboro in February was much heavier to south, and the band was prevented from making a trip to an event in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. If my memory serves, the bus made it as far as Trumann before the decision was made to come back to Jonesboro. Perhaps some of you “band geeks” can enlighten this “weather geek” about that.

We only had a few little snows during our sophomore and junior years, but our ninth-grade year had so many snow days that we had classes on some Saturdays – Janice alluded to this in a comment to the entry on David Hawkins’ death.

The JHS band had an interesting experience returning from the Fiesta Bowl parade that year, and a few of our more musically inclined freshmen classmates got to be part of it. The band got delayed on its way home by heavy snow across parts of New Mexico and Texas. They finally got home to find half a foot of snow here as well.

Do you have any snow memories from high school?

At Least Some Things Don't Change...

Found this clip with Dick Clark rocking in 1988! Even though Ryan Seacrest has been co-hosting from Times Square since 2005, Dick Clark is still ticking along with his commentaries in the studio (It's good to know at least some things never change). This clip looks and sounds like every other "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve" specials with some exceptions. At the end of the clip is a young John Stamos and Heather Locklear along with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and a view of a very young Dick Clark. Have a Safe and Happy New Year everyone and if you're at home, watch the ball drop in Times Square with Mr. Clark—it's still the same since 1988 (if you forget Ryan Seacrest)!

JHS Golden Hurricane Marching Band

Yes, I was a band geek, but proud of it! Band was a very important part of my high school (and junior high) life. Most of my good friends were in the band and it allowed us to showcase our talent and have some of the best times I've ever had in my life. Whether on the bus or on the parking lot of the high school in 150 degree heat, we were having a ball. We all felt Hurricane pride when we marched in the various parades and gave our all in marching and symphonic competitions. We endured being called "the banana band" by other marching bands and sulked while we watched the band from Hope pull their equipment out of an 18-wheeler. I've tried to pinpoint my favorite band memory but there are too many. However, I would love to hear some of your favorite band memories!!

What 80's Fashion Statement Do You Wish Would Make A Comeback?

I was talking to some friends the other day about what 80's fashion statement we wished would come back in style. I thought about it and my vote is big hair. I think back to what I did to style my hair in high school and, although I used A LOT of product on my hair, nothing compares to the damage I do to it nowdays with the straight iron. Back in the day, you used mousse, a hair dryer (preferably with a diffuser), a pick and some Aqua Net and you were done! Alas, teasing and scrunching have now been replaced with flat ironing and shine serum.
So, big hair is my comeback wish. What about you?

Coach Riggs

I have to post a blog about having Coach Riggs for a biology teacher in 10th grade. I can't think of any teacher I would have rather had during a time that I am having to dissect something. Do any of you remember playing the "Who Gets the Dark Coffee/Spit Stain on Their Paper He Was Handing Out" game? When he would pass out papers, he would lick his fingers and, since he had been drinking coffee, would leave a stain on your paper. I remember comparing them with Janet Stallings. Also, he had the skeleton in his class that we would surround with food during the canned food drive. Not to mention the very old and scary Panchos cheese dip that was in his desk. I loved his class because he was just....so Coach Riggs! Any thoughts? Anyone? Anyone?

Hello Out There!

You can see by the sitemeter information that the reunion blog is receiving lots of visitors (the sitemeter icon on the blog records visitor information and you can see where the visitors are from). Now I realize that there are accidental visitors as well as true "JHS Class of 88" alumni that come read the blog, but it's pretty cool how many people it shows that come by. Now if we could get as many people commenting as are just reading, that would be so much more interesting and fun. Some people have wondered how to leave a comment. Click on "comments" under the post and choose one of three ways. If you have a blogger account choose the first option (then people can click on you and find your blog to leave you a note), the second is to choose "nickname" and sign in your name, the third is to post "anonymously" and you don't have to put your name. And if you would like to post on the blog and relay your memories of our class or the 80s, please email jhsclassof1988@gmail.com and I'll add you to the author list.

Have a Merry Christmas!

And watch out for the reindeer...

Chances of a White Christmas?

Fast forward this video to 2:20 and see if you recognize the JHS Class of 88 member talking about the chances of a white Christmas for the Roanoke, Virginia area...

