thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

For the sixth year, Alcoa Alumni and friends will return home in October to celebrate their Homecoming in conjunction with the Foothills Fall Festival Oct. 10-11. So far, Alumni from Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee have confirmed they will attend.

Friday evening at 6, alumni and friends will gather at the Hampton Inn (Airport) to reminisce, tell tall tales, play music, and fellowship. If you like music, bring your guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, etc., and classmates might even play some old-time favorite. Golfers scheduled to compete earlier Friday at Pine Lakes Golf Course will certainly have a few stories to tell.

Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., the Springbrook School Gymnasium, 1537 Dalton St., Alcoa, will be available for sharing a variety of memories. Old photos and memorabilia will be on display, and anyone attending is encouraged to bring their own nostalgic treasures. The old gym floor holds over 50 years of history as youngsters, their parents, and grandparents played basketball, cheered for their team, or met for assembly programs. Springbrook School was completed in the fall of 1921 at a cost of $68,079.70, but only the gym remains. The school burned in 1968, but the gymnasium serves the community through the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks & Recreation Commission.

Lunch is scheduled for noon, Saturday at the gym. Drinks, plates and ice will be provided, and those attending are asked to bring their favorite dish or finger food to share. Donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of facility rental and other expenses.

Celebrating their 50th class reunion, the Alcoa Class of 1958 will meet for dinner Saturday, at 7 p.m., at the Airport Hilton. Classmates are expected from California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Georgia.

Local residents are encouraged to contact their classmates from out of town who may not have received word of these activities. The “Alumni Grapevine” is being asked to get the word out — even those who can’t come can still help get the word out.

Anyone who attended or taught at an Alcoa school is urged to attend. Over the years, dividing lines between schools and communities have merged and intermingled, so if you graduated from one of those “other” schools and have AHS ties, you’re certainly welcome to join the festivities.