Rutherford High’s original Rams huddle one last time

PANAMA CITY — Rutherford High School’s first graduating class concluded its 50th and final reunion Saturday.

Nostalgic tunes piped through Jim’s Hot Rod Shop as members of the Class of 1964 milled about visiting before they sat down to enjoy a pig roast dinner.

“When we were sophomores, you could feel the school spirit vibes in the hallway that year,” said Linda Sanders Wheeler.

Rutherford opened its doors for the first time to students in 1961 with a single class of sophomores.

“We had no upperclassmen and nobody told us what to do. We were fortunate,” said Curtis Loftin, the former class president and captain of the high school band.

Loftin said the school district decided to open a new high school on the east side of town with kids from different backgrounds, so it invited local students from near the paper mill and kids from Tyndall Air Force Base to attend.

“We felt when they graduated from Everitt, they weren’t the same bunch of children when they came to Rutherford,” said Evelyn Wallace, the school’s secretary and bookkeeper. “They grew up over the summer. They were perfect little ladies and gentlemen.”

The fledging school’s first graduating class really started from the ground up in putting together the school’s identity in 1961.

The class chose everything from black and gold as the school colors to the mascot of a ram, naming it “Rambunkshus.” The alma mater was written by Prentiss Melder, the band director at the time.

The school built up to include juniors and seniors in the couple of years that followed. It had 266 graduating seniors by 1964.

“It was an exciting time for a bunch of kids,” Loftin said. “That’s really what taught us the value of friendship that stayed with us our whole lives.”

Classmate Ace Carlson said the 50th was the class’ largest reunion to date, with one classmate traveling in from Germany to attend. The reunion brought in 132 attendees, including 90 original classmates.

Another classmate, Jim Scott, gave the real credit for the reunion’s success to the planning committee.

“I can’t think of anything they could have or should have done to make it better,” he said.

The class attended Rutherford’s homecoming game Thursday night, toured the school and sat down to a banquet before wrapping up with the pig roast.

Looking around the room at her classmates, Wheeler said everyone enjoyed socializing and rekindling old friendships at past reunions.

“At our age, it’s better to live in the moment,” she said. “Since the 40th reunion, we’ve had over 50 classmates pass away that we know of.”

The Class of 1964 realized Saturday might be the last time many of them would ever get to see one another. But that didn’t seem to put a damper on the school spirit that’s been alive and well since they got off to a unique start 50 years ago.

“We felt untouchable,” Wheeler said. “It was something else.”