NHS Alumni Banquet To Celebrate Class of ‘73

I say this every year. I think I’ve attended nearly every Noblesville High School Alumni Banquet since I started working as a Noblesville journalist 37 years ago.

The banquets are always a lot of fun, graduates reminisce about high school days, the 50-year class is celebrated and an Alumnus of the Year is honored. Plus, attendees enjoy a good meal catered by Noblesville Jim Dandy Restaurant.

I was glad to see the NHS Alumni Banquet return in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to Covid. This year’s NHS Alumni Banquet is at 5 p.m. April 29 in the NHS Cafeteria.

Peggy Beaver, a 1972 NHS grad who is in her third term as NHS Alumni board president, is expecting an even larger turnout than a year ago, when her class of ‘72 celebrated its 50-year-reunion at the banquet.

This year, the NHS Class of 1973 will be celebrating its 50-year reunion.

And thanks to NHS Alumni Association board member and NHS Class of ‘73 class member, Jeff Zeckel, who provided this history:

The Class of ‘73 was the first first-grade class to attend Forest Hill Elementary.

They attended kindergarten in the basements of First Ward, The Masonic Temple and Third Ward.

Their elementary schools were Conner, Forest Hill, First, Second and Third wards, all of which are no longer in existence .

Class of ‘73 was the last fifth-grade class to attend First Ward, and the first sixth-grade class to attend the new North Elementary.

The class was also the last seventh-grade class to attend the same school that their parents could have attended in high school. They attended the former high school at 1448 Conner St., originally built in 1923 and served as a high school until 1955, then junior high until 1968, then became the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville and more recently, in 2018, The Farm, a business office for Culver’s restaurants owned by Kristina and Jeff Meyer (K and J Investments). Zeckel said students might remember the wide stairs, shop class in the basement of the west academic building, walking across the sky bridge over to the east building, and the cafeteria in the basement where they had a vending machine that sold cartons of chocolate milk. There was also the old gymnasium reminiscent of the “Hoosiers” movie and the old locker rooms. Students had to jog to Memorial Field behind North Elementary for PE class and wore track shoes with 2-inch spikes to be able to compete on the cinder track.

The Class of ‘73 was also the first eighth-grade class to attend and graduate from the new Junior High at Field Drive and 16th Street (now Noblesville East Middle School). They had “the first indoor pool in the history of Noblesville Schools.” Their freshman year (1969-70), the new Dale Swanson football field was dedicated, and NHS had the first swim team.

In 1973, the senior class was the last year of the high school’s building configuration from the second remodel of the school. In 1974, Noblesville High School’s auditorium was added and a lot of the two stories of glass down the west sign disappeared, and the shop wing was enlarged.

While classmates witnessed the Vietnam War, the class graduated between wars. When the guys in the class turned 17, they received a draft card, but they were spared from going to Vietnam after in January 1973, Paris Peace Accords was signed, ending the war.

The Beatles arrived when classmates were in the third grade.

When the class transitioned from junior high to high school, some of the teachers moved with them, including Larry Jacobi and the late Gary Shriver. They had teachers that taught their parents, Wes Able, Earl Wolf and Murat Nugent.

And freshman year, the students were allowed to wear blue jeans to school, where the late ‘60s and early ‘70s brought mini skirts, culottes, paisley shirts, ties and blouses, bell bottoms and long hair.

As freshmen, with no drivers licenses, they organized two bus trips, to the Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds to see The Turtles and Three Dog Night, and to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to time trials. When they got their driver’s licenses, they cruised the Jim Dandy, Danners strip mall, Forest Park, Rainbo Roller Rink and Happy’s Hamburgers on South 10th Street, along with B&K root beer stand. They went to Stardust Bowl, Diana Theater, ABC Drive-In, Blue Ribbon Dairy, B&W Pizza, and Bill’s Drive In. They swam at Hillside and Forest Park pool and slid down “the dam” at Morse Lake.

The Class of ‘73 is featured in the eight-page Spring 2023 NHS Alumni Newsletter, which Beaver puts together and mails out to alumni each year announcing the banquet, which traditionally takes place the last Saturday in April. Thanks again, Jeff Zeckel, for all of this awesome history, which is also included in the Alumni Newsletter.

