REUNION TO RECALL STUDENTS OF 1960s

In 1960, Cape Girardeau high school students danced to the syrupy strings of Percy Faith's "Theme from a Summer Place" and Elvis asked "Are You Lonely Tonight?" A decade, a jungle war and some assassinations later, Edwin Starr sang the angry "War" and Simon and Garfunkel tried to soothe the pain with "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It was a topsy-turvy 10 years.

Some 3,400 people who went to Cape Central High School in the 1960s are invited back for a reunion of people who survived, not only the '60s, but the '70s, '80s and '90s as well.

Organizers hope the reunion June 29 and 30 at the Show Me Center draws between 1,000 and 1,500 former classmates. The plans for the weekend include a tournament at the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course, a tour of the city and tour of the high school led by 1970 alumnus and athletic director Terry Kitchen, a classic and antique car show, an a cappella choir rehearsal, a Friday night mixer and a dinner-dance.

Classic theme

If the reunion has a theme, it's "classic." At the mixer, a deejay will spin the top songs from 1958 to the early 1970s. At the Saturday night dance, a Ste. Genevieve-St. Louis band called the GTOs will play classic rock 'n' roll. One 1960 alumnus, Gary Richards, will drive his 1956 Mercury to the reunion from his home in California.

The idea for the all-'60s reunion originated with Mark Stuart, a star athlete in the Class of 1968. Stuart loves class reunions, but at his most recent ones found himself wishing people from earlier and later classes were there to talk to as well. He also noticed that the school classes from the 1950s were holding all-decade reunions.

Donna Shivelbine Grantham, who graduated in 1966, has been tracking the reunion details on her computer. She retrieved a list of graduates from people who have helped organize the reunions for individual classes. Stuart and nearly 20 others representing the 11 classes invited 1960-1970 have met periodically to lay the plans.

3,000 invitations sent

The organizers actually sent out 3,000 invitations. The other 400 people "fell in the cracks," Stuart said. "They have not kept in touch with anybody or have no family left in town."

He added, "A few don't want to be found. We had a few that said, Don't bother contacting me anymore."

The reunion Web site at www.rosecity.net/chs asks for help locating a list of graduates who haven't been located.

Some of the invitations went overseas. Stuart said the response has been better from the 1960-1965 classes than for the 1966-1970 classes thus far.

So far, 300 responses have been received, but Stuart said, "I'm expecting the mailbox to start getting real full real quick."

He hopes so, so they know how many dinners to prepare.

Teachers and coaches who taught at the high school or in the public school system during the 1960s also are invited to the event.

Because of the number of people involved, the organizers have not solicited information about what the graduates are doing with their lives. But from speaking with the other organizers, Grantham said she does have a profile of 1960s graduates. They are involved in a huge variety of businesses but a surprising number already have retired. Many have moved back to Southeast Missouri after living many years in other regions.

She and her husband, Tom, moved back to Cape Girardeau last June after living in Ohio for 30 years. Grantham, a member of the Shivelbine's Music Store family, played the clarinet in the high school band and took advanced math classes.

"Everyone seems really excited about it," Grantham said of the mass reunion. "They want to see people in other classes."

Anyone who should have received an invitation to the reunion can contact Stuart at 339-7047 or Grantham at 335-3490.