THE REUNION

"This had been the road of Destiny; had taken us to those early accidents of fortune which predetermined for us all we can ever be. Now I understand that the same road was to bring us together again. Whatever we had missed, we possessed together the precious, the incommunicable past."

Willa Cather, My Antonia

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A Crazy Warm-up on

Bluebonnet Circle

Yes, some Panthers just can't seem to get enough of each other. What began as a clandestine meeting of a few for dinner Thursday evening at Ocean Rock grew with surpirsing appearances by others of the 1964 class who were fortuitously in the same place!

Dinner was followed by a migration across the hallowed field in the center of the infamous roundabout to that wonderful dive, living on from yesteryear in its original form with its continental name -- The Oui Lounge.

There, as sometimes happens when clever people gather and energize each other, the crowd magically grew. By late in the evening, Panthers from a time forty years ago populated virtually every corner of this Fort Worth landmark; once again affirming that whenever two dozen or more of us gather, a spirit of festivity and festive spirits abound.

Yellow Jackets, eat your little hearts out!

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Golf on Friday morning

Some die-hard golfers couldn't get enough with just the game on Saturday, so they toughed out the threatening rain to get together at Ridglea Country Club.

Somewhere after the turn and before the 18th green, the brave crew decided it was better to retreat to the 19th Hole than continue the dodge bolts of lightening. They thus survived to attend the remainder of the functions.

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Visiting the Halls of Paschal

Letty Eckardt set up a walk-thru tour of Paschal for Friday with tour guides that left at 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00 pm. For those of you who made the effort, apparently all sorts of memories returned. Moreover faces, now older, became familiar again as old friends got reacquainted.

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Buffet Friday Night

About the time the golfers were leaving the course and the nostalgics were touring the school, the torrents began. For several hours only the ducks rejoiced as several inches of rain fell. With an outdoor gathering scheduled to begin at 7:30, grave doubts were cast on the potential for continued success of reunion revelry. Then, just as quickly as the clouds had appeared, they departed, leaving Ft. Worth uncommonly cool for a June night.

The anticipated throngs appeared, and the celebration continued unabated. What had looked like a potential opportunity for the Griffiths to replace all their carpet after a wet melee was transformed into an ideal evening for Panthers to spend reconnecting outdoors.

If you are interested, Mickie Cooles daughter took some cool pictures that night that are available for sale through Mickie. You can see them at her store at 3460A Bluebonnet Circle or reach her at 817-291-6944.

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Ladies' Lunch on Saturday

Nearly fifty female Panthers took over Jon's Restaurant. Reports from those who attended (this reporter was excluded due to excessive testosterone on blood testing), suggest the affair exceeded all expectations. Rumor has it that the proprietor elected to turn away all who could not recite the Paschal Fight Song to ensure the rowdy ladies would not be tempted to start another melee and clutter the Sunday paper with yet more Paschal news.

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Golf Tournament

Saturday Morning

Five teams of four teed off at Glen Garden Country Club in a hotly contested fete to determine the best scorekeepers. Typical of sore losers, various accusations of ringers, doctored score cards and teams with unfair local knowledge were plentiful.

In the end, judge John Collins determined the winning team to be Charles (Chaso) Unfried, Kenneth (Kenny) Kenyon, Clif (Clifton) Barnhart and Scott (Scott) Ryan. Winners remained sportsmanlike, and in typical Panther fashion, showed humility as they waved their gift cerificates in the faces of their fellow contenders.

As the rain again fell for a couple of hours, this quasi-athletic over-the-hill bunch shared lunch and Paschal gossip, awaiting the next event in this ongoing saga of recollections and braggadocio.

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Whoopin' it up at

Colonial Country Club

Saturday Night

Although there is no completely accurate head-count, estimates of those passing out name tags and directories put attendance at well over 300. In addition to food, libation and music, good fellowship was in abundance. Although the band began to break down their instruments and amplifiers around midnight, the revelry continued for over an hour more. Club management seemed relieved to see the final Panthers straggle out so they could lock the door behind them.

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The class of 1964 just can't seem to stay out of the paper! The Panthers of '64 were featured on the front page of Section B in the June 26, 2004 Star-Telegram.

You can see the article for a limited time at:

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/9019421.htm

(You'll have to 'register' with an email address to log in.)

or if you can no longer find it there, click here to see the text without the pictures.

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Click here to see some of the letters after the reunion