When past meets present
Staff writer
Saturday was an extraordinary day for class of 1970 member Terry Conyers.
Not only was his late mother, Dorothy, honored posthumously as grand marshal of the Old Settlers Day parade, it also was his 55th-year class reunion.
Dorothy Conyers died in July but was still honored during and after the parade.
Two of her sons attended.
Terry lives in East Texas and is a retired police officer. He has made trips back to Marion every chance he has had.
His mom being named grand marshal made his class reunion special, but Terry tends to come regularly, regardless of whether his class is having a reunion or his mother is being honored.
“I come up every year,” he said. “I have a family reunion on my Dad’s side, too.”
Craig Smith, also with the class of 1970, enjoyed being on a float that honored him and his fellow classmates.
“There were probably 10 to 12 of us sitting on the truck,” he said.
Smith, who lives in Pensacola, Florida, wanted to see Bill Darrow, one of his best friends from high school.
After moving away from Marion County several years ago, Smith, 72, returns every five years for Old Settlers reunions.
While it’s been 55 years since graduating, he said classmates still keep in touch through email.
“Every five years, we try to get together,” he said.
The class reunion of 2020 was delayed a year in because of COVID.
After high school, Smith attended Kansas State University before eventually moving to Peabody, where he lived for nine years before going to Florida.
He enjoyed the years he spent in Marion.
“It’s a small town,” he said. “I love the small-town atmosphere.”
His parents have died, so there is no family to visit. He comes every five years to see old friends.
A lot has changed since 1970, he said.
“It’s the same, but it’s not,” he said. “New businesses are coming in. It’s just different, and I don’t know the people anymore.”
Class of 1965 graduate Donald Westerhaus remembered fun times he had as a student.
Westerhaus, 78, attended the University of Kansas, where he majored in journalism.
He joined the Navy, and once his term was up worked for the Atchison Globe
and other publications before moving to Indiana.
“I come here every couple of years because it is nice to see this,” he said.
The class of 1965 initially was not included in this year’s Old Settlers Day, but Westerhaus and classmate Larry Ensey began organizing and calling classmates.
What makes the event wonderful is seeing former classmates.
“You get to know people for 18 years in a small town,” he said. “You have common history. When you get older, it is something you cherish.”
Float winners for Marion High School were the junior class in first place; the sophomore class, second; and the freshmen class, third.
In the parade’s open category, FFA took first place, Marion Assisted Living Center finished second, and Highway 56 Fire and Service finished third.
The Class of 2010 won the Spirit Award.