Seventy years have passed since the Liberty High School Class of 1956 walked across the stage and into adulthood, but judging from the laughter around the table Saturday, some things haven’t changed all that much.
Nine members of the class gathered Oct. 3 at El Burrito in Liberty for their 70-year class reunion, sharing stories of favorite teachers, lifelong friendships, school-day pranks — and even a greased pig.
The Class of 1956 originally numbered 66 graduates. Today, only about a dozen members of the class remain, making the opportunity to gather again especially meaningful. Nine were able to attend Saturday’s reunion.
Most still live in or around Liberty County. The classmate traveling the farthest came from Friendswood, Texas.
Their Liberty High School looked much different from the one students know today. In 1956, students attended classes in a one-story school building on Grand Avenue near War Memorial Stadium. That building was eventually torn down to make way for another campus, and Liberty High School later relocated to Jefferson Drive.
When each of the classmates was asked to name a favorite memory from high school, the answers quickly brought back teachers, friendships and stories that had survived seven decades.
For Billy Hylton, one person immediately came to mind: Coach Don Hughes, who taught history in addition to coaching football.
“He was an amazing teacher,” Hylton said.
Emily Mamerow also remembered Hughes fondly, though she joked that one of her greatest accomplishments was simply making it through high school.
Paul Newton’s memories turned to W.J. Harlan, who taught math and coached tennis.
Jimmy Davis, on the other hand, found that his clearest memory wasn’t from a classroom at all. He recalled an extracurricular event sponsored by the Melintz family, owners of the Melintz Drive-In theater.
“I remember catching a greased pig in an event hosted by Melintz,” Davis said, laughing.
For June Damek, the friendships formed during those years have proven more enduring than any particular school-day memory. Though she lived in Liberty for only part of her childhood, she said she made lasting memories and lifelong friends, pointing to some of the women seated with her at the reunion.
“We were friends and all together in high school,” Damek said.
Janice Holt remembered a prank involving the Panther football team and science teacher Carl Adams.
Adams was a tall man who drove a rather small car, a combination apparently too tempting for the football players to ignore. One day, they picked up his car and carried it onto the football field. With the field enclosed by fencing, Adams discovered at the end of the school day that getting his car back wasn’t going to be easy.
“It was locked when he got out of school to go home that day,” Holt said. “He couldn’t get to his car.”
Lola Koenig Haddox’s science-class memory involved another predicament.
Her class was tasked with dissecting a cat, but determining whether their specimen was male or female proved more difficult for the students than might be expected today.
“We weren’t that advanced,” Haddox said with a chuckle. “I finally just said, ‘Well, it’s either Thomas or Thomasina.'”
The memories prompted plenty of good-natured teasing among the former classmates.
Hylton turned to the women at the reunion and offered his own recollection of them as teenagers.
“Back when you girls were in school, I remember you were not snobby,” he told them. “You all would talk to anyone.”
Seventy years after graduation, much has changed. The old school on Grand Avenue is gone, and the Class of 1956 has dwindled from 66 graduates to only about a dozen surviving members.
Nine made it to Saturday’s reunion. After 70 years, they all felt it was something worth celebrating.