Remembering Mr. Hawkins

Those of us who went to MacArthur knew Mr. David Hawkins. I was sad to find out he passed away yesterday. I remember him as one of my favorite teachers growing up. Mr. Hawkins moved down to MacArthur from the high school our 9th grade year to teach physical science. He had a great sense of humor and made his classes fun and interesting. Mr. Hawkins taught in the Jonesboro School District for 32 years and retired from teaching in 2006. To sign the online guest book go to www.emersonfuneralhome.com.

Big "J" Rocks The House!

The year was 1986 of our Junior year around Homecoming. Remember Spirit Week where we all got to dress up? Well, I remember the Juniors having a meeting in the auditorium and we discussed what we wanted to do as a class to show our "spirit". Instead of doing something "easy" like harassing the sophomores and dressing up like "nerds" and putting signs on us that said "proud to be a sophomore" like the seniors had done to us the year before; we decided to be unique (as always). Someone suggested we dress in the style of the "world's oldest profession and their managers" (can you tell I'm trying not to say the slang-words or what?). Instead of dogging on the sophomores, we decided to wear signs on us that said, "Proud to be a Senior!" and "Seniors for Hire!" I remember that some members of the class of 1987 got a "little" upset and ripped signs off some of the juniors. After that meeting in the auditorium I remember Caprice Lasley standing up and with two foot stomps and a clap starting a chant that spread throughout the room, with everyone yelling over and over, "Big Juniors Rock the House!" Anyone else remember this or am I the only one?

The way it was: December 18, 1987

As our senior year closed in on Christmas, Jonesboro High School precipitated an international incident.

Don’t remember that? You must not have read Page 4 of the December 18, 1987, edition of the Golden Times, where a banner head screams: “JHS delegates walk out of UN.”

It turns out that JHS’ first-ever team in the Arkansas Mock United Nations got assigned to be Barbados. “Once in the General Assembly, the true insignificance of Barbados shone through,” the story, by Travis Justice (Class of ’89) stated. So the five-member team that included four JHS-88ers (Fran Bailey, Shea Burns, Chris Harris and Melinda Stringer) walked out.

But that political brouhaha couldn’t hold the front page when the Mr. Kool pageant was coming up in just 34 short days.

Joining the Mr. Kool preview on the front page were Kelley Gibbard being crowned Miss Hurricane, the National Honor Society inducting 32, the naming of our class’ “Who’s Who” and William Cheatham being named the 1987/88 winner of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citzenship Award.

“He wants to attend the University of Arkansas, major in pre-med and pursue a career as a general surgeon,” the article on Cheatham states. No mention of wanting to be a principal or marrying Marcie Brooks.

I’ve caught up on fall issues of the paper so that I can now post each new edition on the actual date it was published. The next Golden Times issue is not until Feb. 1, so I’ll have some time to start profiling a few of our classmates for this blog.

Working in High School

I went to work at Hays on Washington in downtown Jonesboro on my 16th Birthday! My best friend Mike Hawkins worked there and put in a good word for me... you know how hard it is to get one of those coveted "Stockboy" positions. That was some of the most fun of my life! Everyone was so laid back .. except the Manager. He thought it was life or death if we didn't get the shelves "faced" (to pull everything to the front so it looks full) or if the Always Save Toilet Paper was running low. Mark Morris ('86) also worked there. He was our boss and we always gave him the respect he deserved ... since he was a Senior at the time. We had to wear white shirts and a tie. At first, we wore the square knit ties. Later we decided it would be more cool to find the oldest, ugliest ties from our dads/grandads. That was our way of sticking to the Mgt.

I remember in the summer they usually had a hot dog stand out front of the store. When the stand closed down, they would give the left over hot dogs to the stockboys. One time, a co-worker ran into the stockroom and asked "Mr Morris" if he could go on break cause he just got some free HOT DOGS. Without blinking an eye, Mark asked "Did you get me one?" When he replied "No", Mark said "Then you got some COLD DOGS...get back to work!" The rest of us just busted out laughing! The customers that visited the Washington Store were a HOOT! I remember one lady asking if the "Tomato Ketchup" was better than the regular Ketchup. (Maybe you had to be there!) Sometimes after busting it all night to get the store stocked some of us would drive to West Memphis to eat Krystal hamburgers. I still LOVE Krystals ... I can't believe they did not make it in Jonesboro! Some of my coworkers included Mike Hawkins, Jason Grubb, Mark Morris, Mickey Ryan (HHS), Joe Crumpton, Sydney Linderman, and Lawrence Williams (at Woodsprings store). Lawrence was in a Hays commerical juggling oranges to "Benny and the Jets".

