thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Thousands of students passed through the doors and hallways of Everett High School between 1922-1977 in Maryville. And every summer, the call to come back together is answered by hundreds who haven’t forgotten its place in their history.
The Everett High School Alumni Luncheon was attended by 500 former students, their spouses and teachers Tuesday at Heritage High School, the school that replaced Everett when it closed in the summer of 1977. Members of the classes of 1922-71 enjoyed a covered dish luncheon, awarded a $1,000 scholarship (to Cody Young) and spent hours catching up.

Rex Berry, a member of the Class of 1960, came to find old friends and remember. He is a retired high school teacher, spending all 35 of his teaching years at Farragut High School. Describing himself as “a mediocre student,” Berry said his days at Everett were certainly influential on his career choice.

“Apparently I liked it because I was in high school for the next 35 years,” Berry said. “My entire career was spent in high school.”

Valuable lessons

He said his most memorable teacher was Maurice Long, who taught American history and who was Berry’s home bound teacher when he became ill. What also stands out for this Everett alumna was a lesson on valuing his education.

Berry and a few friends decided to skip classes and instead play pool at nearby Luke’s Pool Hall. They stayed all day — and then came back to school to confess.
“We figured out we were going to get caught,” Berry said. “We wanted to offset them calling home. Back in those days you got a whipping at home, too. We took a whipping at school and convinced (Assistant Principal R.C. Giffin) not to call home.”
Kate White, Class of 1950, was busy catching up with friends like Bruce Watt, a graduate of Greenback High School who attended Everett for 11 years. Both said they attend the annual reunions on a regular basis. They have known each other since first grade.

Watt is retired after 40 years in the banking business while White was a school secretary at Eagleton. She retired and then decided to go back to work, this time at Mary Blount.

“I didn’t like retirement,” she said. “It sounds good till you get there.”
Watt played football for the Everett Bulldogs but said he rarely got in the game because of his size. “And we could never beat Maryville,” he lamented. “Nothing has changed.”

C.A. Gilland is also a member of the Class of 1950. He spent 32 years working at ALCOA Inc. He said some of his best memories of Everett were those afternoons when he would walk across the street to the store while he waited on the bus.
A less pleasant memory, he said, was getting sent to the principal’s office for “matching coins.”

Staying connected

White said her years at Everett prepared her to become a successful adult and after moving away many years ago with her husband who was in the Air Force, she came to appreciate this area even more. “I found out just how good it was when we went away,” she said.

At a nearby table, Emma Grace McDonald Anderson and Eleanor Rogers Harrill — both members of the Class of 1951 — were enjoying lunch and each other’s company.
“We are still friends after 58 years,” Harrill said. And no, it certainly doesn’t seem that long.

Anderson even wore her Everett class ring on this special occasion, a little worn but still a good fit. These two friends’ friendship actually goes back to their parents. Both of their dads worked at ALCOA.

Harrill’s daughter has her Everett ring. It cost a mere $18 back then, she said.
Both Anderson and Harrill have been regular attendees to the Everett reunions. In addition to the alumni luncheon for all classes, some individual classes hold their own gatherings. The two said their years at Everett formed a bond that will never be broken.
Every year that bond gets reinforcement.