I LOVE THE 80’S!
Dupo High School Super Reunion Brings Alumni Home
It was back to the 80’s last Saturday, October 10th at Dupo Village Park as Dupo High School graduates from classes 1980 – 1989 gathered for an 80’s super reunion. After heavy rains for a few days, the weather cooperated with plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures. Memories were thick and smiles aplenty as old friends and classmates gathered to reminisce and share with one another.
Organizers of the event were John and JoEtta Bright. John is an alumnus from the class of 87’ and the son of former Dupo High teacher and athletic director Rich Bright. I asked John what the impetus was for the super reunion. He responded, “The class of 87’ has always been close. We get together once or twice a year and there will be thirty or forty of us. We were talking about having a reunion for all the classes from the 80’s and so here we are. We hoped for a larger turnout but we’re hoping to have this every three to five years or so. We think that the more people who hear about it will want to come and it will grow.” Living in the digital technological age I asked how the internet and email played into bringing the event together. “I’d say about seventy five percent of our contacts were done on Facebook. So the internet played a big part in putting this together. But we want to especially thank the American Legion for their help and cooperation.”
It seemed to take a little while, but when people finally warmed up to each other there was a lot of laughter and even a few tears as old friends and classmates became reacquainted. I asked former Dupo High Alumnus Jennifer Shelby (Markert) what was the most enjoyable thing for her at the reunion? She said, “Just seeing all the old classmates. Some people I haven’t seen in twenty plus years.” The experience was a little different for Tonya Hillman (Evitts). Tonya, who now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, spent much of her childhood here at Dupo but moved away before High School after her mother died in 1982. Her father, Rev. Tom Evitts, then pastor at First Baptist Church of Dupo, moved the family to Indiana. She said, “A lot of the people I’m seeing today mean so much more to me than just being classmates. It goes deeper than that for me, so many are like family to me and this is my home. It wasn’t my choice to leave and I love to come back every chance I get. I would prefer to be back in Dupo if I could.” 82’ alumnus Rev. Mike Arthur, has served churches in several states since leaving Dupo many years ago but he always enjoys coming home. He said, “I’ve had an incredible time today. It’s been awesome to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones.” Mike has been helping Dupo classmates reconnect in a big way on Facebook.com. Through his posting of old yearbook pictures on ‘Retro Tuesday’ as he calls it, many old classmates have been given the chance to see and remember old times, places and faces from the past. We talked about Facebook’s impact on the reunion. “I would say that it may have been the impetus that started this event or at least made it bigger.” I asked class of 80’ alumnus Lori Dell her take on the event being someone who still lives here in Dupo. She said, “Some people I’ve talked to are glad they’re gone and moved on with their lives but at the same time you can tell there are things they miss about living here. Of course things are way different now than many of them remember when they were young. But it’s been a good time today, lots of smiles and laughter.”
Music for the event was provided by the band ‘Revved’ from High Ridge, Mo. The band played primarily a lot of tunes from the 1980’s adding to the atmosphere of the event. Food was catered by the Legion Café located in the back of the American Legion on Fifth Street in Dupo. The Legion Café serves lunch and dinner Wednesday thru Friday. For more information on items mentioned in this article go to the following websites.
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com/revvedhot
www.revvedhot.com
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