Alumni return for Morgan’s 50th birthday
Published 10:40 pm Friday, October 16, 2015
Owen Robertson, center, is escorted by her father, Edwin Robertson Friday night as she is crowned the new, 2015 Morgan Academy Homecoming Queen by the 2014 queen, Anne Smith Reeves. (Alaina Denean Deshazo | Times-Journal)
It was a packed stadium Friday night at John Tyler Morgan Academy as hundreds of alumni, family, students and friends filled the stands in celebration of the Senators’ 50th anniversary and homecoming.
Before the game, alumni were welcomed back to take a tour of campus and see the changes that have been made over the last half-century. There was also a tent set up inside the gates of the football stadium where alumni were passing around yearbooks and photo albums from years past.
“Some of these people I probably haven’t seen since we graduated in 1971, and some of them I’ve kept up with a little bit through the years, but to just see everybody again here, it’s just great,” said Kaye Jones, a 1971 graduate and Morgan’s first ever homecoming queen. “It’s awesome to see this many people. It just brings back so many memories. Seeing everybody has been super.”
Jones, along with 29 other former Morgan homecoming queens, was recognized before the start of the game. Soon after, members from the first Senators’ football team were acknowledged and took the field as honorary captains for the game.
One of those players was Mike Wood, a 1971 graduate of Morgan Academy who said he was excited to be back and see old friends.
“It’s a lot of mixed emotions because we’re seeing a lot [of people] that we haven’t seen in a long time, and we’re missing some too that have passed away,” Wood said.
“It’s fun, I’m having a great time so far.”
Larry Williamson, a 1974 graduate, said the best part of being back at Morgan is reconnecting with people he hasn’t seen is while.
“It’s a lot of fun seeing people from a long time ago and meeting up with them,” Williamson said. “We don’t see a lot of them all the time, so it’s good to get back and see them.”
Williamson’s children and grandchildren have attended Morgan, passing down the tradition of being a Senator.
“It’s nice. Morgan is a big family. It’s not just a place where you go to school,” Williamson said. “You know everybody there, and it’s kind of exciting to have your kids carry on that tradition.”
