The Greer High School Oldies have expanded with free lunch at McLeskey-Todd, storytelling, a golf tournament and an evening at the Cannon Centre and Greer city park.
Stories from high school days remain although there is more license to exaggerate the facts.
Downtown restaurants were a gathering place for classes and groups of friends to reminisce and renew friendships.
Smiles and hugs was the universal language at last year's reunion.
The Greer High School Oldies are coming!
The memories, friendships and relationships developed from yesteryear will be shared Saturday, May 18 throughout Greer in several venues.
McLeskey-Todd Pharmacy’s parking lot will be the place to have lunch, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. for all Greer High School Oldies celebrating their annual reunion that day. Don Wall, the pharmacy’s owner, and Jerry Bruce, both class of ‘61, will be serving 2,000 free hotdogs with chips and a drink to GHS grads.
The reunion will be 7:30 -10:30 that evening with the Cannon Centre in City Park as the meeting place. The entire event is free.
“We expect to be mingling on the patio, in the gazebo and on benches at the Cannon Centre and throughout the park,” said Lisa Hawkins Lynn, a coordinator in the event.
Hawkins said organizers are asking guests to bring a canned good(s) to donate to the Soup Kitchen’s Martha O’Neal. “We want to give something back to our great hometown,” Hawkins said.
Wall signed on McLeskey-Todd as the corporate sponsor of the event. He enticed Bruce to cook the hot dogs.
McLeskey-Todd’s partnering with the reunion is not by accident. The pharmacy is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. A new sign is in place on N. Main Street and Wall’s son, Jed, class of '89, is landscaping the area. The parking lot has been refurbished with a new top and parking lines have been repainted.
“We will make the tickets available in our store the week before the reunion and all Greer grads have to do is come by and pick them up for themselves and families,” Wall said.
There were a reported 1,300 people who attended the reunion in downtown Greer last year. Organizers are projecting a bigger turnout this year.
Next to Greer's four heavily funded and sponsored festivals – Family Fest, Freedom Blast, Oktoberfest and Christmas Tree lighting – the Greer Oldies are arguably the best attended event, easily surpassing Tunes on Trade, also funded, that has been moved outside the central business district to the City Park Amphitheater.
The weekend will begin with a storytelling event at the Stomping Grounds on Friday night and a golf tournament Saturday.
The golf tournament begins at 9 a.m. at Pebble Creek Country Club. Duck Stewart is the contact person for participants.
Participating downtown restaurants will be offering “Oldies” specials.
Oldies can contact Lisa Lynn at 864-431-4425.
GreerToday.com will once again provide comprehensive coverage leading up the event and throughout the reunion.
• Did you know? Organizers said any past graduate of Greer High School is an "oldie".