On Saturday, 27 September, my high school classmates, spouses, and children gathered for our 67th annual reunion at The Inn at Fulton Harbor on the Gulf coast of Texas, near my hometown, Sinton, where we grew up. We are the SHS Class of 1958.
First, we had supper at the Butter Churn Restaurant in nearby Aransas Pass, and then we reassembled in the meeting room at the Inn, where some people simply talked while others solved a jig-saw puzzle. And for the third such reunion (2022, 2023, and 2025), I performed a short trumpet show–afterwards, one classmate shouted, “It keeps us young!”
I brought my Jupiter Pocket trumpet so that I could practice on the beach or in a local park or in the condo where we regularly stay. When I practice indoors, I use my Japanese-made Best Brass practice mute so I won’t disturb anyone. When I practice outdoors, I let ‘er rip (see photos below).
Each year, I open the show with our school alma mater and fight song. This year is the 100th anniversary of our alma mater, “Maroon and White” (see photo left). Daniel E. Sharp, Sr. wrote it in 1925, and one of his sons, Mike, came to this reunion and spoke about his Dad and their musical family.
In between these three core pieces, I entertain with a few songs and jokes. In 2022, I played “When I’m 64” and “What a Wonderful World.” In 2023, I played, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” (My wife and I did not attend in 2024.)
This year, I chose a hit song from each year that we were in high school, fall of 1954 to spring of 1958. The five in-between pieces were “That’s Amore” (’54), “Rock Around the Clock” (’55), “Blue Suede Shoes” (’56), “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” (’57), and “Splish Splash” (’58).
Before I close with either “God Bless America” or “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” we stand with hands over our hearts, facing the USA flag, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, as we did beside our desks each morning in Grammar School (grades 1-8).
I pass out the lyrics to all the songs and invite my classmates to sing along as I play. As the songs remind us of our school years, we interact with each other, take group pictures and videos, tell stories, remember our friends, reminisce about things we did, what we wore, where we went, who our teachers were, and such. It’s fun, and they’ve invited me to do it again next year, God willing–we’re all about 85 years old! Many of our absentee classmates would like to come but simply can’t make the trip anymore.
Years ago, the high school building where we attended was replaced by a much larger and nicer one. But now, it also has been superseded by a new, even bigger group of buildings, athletic fields, gymnasium, and tennis courts, and this year is the first that students are attending classes in it (see photos below). The buildings are sized for enrollment growth. I visited with the long-time band director, Mr. Robert Flores. (He kindly lends me a music stand for my reunion shows.) He showed me the new, first-class Performing Arts Center, including the huge band room with surrounding practice rooms, and a very large percussion room. The magnificent theater seats a thousand. For perspective, just think–my class graduated about 77 kids.
Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 