At graduation, Mike & I thought it would be funny to send Benny Hays (THE MAN HIMSELF) a graduation announcement. The next week at work, the Manager called Mike and I out to his car ..... Mr. Hays had a gift for us because we were the only ones that sent him an announcement. If I remember it was a thick, green towel!

Working in High School was one of the best times of my life. There was no bills or mortgage... just had to make enough to put gas the my 1974 Dodge Challenger and have some left for dates. I saved up money to buy a leather "Members Only" Bomber jacket. If I remember correctly, it cost $250 in 1987. I still wear that jacket to work! What a great investment! (However, Tonya says it is time to give it up!) NEVER! I at $3.35 per hour (my starting rate), I worked over 80 hours just to buy that jacket.

So tell me about where you worked during High School!

The Era of Reaganomics

Since our country is gearing up for the presidential elections next year, I thought a post about our 80s president, Ronald Reagan was in order. Now, my memories of Reagan are pretty "warm and fuzzy", probably because I didn't pay too much attention to politics in the 80s (I wonder why?). This video is a raw look at the Reagan presidency and shows both the positive and negative opinions of him as president. There is also footage of the assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. Since it's on MTV, of course there is 80s music and commentaries from musicians and actors—and that alone makes it entertaining.

Just a Waste of Gas...

Cruising. You know you did it. Everyone did it. Now that I look back and I'm old...such a waste of gas. :-) But it was only $1.08 gallon back then, and not almost $3.00 (like now in Jonesboro). So much fun, to not have to worry about anything REALLY important like kids, mortgages and bills. I found this video on Youtube of someone cruising in Jonesboro (it's amazing what you find on there). It goes kind of fast, and it's kind of long but it's set to a catchy tune and shows all the major cruising streets of Jonesboro. You can find it here. Of course the Nettleton cruise was always the most popular...down Nettleton, turn around at Sonic, back up Nettleton, left on Caraway and right into Burger King. Go around the drive through and back down Nettleton and go again, and again, and again. Good times, good times. :-)

Speaking of Indians...

Since I mentioned the "Indians" in the previous post it reminded me of hanging out at the ASU football games on the hill. It was much more fun sitting there on the cold, hard ground with friends than in the nice, comfortable seats with your parents. :-) I don't know when they stopped letting people sit there, I guess when they built the fence around the field. Anyone know when they stopped that? Also, I remember going to the Indian Fieldhouse to watch ASU basketball games, as well as a few concerts. I went to "The Pointer Sisters" there. But, actually I didn't watch the basketball games I hung out at the top of the bleachers with the other kids. These are junior high memories rather than high school, but memories from the 80s nonetheless. By the way, does anyone have any favorites for the Indian name change?

Indian Mall Becomes "Caraland"

Yes, "Caraland" will be the new mall where Indian Mall once stood. I guess since the "Indians" are getting a new name as well, it only makes sense to makeup a new name for the new mall too. We weren't sure what was going to happen to the mall not too long ago, but now it's official.

Stop! Go Back!

So we were watching TV this past Saturday flipping through channels and we pass through the VTN Network. Then we think we see a familiar face. "Isn't that Stephen Hester?" So we go back and check it out. Sure enough it was (Stephen was an extra in the movie, he says he got paid $10 for his efforts). We were seeing "The Pretender", filmed by the Christiano Brothers here in Jonesboro in the mid-80s. Of course I had to watch the whole thing. There is a slew of JHS alumni in the film as well as shots of the JHS football field, Annie Camp, downtown Jonesboro, Central Baptist church (which is no longer there) and the old Piero's restaurant. The clothes are wonderfully great and truly 80s. You'll recognize 3 JHS graduates. Two were a year older than us and one has a real career in movies/TV to this day. The Christiano Brothers also produced two other movies with our very own drama teacher, Keith Salter in the leads. You can also find these here as well.

Danger! Death Scene!

Frankenstein's monster roared with anger, throwing a rope around my neck -- choking my very life away. As my consciousness began to slip, I fell to one knee and then...ooh, fuzzy bunnies!

