Brandon High Class of '42 And Other "Mostly Originals" Lunch At The Golden Corral - # - MyPaperNow.com

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Posted By LINDA CHION KENNEY: Members of the Brandon High School Class of '42 meet regularly for lunch, giving testament to their school motto: "Once An Eagle, Always An Eagle!" Sometimes the classmates are joined by family and friends from other classes, prompting the group's informal moniker: "Mostly Originals." Members of the Class of '42 had such a good time planning their 50th reunion in 1992, they decided to keep the connection going with a monthly lunch date. Recently, they began to meet every other month, keeping alive friendships that continue to stand the test of time. MyPaperNow joins the group at its April 15, 2008 luncheon at the Golden Corral in Brandon.

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"Making friends for the world to see, let the people know you've got what you need." Lyrics to the Elton John song "Friends" seem more than appropriate for the Brandon High School Class of 1942, which for years has met regularly for lunch. From left to right in the back row are: Gary Lentz, Carl Harding, Rosita (Thorn) Peterson, J.R. Hutchinson, Emery Dopp and Jack Benson. In front, from left, are: Jessie Newsome, Bea (Ludwig) Davis, Dot (Fowler) Cornett, Pauline (Greer) Clark, Helen (Mulrennan) Young, Shirley (Wheeler) Beauchamb and Gladys (Gunn) Meekin. Harding started school with the class, but skipped two grades and graduated in 1940.

Friends since the first grade, Jessie Newsome (left) and Helen Mulrennan Young.

Carl Harding was supposed to graduate with the Class of '42, but he skipped two grades because of good grades. Guess what's still in his wallet? His membership card from the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools. "I made all A's because I paid attention to what all the teachers were saying," Harding said. "Every Friday you got a quiz, and if you paid attention you passed."

Issued to Carl Harding, his membership card from the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools.

"This lady and that man were voted the Most Athletic in our class," said a luncheon attendeed. "This lady" is Bea Davis (then known as Bea Ludwig). "That man" is Gary Lentz.

Ruth Tyre, left, from the Class of '47, and classmate Nancy (Mueller) Mook.

Emery Dopp with classmate Dot Cornett. "I was one of the good guys, I kept everybody else straight," Dopp said. "I was mean as hell!" Cornett said she was "with the Class of '42, but I didn't graduate. I went to school up until February and he (her husband) was in the service and he got burned. So I left (Brandon High) and didn't come back."

Blanche Sampson, left, from the Class of '39, meets up with Jessie Newsome, who graduated three years later. "When I graduated in '39, all 12 grades were (taught) at Brandon," Sampson said. "We knew people even down in the elementary classes."

Dot Cornett, left, with Sadie (Lentz) Lobo, who served as secretary to two Hillsborough County School District superintendents: J. Crockett Farnell and Raymond O. Shelton. A middle school is named for Farnell. The school district's administration office in downtown Tampa is named for Shelton.

"Making friends for the world to see, let the people know you've got what you need." Lyrics to the Elton John song "Friends" seem more than appropriate for the Brandon High School Class of 1942, which for years has met regularly for lunch. From left to right in the back row are: Gary Lentz, Carl Harding, Rosita (Thorn) Peterson, J.R. Hutchinson, Emery Dopp and Jack Benson. In front, from left, are: Jessie Newsome, Bea (Ludwig) Davis, Dot (Fowler) Cornett, Pauline (Greer) Clark, Helen (Mulrennan) Young, Shirley (Wheeler) Beauchamb and Gladys (Gunn) Meekin. Harding started school with the class, but skipped two grades and graduated in 1940.

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