EUTAWVILLE - After all these years, she's kept her high school sweetheart's football jersey in a drawer at her mother's Holly Hill home.

Claire Colvin, Holly Hill High School class of 1968, and Robert Irick, class of 1967, "went steady" throughout high school. Colvin was a cheerleader, and Irick was a football player.

Irick, now a resident of Sullivan's Island and Colvin, who lives in San Francisco, Calif., remain friends after graduating from Holly Hill High School. The two have stayed in touch periodically over the years, as have other HHHS classmates.

A funeral, a wedding, or a few rare chance meetings have produced smaller, spontaneous reunions of a few HHHS classmates and friends over the past four decades. But nothing could prepare these proud HHHS "Bantams" for the mega-reunion held Saturday, May 2, at the lake home of Dr. Walter Hutto near Eutawville.

Encompassing a six-year group of classes, 1965 to 1971, it was the "mother of all high school class reunions," said reunion co-organizer Jimmy Hutto, class of 1968. More than 200 HHHS alums and spouses, former teachers and friends were there.

"I taught all of these children," said a smiling Alice Norris, 85, of Isle of Palms, retired Holly Hill Elementary teacher and HHHS guidance counselor.

Jean Smoak Schell of Holly Hill, who taught home economics and English at HHHS from 1967 to 1974, was also present and said she enjoyed seeing her students "all grown up." Many of the students knew her as Jean Lewis during her teaching years in Holly Hill.

Beloved typing teacher Agnes Baker regretted she was unable to be at the reunion. Now in a nursing home in Aiken, Baker sent a note to 1967 HHHS graduate Emily Dickens Jackson of Mt. Pleasant, which read in part: " … I will not get to class reunion and it hurts very much because those rascals were very special to me. Please tell them all I'm sorry I can't be there and I love them all. My writing is for the birds so I'm quitting! Love, Miss Agnes."

Other teachers in attendance included Harvey Rast (drivers' education), Bill Summer (math), Virginia Chapman (home economics) and Coach Artie Knight, who coached at the school from 1965 to 1976.

Hutto gave special recognition to the former faculty in attendance.

"I'd also like to thank Bill Gates. Without the Internet, I don't know if we could've pulled this thing off," Hutto said, referring to a growing Web site established specifically for the HHHS alums of 1965 through 1971.

Reunion co-organizer Cheryl Chewning Metz (class of 1966) of Columbia recalled that her high school years included good, clean fun. "There was virtually no drinking, no smoking, no cursing. Growing up in a small town was the best anyone could do for ourselves," Metz said.

Individual classes held a few get-togethers the night before the combined reunion, but Saturday's shindig was definitely a crowd-pleaser.

A highlight was a musical tribute to songs of the 1960s, led by Mary Lu Hanes Norris (class of 1969) and narrated by her husband Edward Norris (class of 1968). Various graduates from each class joined to form a "choir" of sorts to render an "Off Broadway - way off Broadway" production, it was announced.

The musical tribute ended with the singing of the HHHS Alma Mater.

Another collective Holly Hill High School reunion is being planned for next May at the Utopia in Holly Hill. Details will be announced at a later time.

T&D Correspondent Martha Rose Brown can be reached by e-mail at marfawose@aol.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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