While the NHS class of ‘70 and ‘71 missed out on their time to be honored during 50-year reunions during 2020 and 2021 banquets, due to the pandemic, those two graduating class years were honored at the 2022 banquet.

Attendees every year at these banquets seem to have a great time.

“If you have never been to one of our NHS Alumni Banquets, you are missing out on a fun evening reminiscing with classmates from all graduating classes,” said Beaver, who was on the homecoming court her senior year. “Our main mission is to celebrate our alumni and hold a banquet each year for all of you to gather and enjoy the company of your classmates.”

Beaver said average attendance, over the past more than 20 years, at the NHS Alumni Banquet is about 300 guests.

The NHS Class of 1974 will be hosts at this year’s banquet, greeting attendees as they check in, directing guests to their tables and serving punch during social hour. It’s a tradition for each class to play host the year prior to its 50-year reunion, next year on April 27, 2024.  Also, in tradition, NHS students will serve the Jim Dandy meals to each table.

One outstanding NHS Alumnus of the Year, voted on by the NHS Alumni Association board, is recognized with a plaque and isn’t announced until the banquet. (The 2022 winner was Karen Williams Pryor, Class of ‘74) But before then, during the banquet, door prizes are presented to the graduate who has traveled the farthest, who has the most grandchildren and the earliest and most recent graduates.

All of these add “a little more fun to the evening,” Beaver said.

Current officers on the board are Peggy Baldwin Beaver, president, class of 1972; Terri Sigman Kennedy, vice president, class of 1972; Janice Robinson, treasurer, class of 1968; Vicki Wright Wilson, secretary, class of 1968. Other board members are Jeff Zeckel, class of 1973; Tim Timmons (publisher of The Times), class of 1975; Tom Gang, class of 1967; JoAnn Cook White, class of 1948; Debbie Davis Bastin, class of 1971; Charlie McMillan Jr., class of 1981; Michelle Menchaca Dixon, class of 1989; and Karen Williams Pryor, class of 1974 (2022 NHS Alumnus of the Year). “If you are interested in serving on the board, we would love to hear from you,” Beaver said.

Donations are encouraged for the NHS Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, Newsletter Fund, general fund to support the banquet, and the Gold Star Program (in which name appears on a plaque and is on display at every banquet.)

All paid members will receive an alumni newsletter, “if we have your current address,” Beaver said. The newsletter is mailed out in early March. The newsletter includes a banquet reservation form that can be completed and mailed in with a check payable to NHS Alumni.

The 2021 scholarship winners, announced in April 2022, were Johnathan Baker, Nate Cook, Gracen Leo, Riley Strong and Lindsay Wilson. The 2022 scholarship winners will be announced in May during NHS Senior Honors Night.

Reservation deadline is Saturday. Doors open at 5 p.m. for socializing with dinner at 6 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.

Beaver encourages folks to make a reservation, “so we can plan for our seating and number of meals,” she said.

“Have you made your reservation? It’s not too late,” Beaver said.

Want TO GO?

What: 2023 Noblesville High School Alumni Banquet.

When: Doors open at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m., program at 7 p.m. April 29.

Where: Noblesville High School, 18000 Cumberland Road, Noblesville.

How much: $22 per person.

Who can attend: While the banquet celebrates NHS alumni, you don’t have to be a graduate to attend.

Good to know: Shuttle service available from NHS parking lot to the front door.

After Party: Following banquet at Noblesville Elks Lodge 576, 35 S. Ninth St., with free parking at The Levinson at Ninth and Maple, open night to alumni and public as well, with entertainment by The Rugged Brothers Band and vocalist Abby Lynn.

Reservations required: Call Peggy (Baldwin) Beaver at 317-372-2674 or email bvrhut@aol.com; or Janice Robinson at 317-773-3425 or bbop1950@yahoo.com, by April 22. Checks may be made payable to NHS Alumni and mailed to Noblesville Alumni, P.O. Box 818, Noblesville, IN 46061. Tickets are $22 each. Please include your name, class, phone and email with your check.

What else: NHS Class of ‘73 reunion is 7-11 p.m. April 28 at Purgatory Golf Club, with a farewell breakfast on April 30 at a location and time to be announced. The 2023 NHS Homecoming football game is Sept. 15 vs. Zionsville.

More info: www.NoblesvilleAlumni.org or contact Beaver or Robinson above.

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact Times editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.