Strange what goes through one's mind as everything around him ceases to exist. This event happened during one of our last rehearsals for the play Frankenstein. In this scene, the Creature (good friend Greg Murray) was supposed to choke me to death using a chain found in Victor Frankenstein's laboratory. However, for rehearsal, we simply used a rope, thinking it would be less likely to actually kill me (though we used a real chain in the actual play -- which I guess means that if it did kill me, that would have just added to the drama). Anyway, I was supposed to get my fingers between the rope and my neck, and then just "act" like I was dying; however, Greg was always too damn fast, and I never could get my fingers where they needed to be in time. On this particular day though, Greg was truly inspired, and he choked me until I really passed out.

After each rehearsal, especially the later ones (which this was), Mr. Salter would evaluate and critique our performance. The thing to keep in mind here is that after I passed out, Greg let me fall to the ground, where I lay until the scene was over. No one at this point even knew what had happened (eventually I woke up on the floor -- disappointed the bunnies were gone). When Mr. Salter got to my performance evaluation, everything went pretty well until he got to my "death scene". He wanted to know what the hell I was doing; why was I being such a doofus?

Apparently my real-life death throes were too awkward and staged, which makes me wonder that when I really do die, will anyone actually believe me?

By the way, Victor Frankenstein was played by Donnie Keshawarz, who has been seen in shows like 24, Lost and The Sopranos. Check out his IMDB page here. Too bad I didn't keep in touch.

Devazier Steps Down

Here's an update on Hurricane football for people that are out-of-town. Coach Jim Devazier has stepped down as the head football coach at Jonesboro High School. A new coach has not been named. More information on this here.

80's Music

In case you have forgotten what Duran Duran looked like..check it out!

Great 80's Music

Hellooooooo classmates!
First of all, thanks to Marcie for the awesome intro on the home page! It took me a minute to get in because I can't remember passwords, something we didn't have to deal with in high school. Just locker combinations and I struggled with those because I wasn't good in math :)
I am glad to be blogging on our reunion website, although it's impossible for me to believe it's been 20 years since graduation. I can't be that old, can I??? Well if I am, that means YOU are too so, nah.
My first blog HAS to be about 80's music because that is such a big high school memory for me. I, of course, was into the English bands. My favorite being Duran Duran. The 80's was the decade that introduced MTV and ran the network as a Music Television channel and not the RTV - Reality Television station it's turned into today. You could count on MTV to play a Duran Duran video every two hours (just in case you were wondering) and in between those two hours I was introduced to the other music my friends loved and played when I was in their vehicles.
The 80s also saw Van Halen, not Van Hagar, "Jump", Michael Jackson when he looked like the Michael Jackson that Katherine Jackson gave birth to and Wham! before George Michael found "Faith". It was also the time that my tenth grade boyfriend introduced me to my favorite male singer of all time....Sting (thanks Mike). That was some good stuff!!
If I've left out your favorite band, I'm sorry and feel free to leave a comment about your favorite bands of the 80's.
When I think of the 80's, high school and great memories....I think of 80's music.

The way it was: Nov. 20, 1987

The Class of ’88 led a pair of sports champions in the fall of 1987.

The volleyball team, pictured above (OK, I snagged this from the yearbook, as the print quality of the newspaper version was awful), won the Class AAAA state championship in Conway.

The wildest thing about that: The team was losing in the state semifinals against Bryant, when the lights went out in the University of Central Arkansas’ arena. Play was stopped until the lights could come back on, the momentum switched, and JHS rolled.

The football team, meanwhile, won a share of the AAAA-East conference title with a 4-1 league record. Conference titles in football were few and far between for JHS in later years. In fact, this might have been the last one.

On the front page of the Nov. 20, 1987 edition of the Golden Times, Felicia Willett wrote about the upcoming Miss Hurricane pageant, and Stephanie Owens wrote about Perry Black’s speech in which he urged JHS students to “Say no to dope, yes to hope.” Does anybody remember that?

An editorial on page 2 lamented the weak spirit of Spirit Week. Apparently, costumes were not allowed in class on certain Homecoming theme days.

“For seniors this was their last Homecoming, and for some, it will not be remembered as their best ever.”

New Blog Author on Deck...

