Members of the Johnsville High School class of 1963 were present at the alumni banquet. Pictured, left to right, are Dave Wiseman, Mary Shaffer Wise, Janet Blair Roll, Wayne Huvler, Maxine Carpenter Phenicie and Ronald Ogle.
Courtesy | Carolyn Williams
Members of the Johnsville High School class of 1958 were present at the alumni banquet. Pictured, left to right, are Junior Wright, Charles Coleman, Robert Morrison, Dixie Shaffer Sargent, Carl Crider and Jim Houk.
Courtesy | Carolyn Williams
Johnsville High School (JHS)’s 95th alumni banquet was celebrated on June 10 at the Johnsville Fire Station, built on the site of our beloved Johnsville School. There were 119 graduates and guests present.
Prior to our meeting, members of the Johnsville Firefighters Association led many interested members on guided tours of the large facility. Each tour guide emphasized that this is the community’s fire station and the firefighters are the caretakers of the building.
After welcoming everyone, President Clint Walker introduced Johnsville Fire Chief Harlan Barrick and asked Firefighter Association President Justin Beck to introduce the 16 firefighters who would be serving the meal. Walker then thanked Barbara Parker for the beautiful table decorations and the helpers of the Alumni Committee — Connie Payton, Mary Wise, and Dayle Lambert — for their assistance and gave a big thank you to Kathy Gerasimof and her assistant for preparing the meal.
Frank Boner recognized all the veterans present and stated that Ray Brenneman, at 99 years old, was the oldest veteran there. Jim Ewers (class of 1953) reported there were 27 in his class, and of the 14 surviving members, six proudly served in the military. Boner then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the national anthem.
Ray Linn gave the invocation for our evening and the meal, which was then served by the Johnsville Firefighters Association members and enjoyed by all.
A very interesting history of the Johnsville Schools was given by Vinton Morgan, who began by stating that he feels he has been blessed by God for his attendance and graduation from Johnsville School. He has lived in the area all his life and feels the school is so much more than a building, and that teachers, staff, and community make a difference. He then gave a history of the schools in the area before the Johnsville School was built in 1885 and the renovations after. Morgan ended with some special memories of his time at JHS.
The honored classes for this year were introduced by Walker. The class of 1963 was the last class to graduate from Johnsville, and seven members were present. The honored class of 1958 had six members present, and the honored class of 1953 also had six members present.
Special recognition was given by Paul Sipes to the teachers at Johnsville with Gail Smith, the only teacher present. The oldest graduate present was Cecil Denton, who graduated in the class of 1944. Alumni who traveled farthest were Jim Houk (Silverdale, Washington), Donna Francis (Sebring, Florida), Loren Peters (Cedar Grove, North Carolina), and David and Jane Armstrong (Holland, Michigan).
Barrick then provided some history of the beginning of the community’s fire department, which began in North Woodbury before coming to Johnsville. There have only been five Johnsville volunteer fire chiefs — Kenny VanHorn, Jim Foster, Lloyd Grogg, Sam Beal, and Barrick, who has served for over 30 years. Johnsville is the newest fire station in Morrow County with an additional fire station at Candlewood Lake, and they continue to operate on a 2-mill tax rate.
Benediction was given by Vincent Melcher, who also announced that LifeWise will be a new off-campus course offered by Northmor for any student who is interested and has signed up. They will be bused to Pleasant Grove Church for two days a week for this course.
Classmates and friends visited for the remainder of the evening.
Submitted by Carolyn Williams.
