Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969

P R O C L A M A T I O N

WHEREAS, one score and eighteen years ago this September (always after Labor Day back then except on the west coast where school started at its regular time),Eagles and Rams nearly 600 strong converged upon 127 Providence Road to begin a long strange trip in the totally foreign and often formidable new world of Oak Ridge High School; a world inhabited by giants whose sole purpose was seemingly to hit you on the head with large metal objects worn on their hand, a world where entire buildings were designated only by letters of the alphabet and where bitter rivals for the past three years were now teammates, boyfriends, club sisters, girlfriends, classmates, friends, and, in some cases, still bitter rivals; and

WHEREAS, the process of socialization, acclimation and assimilation began almost immediately, for some more successfully and quickly than others, but ready or not you soon learned how to peg your lockers, that E building was one of those two flying saucers in dry dock, that D building was to be traversed carefully and cautiously, what a "holdover" was, who was "incessantly, who was "eternally", who was "forever" and who cared, why you would possibly want to watch a submarine race, all verses of the fight song, and the purpose of Assembly (well maybe some learned that); and

WHEREAS, over the course of your high school tour of duty, names of authority figures such as Pope, Dunnigan, Mullenax, Stansberry, "Doc" Combs, McGehee, Marrs, Bilbrey, Cosson, Bible, Myers, Hatch, Cebrat, Gottshall, Lewis, Lennihan, Armstrong (J. and E), Fernandez, Wattenbarger, Pickel, and Gross, became indelibly imprinted in your memories, some fondly even then, others gaining respect and appreciation with the passage of time, and others, not so much; and

WHEREAS, fortunately, resilience, adaptability and perseverance are common characteristics of kids that age and you soon found that the Music Explosion was correct in that "a little bit o' soul will put you right" as you cruised the streets of "O'krige" trying to pick up on those "Good Vibrations", some of you "Happy Together", others looking for a little "R-E-S-P-E-C-T", hoping that the "tuff" person you were with would "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'", all the while dreading the impending "Monday, Monday" inevitably to come; and

WHEREAS, although it was actually two calendar years for everyone, whether the period of time between starting at ORHS as a sophomore and returning as a senior was a blur or an eternity depended pretty much entirely upon how you viewed your high school experience; but even though it never really seemed such, in September of 1968 you were the class "in charge" and you were now those predatory giants roaming the school;

WHEREAS, without doubt each 1969 grad clings to or cannot be rid of their own memories, be they good or bad, special or otherwise, of events and occasions and sights that seem as real today as they were back then, so no listing of such could ever pretend to be complete or exhaustive, however, in no particular order of importance, some of these should be at least vaguely familiar: Blankenship field on a crisp Friday night (and back then it was relatively crisp even in September) to watch the Jenkins/Hickman/Thompson led Wildcats come within 16 points of a perfect season, or perhaps, to watch the equally talented marching band or cheerleaders; the National Guard Armory to hear the Soul Sanction and Lloyd Jones do "Any Day Now" better than Chuck Jackson; driving from McDonalds to Shoney's and back for no apparent reason; the taste of 2 cent social club mints; the Kroger parking lot across from McDonalds; wondering why ORHS never had a Homecoming; the baker's dozen or more National Merit Semifinalists; Tommy Weaver winning the state singles tennis title; the Oak Leaf; WATO (and stacks of wax); being hit with a dodge ball thrown by Slim Goodman; diversions such as the Municipal Swimming Pool, putt-putt, the skating rink, swimming at the rock quarry, Ridgeview, and Midtown # 1 or # 2; Joanne DePersio swishing free throws on Saturday mornings; the Norman "Buddy" McCullough for Student Council President campaign; going to The Music Box to get the Sgt. Pepper's album; showing up at the cafeteria on Saturday morning to take the ACT or SAT without benefit of preparation course or book; the winding road to Carbide Park and the many amusements found therein; the even more winding G Road (if there had been a nuclear attack, would it really have been better to be at Bacon Springs?);David Shaffer setting a school discus record that still stands; perhaps not paying enough attention to the "No Trespassing By Order of U.S.A.E.C" signs; Josten's; Wheat City; the unparalleled excellence of the Spurgeon Chapel men's church league bsketball team; a certain cabin on the lake on Senior Skip Day; the Dairy Queen,located first on California Avenue and later the Turnpike; the singing voice of John Shuey; sledding the AEC hill; eagerly awaiting the Oak Log; the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance; the guard towers on the hilltops surrounding the plants; the Ridge, Grove and Skyway (yes, they showed movies there); Chestnut Ridge Park; and one last visit to Blankenship field as a Wildcat,this time for graduation; and

WHEREAS, while members of the Class of 1969, not surprisingly, garnered more than their fair share of honors, scholarships and awards, even those who left in June of 1969 feeling academically or athletically mediocre or inept no doubt felt vindicated when they later discovered that had they attended most any other Tennessee high school, they would have been stars; and

WHEREAS, although far too many of your classmates are no longer with you, including your President Steve Jernigan, that a reunion has taken place every five years is refreshing evidence that the Class of 1969 learned well one of the more valuable lessons of the high school experience which is that it is not just about the memories, events, successes and even failures that occurred during that time, but rather it is more about the people with whom they occurred; and

WHEREAS, not only did this class survive and even prosper despite the many pressures inherent in attending a large, academically and athletically outstanding high school in a reasonably affluent community that expects excellence, but it did so while on the cusp of a turbulent and polarizing era; a whole generation with a new explanation if you will; and

WHEREAS, when the final paragraph is written about this class (and fortunately, this is it for this reunion) it can be said without undue exaggeration or hyperbole and without hesitation or fear of contradiction that the sin, sex, booze and wine ORHS Class of 1969 didn't suck, and for that increasingly rare accomplishment alone, it is worthy of recognition these many years later; now,

therefore,

I, John S. Wilder, Speaker of the Senate of the One Hundred Third General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, at the request of and in conjunction with Senator Randy McNally, do hereby proclaim and offer our congratulations to all members of the Oak Ridge High School Class of 1969 upon the occasion of the 35th anniversary of their graduation, praise their commitment and dedication and offer our sincere hopes for their every future happiness and health.

Proclaimed in Nashville, Tennessee on this the 4th day of August, 2004.

John S. Wilder
Speaker of the Senate

Randy McNally, Senator and ORHS Class of 1962
5th Senatorial District