Old Calhoun High, before the Internet, texting, twittering,
Facebooking,
300 channel TV, video gaming, Net-Flix and cell phones
It was on July 4, 1921 that the cornerstone
was laid and the school was dedicated
By Bob Weaver
The old Calhoun County High School closed it doors 14 years ago in 1998 after a 77 year run, with several thousand Calhoun students going through its portals, graduating and going into the big world.
This weekend's 25th alumni gathering was mostly about memories from ole 'houner high', with only two Calhoun High alumni registering for the event from the 'new' school opened at Mt. Zion in 1998.
We have often written about the desire to know more about what happened to those grads, many who have made significant contributions to life in America, and some who attended the weekend event.
About 7,000 Calhoun students passed
through the portals from 1921-1998
"With a vision, the people of Calhoun County by a two-to-one vote decided to build a high school in Calhoun County in 1915, putting their pocketbooks on the line," said Bob Bonar, president of the Calhoun Historical Society.
While several people have owned the old structure since its closing, most of them had a vision of restoring and developing the property. It stands empty in decay.
The old school continues to fall into ruin
The money to do a restoration is surely overwhelming.
The owners have continued to fight a losing battle with vandals.
For those thousands who came to the school, it is a place of memories, long before the preoccupations of the 21st Century.
With such preoccupations, there seems to be little time to be connected in a personal sense or to a place where those connections were made.
Judge Larry Whited, in a recent conversation, said all he needed to know about life he learned at family gatherings, Sunday dinner and sitting on the porch listening to old-timers at the country store at Zona in Roane County.
There was quiet time for reflection between those conversations, a time to develop critical thinking.
One must wonder if those who become aged in this century will have such memories.
Still going for community use is Wayne Underwood Field, thanks
to the volunteer efforts of the Calhoun Wood Festival committee
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