I'm excited to get another woman onboard as a blog author. Hopefully she will post sometime this week or the next. I just found out she loves reality tv as much as I do, she was in the JHS Marching band, a member of Thespians and the French Club and she is also married to another JHS 1988 Classmate. She lives in Arkansas but not in Jonesboro. Care to take a guess who the new blogger is? I know she will keep you entertained. :-)

I'd love to have more contributors to the blog. If you are interested in posting from time to time, please email us and I'll add you as an author. And if you're reading the blog, please leave a comment, I know lots of people are reading! [One tip on commenting, you DO NOT have to have a blogger account, just post anonymously and leave your name at the end to let us know who you are.]

It's finally Christmastime...

Here's a little 80s Christmas to start off the season...

Danger! Death Cloud!

"That's the most dangerous thing that has ever happened at Jonesboro High School!" Those were the angry words spoken to me by none other than our beloved assistant principal Mr. Province. Even today, I vividly remember his bulging eyes, the vein threatening to pop on his perspiring forehead, and those red, irritated hands. God! Those red, irritated hands! Allow me to explain.

First though, introductions. My name is Stephen Hester, and I am whom Marcie was referring to in her previous blog post. As she mentioned, I was in a bunch of plays, had a minor role in a Bigfoot hoax (more on that later), co-founded the photography club (which we really wanted to call "The Potato Club") and wrote (until I was banned) for The Golden Times. However, I was also a photographer (until I was banned) for The Golden Times as well, which gets us back to my story.

As a photographer, I had access to the JHS darkroom, which is where we would develop the back & white photos for the newspaper. There was a particularly nasty chemical combination we used in the development process called "Stop Bath", which is made from highly concentrated acetic acid that was kept in a separate container in the darkroom. We photographers amused ourselves by constantly trying to trick others into inhaling deeply straight from the jug of acid. If successful, the subject would double over, coughing and hacking, saying things like, "I'm going to die." All in all, pretty funny.

On this particular day, Kevin Province (some relation to Mr. Province) was exercising his No. 2 right in the bathroom on the second floor next to the math department. Jay Melton and I thought this would be an excellent time to turn out the light in the bathroom and pour concentrated acetic acid all around the stall that Kevin currently occupied. As expected, he coughed and hacked and said he thought he was going to die. Again. All in all, pretty funny.

During the next period though, I was called to the Principal's Office. As I sat in the antechamber to that office, I noticed Principal Roger "Cold Fish Handshake" Callahan, Mr. Province and Mrs. Gaines sitting around a table with the now empty jug of acetic acid in the middle. Eventually Mr. Province emerged with the bulging eyes, popped-out vein and red, irritated hands -- red and irritated because he had spent the last thirty minutes on his knees cleaning the acid from the bathroom floor. He explained that the acid had mixed with the industrial strength, high-school-grade bathroom floor sanitizer/cleaner and formed a Death Cloud that was currently moving in an eastward direction at 3 mph down the math wing. Evacuation was being considered.

Needless to say, I was sent home in disgrace and subsequently banned for life from the JHS darkroom. My high school photography days were finished.

And then there were four...

I've wrangled another blog contributor to post to the blog. Here are some clues. This JHS Class of 1988 classmate was a writer on the Golden Times newspaper and co-founded the photography club at JHS (hopefully he still has lots of photos to share). He was (and probably still is) an avid videographer, owning a video business with two other classmates when he was in high school—I was even his employee (probably not a very good one). He was a member of Camerata singers and was in many drama productions at JHS including: "The Nerd", "Bye, Bye Birdie", "Two by Two" and "Frankenstein". He also has a remembrance of a run-in with the a legendary "wild man of the woods". Hopefully he will relay that story here again. :-)

The way it was: October 23, 1987

Cast members of “Two by Two,” according to the caption on the "Golden Times" front page picture above, included John Bagnal, Melinda Miller, Robin Yates, Stephen Hester, Roxanne Keshawarz, Keith Salter, and Brooke Keton.

Hmmmm, eight people, seven names. Can anybody figure out whose name got left out of the caption? CLUE: He was voted as “Most Talented” in our class’ Who’s Who.

Sadly, since our 10-year reunion, we have learned that John Bagnal (front row, right) has passed away.

The other front-page story on Oct. 23 was about College Night, written by the aforementioned owner of a red Chevette.

