The reunion of my classmates of ' 66 and my dear friends of the class of '67 was well
worth the wait.  I am sure everyone in attendance would agree.  It was so wonderful to
once again see one of the greatest assets a teenager could ever have, high school
friends.  High school kids can be cruel to each other with their cliquish and clannish
groups.  We had kids from the farms, kids from the mill villages, kids from the
suburban areas surrounding Rockingham, and we had kids from the city.  We had
kids who wore patched jeans and flannel shirts, kids who dressed in clothes made by
Mama, and kids who dressed courtesy of Sears and Roebuck catalog.  Furthermore,
we had kids who dressed as though they had just stepped out of the display windows
of R.W. Goodman Company, Long's, Bill Wallace Clothing, or Bobby's Ltd.  We had
kids who walked to school, kids who were dropped off by Mom or Dad, kids who drove their own cars, kids who rode the bus, and even kids who drove the bus.  We had kids who dressed plainly, kids who dressed preppy, kids who were athletic, kids who were brainy, kids who were artsy, kids who were nerdy, and kids who were just out there. Yet, despite all our differences, we all had one common rally cry, GO ROCKETS!!!

     Under the Rocket banner, we all had one common thread that interwove us into
one totally encompassing blanket.  It was a black and orange blanket of love.  The
warmth of this blanket was energized by the care and concern we had for each
other and our Alma Mater when challenged by outsiders.  Whether it was our
debate team on the podium, our Future Farmers in a tool identification contest, or
our Rocket football team facing the archrival Hamlet Red Rams, we all bonded
under the charge of the first two lines of the second verse of our Alma Mater
song.

All for each and each for all

Our motto we'll uphold.

      I was fortunate enough to be on the program of our ten-year reunion in 1976. 
At that ten-year high school reunion, I challenged the Class of '66 with the
following charge:

Many changes have taken place within the last ten years.  College, technical school,
military obligations, marriage, divorce, career changes, new towns, new friends,
children, health problems, and yes, even death has touched our lives.  We are no
longer the leaders of tomorrow but the children of yesterday.  Even our old Alma
Mater is now a junior high school; few things in life remain the same.  Childhood
memories are tainted by the years; yet, the most precious of these high school
memories, friendship, will go on forever.  Friendship is the heart of a high school
reunion.  We still have each other.  Go back ten years and REMEMBER WHEN! 
Rekindle those afterburners that made you proud to be a Rocket.  Enjoy
yourselves and each other tonight.  GO ROCKETS!


      I felt the heat and the warmth of those Rocket afterburners on Friday and
Saturday nights of our forty-year high school reunion just as I did that weekend in
1976.  Yet, the Grim Reaper has snuffed out the flames of thirty-two Rockets
over the span of the last forty plus years.  The joyous festivities became silent,
solemn, and reverent as both classes paused for a moment of silence in honor of
our fallen brothers and sisters.  Suddenly, at that very moment, I realized how
short and precious life on this Earth really is.  I reflected on the deceased
schoolmates as '66 Class President Tom Hunter slowly and methodically called out
each by name.  Each had touched my life in a personal way but now was only a
memory.  At that very moment, the heartbeat of a class reunion, friendship,
pounded in my mind and soul.  I realized that our forty-year class reunion was less
than three hours from closing.  For whom will the bell toll before our next reunion?
Time became as precious as water in the dessert.  I had so many friends to speak
to and reminisce with and such a short time to do it in.

      For the ones of you who were there and I did not get to speak to, please
forgive me.  For the ones of you who were not there, I forgive you.  I know a true
Rocket would not stay away from a Rocket Pep Rally because he did not care. 
Responsibilities and obligations go along with being a fifty-seven or fifty-eight
year old adult.  I understand.  Some situations and duties in life are actually more
important than celebrating how really old you are.  Alas, the flame of hope burns
eternally for you, or at least for the next five years!  Both classes voted to
reunite again in 2011 for number forty-five.  Maybe if we make it a three-day
weekend, I will get to speak to everyone.  Enrolling my youngest daughter in
college for her freshman year is presently the only obligation I now have in 2011. 
Maybe the planning committee can work around it.  With that optimism, I look
forward to seeing you all in 2011!

      Until we meet again, I have one suggestion in keeping the Rocket flame
passionately burning in your heart.  Please visit rockinghammemories.net, a
website created and maintained by classmate Joel Bailey.  Joel and his wife
Sandra, class of 1967, have done more to keep the Rocket afterburners glowing
brightly for more people than any couple I know.  Joel bears the financial burden
of this website alone as well as donating hours of his personal time.  Joel's site is
historical, educational, and entertaining.  You will discover facts you never knew
about your hometown.  Per Joel, rockinghammemories.net is a collection of
childhood memories, nostalgia, personal stories, and some history of growing up in
Rockingham, North Carolina - a small textile town in the South in the  50s & 60s. 
Through this website, Joel promises you will experience the stories, pictures, and
recollections of individuals growing up during these times.  He also encourages that
if you have an article of interest, a short story or photos of Rockingham or
Richmond County, please free to send them to rockinghammemories.net.

      Do not do as I did.  Joel's website has been in existence since November 2,
2002.  I read his site for two and one-half years before I emailed him the speech
I wrote for my ten-year high school reunion.  Unlike writing a letter for school,
writing my memories of home and friends became fun.  If not for Joel providing
the opportunity and inspiration, I would never had written about the lives and
times of growing up in Rockingham.  I, too, encourage you to tell others your
stories.  Joel needs to be thanked for the personal time, effort, expense, and
love he shows for our hometown through rockinghammemories.net.  Send him
an email of thanks along with a personal story as Joel invites you to sit back and
click away for some fond memories of the past.  GO ROCKETS!!!  Share your
memories of growing up in Rockingham, North Carolina - a small textile town in the
South in the 50s & 60s.