Former Cape Girardeau junior high staff reunite

A reunion of retired Cape Girardeau Public Schools teachers and staff members took place Wednesday, June 28 at, Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.

Those gathered all worked together at the former junior high school building, which today is home to Central Middle School. Many of the former co-workers used the word "family" to describe how close they had all become and still remain. Some said they hadn't seen each other for many years, others stayed in contact over the years.

Gerald Richards, principal at the junior high from 1987 to 2002, said he experienced that family feeling when he started working in that building as a math teacher in 1967. He said he stayed close to many of the people he met and worked with during his career, even after he retired.

Richards said several of the former junior high staff often met for breakfast over the last 15 years, but that was interrupted by COVID-19. He said, since then, two of his former colleagues have passed away, and that spurred him to organize the reunion.

Former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members look through an old yearbook during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

Former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members look through an old yearbook during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

"That made me, and everybody, wake up and think, 'Hey, you know, life is short,'" Richards said. "We missed it so much, we just need to try to pull everybody together."

Gretchen Fee, a language arts teacher at the junior high for 28 years, helped Richards organize the reunion and said more than 60 former teachers and staff members were able to come.

"It's great to see everyone again," Fee said. "Today is like a big family reunion. We need to do it more often. We're not getting any younger."

Richards said the reunion was special because everyone there was part of a family that was created in 1963 when the junior high building first opened. He said that family continued to grow until 2002 when the new Central High School building opened in the southwest section of the city, and many teachers and staff were moved to different buildings.

Gerald Richards, left, greets fellow former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

Gerald Richards, left, greets fellow former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

"The family was broken. It was emotional," Richards said. "Very close friends who taught different grades and had been accustomed to frequent contact with each other throughout the day were now in separate buildings."

The junior high building became Central Middle School, and the old high school building became Central Junior High School, renamed Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High School in 2019.

For the family of teachers at the old junior high, Richards said those who taught eighth grade students were assigned to the new junior high and those who taught ninth grade students were assigned to the new high school.

Though they were no longer all working together in the same building, Fee said the teachers and staff remained close, and when they do get to see each other, they pick up right where they left off as if no time had passed at all.

Gretchen Fee, middle, visits with fellow former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

Gretchen Fee, middle, visits with fellow former Cape Girardeau Public Schools staff members during a reunion Wednesday, June 28, at Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High school.Danny Walter

"When I was teaching, it was like one big family," Fee said. "If something happened to one person, it happened to everybody. And everybody jumped in to see what they could do to make it better. I wouldn't trade those 28 years for anything in the world."

Richards said he hoped the reunion would spur his close family of friends into seeing each other more often.

"Today we get to break bread together, renew friendships, swap cellphone numbers, share memories, and remember the good old days," Richards said. "We hope to once again enjoy our family again before another passes from this Earth."