Bocephus boogied at the Convocation Center, and James Goad described Mu Alpha Theta as “an awe-inspiring, thought-promoting club.”

“Hurricane Circus,” our Homecoming theme, dominated the inside pages. In sports, volleyball coach Phil Parker worried about injuries and inconsistent play threatening his team’s state title aspirations, while the football Hurricane overcame a 2-3 start to the season to win its first 2 conference games.

On the back page, Stephen Hester fondly recalled Buddence’s “date with Sue,” and I wrote something stupid mocking JHS’ student handbook rules. (My wife’s look at me was priceless when she read it for the first time last night.)

Little Red Chevette

Photo copyright: Telstar Logistics
The car I most remember in high school was Janice Drake's little red chevette. She got to drive first with a November birthday so her car was the first I got to ride around in. We went everywhere in it. It was a tank. She had no pictures to speak of, so I raided Flickr and found this (even if it is blue). Come to find out after graduation the Chevette eventually got a hole in it on the floor passenger's side. When it was moving you could lift the floor mat and see the pavement flying by! Your first car or ride, what did you drive or ride around in? I know some of my friends cars had nicknames, did yours?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thinking Inside the Box.

Here is the "before" and "after" picture of Jonesboro High School. We never knew it in it's "before" state. Kind of sad that we didn't. The current school building was designed by Jonesboro firm Little and Associates. This replaced the original building destroyed by a tornado on May 27th, 1973. I guess in the seventies this building was considered "bold and contemporary". There's something to be said for the classic design that was the original school. But "square" as it was when we were there, it still had its charm. Of course now, there is no "open classrooms" like we had in the english department in the 80s. Guess they realized that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. :-) I'm just glad we didn't have to go to school in trailers at the fairground like classes in the early seventies. But then again, I'm sure we would have had some stories to tell.

Reunion Meeting Update

A reunion meeting was held Saturday, November 17 @ 5pm. We finalized our schedule for the reunion weekend of October 10, 2008.

Friday Night:

• Tailgate at school starting at 5:30 pm until game time (School will be open for touring)
• JHS Homecoming Game
• After Game: Bonfire/Get-Together with live music

Saturday:

• For families early in the day: Picnic @ the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center (For those who haven't been, it's a fun place for kids & adults)
• Saturday Night we will have a dinner and dance with live band at the Jonesboro Country Club

After the meeting we had dinner in downtown Jonesboro. A good time was had by all. Our next meeting will be held in January after the Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays. We're excited about the plans for the reunion, we hope you guys will be too. :-)

Class of 1988 Flickr Group

A Flickr group for photos of the JHS Class of 1988 has been started here. If you have photos to share from high school, upload them to Flickr and add them to this group. Please try to make them "PG" so everyone will enjoy them. :-) You can also reach the group by clicking on the Flickr icon on the right side bar. Looking forward to seeing your photos!

P.S. I just thought I'd mention it's free to join Flickr.com but if you prefer not to join, email the photos to: jhsclassof1988@gmail.com in .jpg format and I will upload them for you. :-)

Space Shuttle Challenger

It was January 28, 1986 and I remember I was home sick from school, but I watched the Challenger takeoff on tv. I remember seeing the explosion and thinking something terrible had happened but the announcers never showed any emotion. It was really strange. Do you remember where you were? Read more about the Challenger disaster here.

160 Classmates Contacted To Date!

To date we have contact information for 160 people out of 296! We are also looking for people that started out with our class but might not have graduated with us.Our second reunion planning meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 17 at 5 pm. We will finalize the reunion weekend schedule and call the remaining classmates that we do not have contact information. Here are the directions to the Associated Engineering office (Thank you again Marvin & Ashley):

Drive north on Church St. toward the railroad tracks. Church St. dead ends at the Associated Engineering office (green building) parking lot. The address is 103 S. Church—go through the gate to the double glass doors.

The building is the old Caldwell Furniture building. Please come if you are in town.

NOTICE: The date for the reunion is set for the weekend of October 10, 2008. More information will be sent out as soon as it becomes definite.

In trying to find people, "JHSClassof1988" is now on myspace and facebook. If you are a member visit our page or send us a message. This blog is updated almost daily so keep checking back!

The way it was: Sept. 28, 1987

“Congratulations to the new Arkansas Junior Miss, Kristy Chitmon.”

