I want to take this time to thank you for this humbling privilege to share this morning. I am deeply honored by this opportunity. I especially thank Corey Coronis, the founder of Pampafest 2021 for all his effort in making this extravaganza possible for everyone associated with Pampa, Texas. I also want to thank the planning committee from the graduation class of 1970: Cara Tidwell Morris, Randy Paul Stubblefield, Bill Roy, Linda Brumley Johnson, Connie Owen Butler and Lyndon Field. You did a wonderful job!
We’ve all come together this weekend to spark anew our love for this town, to remember the blessing of our parents who raised us here, and to enjoy the reunion of seeing fellow classmates.
Certainly being together brings back so many memories. It’s thrown us all back into the decade of the 60ties, and weren’t those fun years for us?
Yet, according to the history books, the 1960ies were a tumultuous and divisive decade: civil rights movements, political assassinations, many Americans protesting the war in Vietnam, plus the beginning of the hippie movement. I remember coming home from fifth grade. While I was in hopes my daddy would install a swimming pool, he was installing a fallout shelter under our driveway instead. The country’s fear of war with the Soviet Union caused President Kennedy to order the creation of fallout shelters in hopes of keeping Americans safe from the radioactive debris resulting from a nuclear explosion. And my daddy - GEORGE “MOON” MARTIN - was going to do something about that!
But as a young person growing up in Pampa, I doubt that any of us felt its magnitude. We were too busy getting all hyped up about the next Pampa Harvester football or basketball game or circling the Caldwell’s drag in hopes of seeing friends or maybe even winking at our latest “crush.” Those were the good old days.
And what made growing up in Pampa, Texas, so great? As shocking as this might be to our young 21st century parents, we played outside for hours where the only instruction was, “Be home by dark.” We walked unaccompanied by an adult to and from school. Our parents didn’t lock their doors at night. No one wore seat belts. Children played with dangerous toys at a young age: BB guns, cap guns, and yard darts. Sugary sweets were a favorite childhood staple: fruit flavored candy, and don’t forget fruit stripped gum. In our younger years in elementary school, we were allowed to pray. I remember when a third grade teacher asked me to pray out loud. Teenagers went to school dressed like ladies and gentlemen. We had a healthy revere for authority. We didn’t dare talk back to the teachers. They could and would use corporal punishment. We had an unquestioned respect for parents, our country, the flag, politicians, teachers, firemen and the police. We found creative ways to socialize - no social media or texting. We actually TALKED to our peers (face to face). No hiding behind a screen when building relationships. There was a sweet spot for everyone. For some it was sports or playing musical instruments, like being in the Pampa Harvester band. They were fantastic! For others it was choir, drama, theater, certain clubs, cheerleading and more.
Yes! PAMPA WAS GREAT! The cost of a new house was between $19,000 - $25,000. A Barbie doll was $1.92, and if you also purchased Ken, there was a $3.00 special. A brand new Silverstone guitar was $54.95 without a case. And how about some of our city officials and teachers? Remember Sheriff Rufe Jordan and how afraid of him we were? And don’t forget Mabel Torvey. She was my cheerleading sponsor for years. Our coaches were the best: Coach Swede Lee, Coach “Birddog” Trice, Coach Culley, and Coach Jim Cunningham. In fact, Gay and Jim Cunningham have remained dear friends of mine over the years. Gay was my high school Sunday School teacher, and Jim took my kids to Vacation Bible School when I was a single mother. I loved Jim. He passed away in November of 2020 from Covid. We will all miss him.
Life back then in this Texas Panhandle town was uncomplicated. Family life was a valued priority in America. I remember sitting down with my family and watching our favorite weekly TV shows: Gunsmoke, Star Treck, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Hour and more. And, of course, as kids we loved That Girl, Father Knows Best, Popeye, and American Bandstand. After all, that’s where we learned to do the twist.
Yet, likely none of us can ever forget February 9, 1964, when 73 million Americans were watching the Ed Sullivan Show. He introduced America to the four “long haired” musicians from Liverpool, England: the Beatles! They sang five songs: “All My Loving” - “Till There Was You” - “She Loves You” - “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” They appeared four more times on that show attracting an audience of a quarter of a BILLION people. The girls screamed, went wild, and my older sister, Vicki Martin Alpern, sat so close to the TV screen she could break the glass. The Beatles greatly affected American music and culture and certainly had an impact on this Pampa girl! Yes… those were the good old days, that season in life when we were young, naïve, ready for adventure and exploration. Pampa, Texas, was good to us.
God’s Word has a lot to say about the seasons of life. Ecclesiastes 3 speaks of twenty-two seasons. We’ve passed through most of them. To name a few: There’s a time to be born and a time to die, and time to kill and a time to heal. Certainly we’ve lived long enough to experience hurt and the need for healing. We’ve learned when you can’t fix it, change it, or reverse it, you trust God and accept it as part of your story. There’s a time cast away stones and gather stones. This weekend we’ve “gathered stones” in bringing our classmates back together. There’s a time to get and a time to lose. We all know about loss: loss of relationships, jobs, parents, children or dreams. Most of us would say at one time or another, “Life did not turn out the way I had planned.”
And then God takes all these seasons and like a potholder, he weaves them together according to his economy and plan. And because we can’t expect unchanging happiness in a changing world, we’re told in verse 11, “He has made everything beautiful in His time.” Indeed, this weekend’s Pampafest is one of those beautiful times.
So what should we do with all this “Senior Adult” knowledge we’ve gathered through those seasons? It’s time for us to realize the “good old days” are NOW! NOW is the time to share our faith with grandkids, volunteer, and show the world what a relationship with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, looks like. NOW is the time to reach out, forgive, and love the unlovable. NOW is the time to turn our wounds into wisdom, our tests into testimonies, and our mistakes into missions. After all, according to God’s Word, we’re the present-day difference makers. Psalm 71 proclaims, “Even when I am gray, oh Lord, you aren’t finished. Keep me alive until I have declared your mighty strength to this generation and your might to all.”
Yes, he has made everything beautiful in his time. But here’s the best part. God’s “Graduation Plan” reminds us there’s more ahead of us than behind us. Verse 11 sets the stage for the crescendo, “He has set eternity in our hearts.” I somehow believe the BEST “good old days” are yet to come!
So in closing…as we travel back ten years, twenty years, thirty years, forty years and fifty one years, I think you’d all agree with me that the greatest PHS class slogan ever created was ours: WE’RE THE BEST THERE WILL EVER BE. WE’RE THE CLASS OF 70!
- Pam Martin Kanaly – Graduating Class of 1970. Pam and her husband Rich reside in Edmond, Oklahoma. Pam is the co-founder of Arise Ministries, a global nonprofit for single mothers. You can find her at arisesinglemoms.com.
