This article by Suzi Bartholomy, illustrated with photographs by Alan Warren, was published in the
Oct. 17, 2016, issue of the Messenger-Inquirer.
Cherished memories — DCHS 1949 class
holds yearly reunions
ROAD TRIPS
BY SUZI BARTHOLOMY MESSENGER-INQUIRER
Photo by Alan Warren, Messenger-Inquirer/[email protected]
Ann Wilhoyte looks over her Class of 1949 yearbook from Daviess County High School at her home in
Owensboro.
Photo by Alan Warren, Messenger-Inquirer/[email protected]
A 1949 Daviess County High School yearbook photo of Ann Wilhoyte (Doris Ann Gordon) is shown.
The time to hold a high school reunion varies as students age. Some classmates start at the five-year
mark and progress every five years to the 50th anniversary, which tends to be the culmination of
reunions.
At the five and 10-year anniversaries some students are concerned that they may not measure up to
their former classmates. According to Wikipedia, they are so afraid their lives will not be as impressive
as their classmates they concoct stories about their careers, personal relationships and families.
Ann Wilhoyte would scoff at such ideas. She has been the principal planner of the 1949 graduating
class of Daviess County High School since their first reunion in 1974. They had been out of school for
25 years and their main interest was reconnecting with old friends, she said.
Since 1974, Wilhoyte, 86, and her class have convened every five years. Then in 2008, she suggested
they meet every year.
"We weren't getting any younger," she said. Their latest reunion in August was one of their best.
"We didn't lose anyone since last year," she said.
"We have 37 left and about 20 attended this year," Wilhoyte said. The class meets at Bethabara Baptist
Church at Habit. The church committee "fixes our meals" and decorates the tables in DCHS colors of
red and white, she said.
"We didn't have a class of 500, like today," she said. "There were 90 and we knew everyone."
"We didn't have drugs or alcohol. I didn't know anyone who even smoked," she said. "There were no
dances, expect the Sadie Hawkins. We had a senior banquet, but no prom."
Wednesday morning, Wilhoyte was dressed for work wearing slacks, sweater and blouse. "It's not
really work, I don't get paid," she said.
Wilhoyte has been a hospital volunteer for 13 years. "I tell people where to go. That's the only time I get
to do that," she said with a smile.
"People, mostly men, forget where they park their cars and we help them," she said. "We direct people
to rooms," of people they want to visit.
The energetic grandmother has a background in medical personnel. She worked at a local doctor’s
office until she was 82 years old. "I had to retire when he did," she said.
Wilhoyte has been widowed twice. "My first husband was a Daviess County graduate," she said.
"We got married in my senior year. He was a few years older," she said. "We were married four years
when we had our daughter and two years later we had a son," she said.
She said she has a busy life. "I do my own housework and quilt in the evenings," she said. "I've made
40 to 50 quilts."
"I've got one on kitchen table right now," she said. "I'm laying out the colors."
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