Three lines in “News Notes” at the bottom left corner of the Sept. 28, 1987, edition of the Golden Times. The judges may have found Kristy to be the all-around prettiest, smartest and most talented girl in Arkansas, but this is all the respect she got from the school press. Sorry, Kristy.

“Homecoming: Oct. 16-17” was at the top of the front page, with the announcement of JHS’ drama lineup also on the front. “Two by Two,” “The Nerd,” and “It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Superman!” were the upcoming plays for the school year.

Shawn Herget and Felicia Willett cooked up a piece about “School spirit still shaking at JHS” for our center photo spread. There’s a picture (above) of Shawn handing the spirit stick to – who else?– the SENIORS, and a certain future city planning commissioner making the Day with his dramatic arrival as the “Black Flash.”

The football team was out to a 2-1 start and the volleyball team was 9-3, and I filled 2 pages without photos writing about those teams.

On the back page, Stephen Hester mocked sophomores and David Bennett discussed Dead Elvis Week, the Rameses Exhibit and something about a panda.

Graduation still seemed an eon away.

Friday Night Games

Whether you went to the game or not, most Friday nights revolved around the football game itself. What were you doing "before the game", what was happening "after the game", and for a lot of people you actually went TO the game. You were a participant in football, cheerleading, band or you were the spectators. What do you remember about the Hurricane football games you went to?

Do you know where your HS Class Ring Is?

I saw my HS Class ring in my wife's jewelry box the other day. It still fits but I never wear it. Does anyone remember all the symbolism that went with the ring? I vaguely remember something about the 3 palm trees representing our Soph., Jr., & Sr. years. The Star on the sides was for setting our goals high. While we were in HS, we were supposed to wear the ring so that WE could read JONESBORO HIGH on the crest. After we graduated, we were supposed to turn it around so others could read the it. Funny story, I worked with a guy at Hays on Washington who was a year younger than us. When he got his class ring, I noticed the Star of David on the stone. I said "I didn't know you are Jewish". He said "I'm not ... I just liked the way the star looked." I busted out laughing! [I'll try to remember more Hay's stories].
I remember finding my Dad's college ring when I was young and I asked him about his HS ring. He told be how he lost it while swimming in FL during Spring Break. He felt it slipping off his finger and could not grab it before the waves swept it away.
I wonder why I still have this HS ring. It just sits around. I'm sure it is worth something if I melted it down. It is hard to let go of the memories it represents. No matter how much dust it collects. My kids are too small now but maybe someday they will ask me about my HS ring. [If Katie watches HS Musical much more, she may want to wear it on a chain!] I guess if I have kept up with it for 20 years, I might as well keep it a while longer.

Who Is That Masked Man?

Of course it's our beloved mascot, "Flash". The most original mascot in Northeast Arkansas who is no more. :-( There were three people who donned the "Flash" costume during our tenure at JHS. Can you remember any of the three? I especially liked the "special effects" where Flash would throw fire. I wonder if we could dig up one of these costumes before next year? Any hints?

Goodbye Indian Mall. Hello Turtle Creek.

Photo credit: Fashionshop Guy 1483
If you haven't been to Jonesboro in 20, 10 or even the past couple of years, you have to come see how it's changed. If you remember going to Indian Mall on Saturdays as a lot of us did back in high school, that's a distant memory for kids in town today. Indian Mall is barely open with maybe three or four stores left. There are plans to develop it into an updated mall at a later date. The new mall is The Mall at Turtle Creek. For Jonesboro, it's definitely a big step up. It's located at the intersection of Stadium Boulevard and East Highland Drive. Dillards has moved over there as well as J.C. Penny and numerous other stores new to the area such as Barnes & Noble and Circuit City have opened. Check out the Turtle Creek link for more info.

Happy Halloween!

Thank You!

I'm excited that Kevin Myatt, a previous "Golden Hurricane" co-editor and writer has agreed to contribute his professional expertise to the JHS Reunion Blog. Kevin now writes for the "Roanoke Times" in Roanoke, Virginia and has his own weather blog for the paper. Go check out his blog when you get a chance. Also, thank you to Charles Brinkley who has agreed to post from time to time as well. You can catch him on the web here. If anyone else would like to contribute posts that are related to our reunion or the 80s please email your request and I'll add you as an author.