Paoli Alumni Association

Although the first Paoli High School graduating class was in 1921, the first high school reunion was not held until 1934. Merle (Burgess) Sherrod and Ethel (Wigley) Whitfield both graduated in 1923, and Ollie Hatcher, from the class of 1921, organized and promoted the first Paoli Alumni Reunion. They started working on banquet details in 1932, and the first Paoli Alumni Banquet was held in 1934.

They decided the banquet should be an annual event, and that it should be the Saturday night before Mother's Day. Since Ethel still lived in Paoli, she was appointed secretary/treasurer. She was responsible for obtaining the mailing list of all graduates and notifying them as to the time and place of the banquet. The first banquet was held in the basement of the First Methodist Church. Attendance at the first banquet was approximately 30 people. 

Ethel worked tirelessly for some 40 years after that first reunion. She sent handwritten postcards to each graduate. Postcards were a penny each at that time. The banquet cost attendees 35¢ each and the meal was prepared by the women of the Methodist church. Thirty-five cents seemed like adequate pay for the women who prepared the meal and have enough left to buy post cards. Ethel told there was a time she received a letter from the Bank of Paoli advising that the Alumni account was $6.27 overdrawn. (I wonder how she handled that one?)

Attendance increased every year with numbers up to 200-300. The banquet moved out of the basement of the church to the school gym and became the event everyone looked forward to. I have memories of those large banquets in the 70s. It was a formal event at that time. Everyone dressed up in their suits and dresses. 

Ninety years later, the tradition still exists. Except for the Covid years, the banquet has been held every year since it first began. It survived the depression years, and the war years, and other hard years. I believe it was Evelyn Patton who said last year (2023), "It's just like a family reunion."

There have been a few changes: the date changed to the first Saturday in June, and no longer do we handwrite postcards. We can even send invitations electronically now. (I wonder what Ethel would think about that?) This year, in 2024, we mailed over 600 cards. It's still a struggle to keep addresses current. Every year there are many cards returned. So, keep your address current or sign up for email list below. 

Today the annual banquet is financially self-sustaining. Even though it's a little more than 35¢, the cost is to reconnect with old classmates and friends is well worth it. In addition, any extra money through alumni donations is used for senior scholarships. The Paoli Alumni Association has also made donations to various school projects throughout the years. We would like to see those investments again.

So we need your help. Please encourage your friends and classmates or anyone who ever attended school at Paoli to come to our banquet. Let them know we miss them. 

-- Stacy (Kelley) Snyder '82