By Don Steen
Staff Writer • [email protected]
Five of the 11 living members of the Dale High School Class of 1948 gathered at The Chateau in Mariah Hill for their 75th Annual Class Reunion. The Class of ‘48 has met at regular intervals since their graduation, with Pat (Yellig) Koch noting that even when she was away from the county she could always count on an invite.
The Class of ‘48 convened as freshmen on August 30, 1944, just as word had gone out throughout the world that Paris had been liberated. The class at that time had an enrollment of 41 girls and 27 boys for a total of 68 students. A class history notes only one withdrawal in that year, Jerome Jacob. There were several more withdrawals in 1945, more than in any other class. James Heichelbech, who is still living but was not present at the reunion, joined the class in their junior year.
In September of 1947, the newly minted seniors hit the last leg of their journey at Dale High School. While the mathematics of withdrawals and additions over the last four years had left their number reduced to around 57, the Class of 1948 was lauded as the largest yet to have graduated from Dale High School.
Seventy-five years later, Peggy (Whitten) Lovell, Dotty (Harper) Elliot, Leon Kordes, Lee Ringeman, and Pat (Yellig) Koch came together once again to share in some school spirit. There were also six other alumni still living, but not in attendance. These included Merle Kendall, Louise (McGlothlin) White, Leola Holtzman, Virginia Schum, Donald Dilger, and James Heichelbech.
The five gathered at The Chateau, with Koch being the youngest at 92, shared memories and looked over photographs of the stately school in its heyday.
Looking at a photo of the school draped in snow, Koch recalled there was once a pond nearby where kids would ice skate. Other elements of folklore and exploits were also in abundance. One such story told of students who managed to lead a well-fed cow up three flights of stairs to the study hall, where it would reside overnight for teachers to find the next morning. That study hall, once cleaned, was remembered as remaining relatively unchanged from the Class of 1948’s tenure all the way to the school’s closure in 1972.
Amid other class pranks, such as throwing books from the windows and other general mischief, Koch recalled one stand-out episode from around Halloween where many classmates were certain they had lost a friend in the line of mischief. In the course of teenage hijinks one Halloween, the Dale Town Marshal caught a group of high schoolers and gave chase.
At some point, a warning shot was apparently fired, though those involved in the chase were not keen to stick around and see what had happened. The rumor mill firmly asserted that one of those involved had been fatally wounded, and the anxiety of those classmates “in the know” were not put at ease until all members of the group showed up to class unharmed.
“It was a wild bunch,” said Koch. “Let me tell you.”
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: The five members of the Dale High School Class of ’48 who attended the reunion pose for a group picture. There were six other living members who were not in attendance.
The attendees of the reunion look back at some photos and memorabilia from their days as high school students.
Among the photographs was the class picture which included headshots of each student in the class of 1948.
The class roster was available for viewing as well. It included the names of all of the Class of ’48, as well as their class colors, motto, and flower.
A page containing the class history excerpt was available for viewing at the reunion as well.
A photo of the student council was available for viewing during the reunion.
A photograph of Dale High School in the Winter – circa 1940s.
A photo of the Dale High School study hall – circa 1940s.
