Alumni Weekend at HA

Last weekend we went to my 10-year high school reunion in Tennessee. We had planned to be there on Friday afternoon in time to attend the vespers program in the evening. Our flight was delayed and we arrived three hours later than originally scheduled. Vespers was over by the time we got to the hotel, so we decided not to go to the campus until the next morning.

We woke up on Saturday morning and went to the office area for our continental breakfast. They served waffles and cereal. While eating we noticed some older folks in church clothes, so we asked if they were here for alumni weekend. They were coming back for their 60-year reunion --they were from the class of 1948. Wow!! We chatted with them while we all ate. One of the men said that when he attended the academy, the boys lived in tents. Up until Thanksgiving, tents in the middle of campus were home to the boys. He said the reason they no longer lived in the tents after Thanksgiving was because of snow --yikes! I'm not sure where they lived during the snowy months. --probably were farmed out to stay in faculty homes. It was interesting to talk to those two couples, and imagine a little about how different life was in the 40s and 50s.

We enjoyed seeing somewhere around 15 of my classmates from 1998. I also saw the girls' deans, some of the teachers, and several other familiar faces. I also saw several girls who had been campers in my cabin at summer camp when I worked as a camp counselor for 4 summers during my high school and college years. Some of them were already done with college now! --Which made me feel a little out of touch and a teensy bit old . . .
In the evening I played volleyball. Every year at alumni weekend, they have a volleyball and basketball game between the "Allstars" and "Alumni". When I was a student, I was on the "Allstar" volleyball team one year, and I remember playing the alumni! This time, it was fun to be on the alumni team, and one other classmate of mine from 1998, also a v-ball player, played. Several other classmates from other graduation years played too, so it was a lot like "old times"! The game was the most exciting part of the alumni experience for me...and we won all the games we played! I felt a little bad for the academy girls, some who I remembered as having been 7-year-old cub campers (or their younger siblings) in my cabin at camp, but it was fun to play!

After the volleyball game, Jason joined in a couple of "pick up" games of basketball with some of the alumni, current and former staff, and alumni spouses. He had wanted to play in the "Allstar" vs. Alumni basketball game as an "alumni spouse"...but they were kind of strict about only letting alumni play in that game.

We had an uneventful trip back home, and my only regret was that I should have taken more photos. It was a whirlwind of talking to people and hanging out, so I didn't get photos of most of the people I saw... only a few that I talked to, then remembered, "oh, let's take a picture!" Well, I can see most of their photos on myspace, so that makes it nice for keeping up-to-date on what everyone is up to.

Overall, it was well worth the trip! Jason had a good time meeting my friends and teachers. I have so many happy memories from the time I've lived in the dorm there, attended campmeeting as a child and teenager, and the summers worked at the youth camp nearby. I just enjoyed being in that part of the country, too! Go class of 1998!