folded into Nashville High as part of a wave of consolidation that would also subsume Helmsburg High School.
“ I remember going through the ceremony. It was at the Nashville Elementary school, which had opened that year,” Gredy said.“ Of course graduation was a lot smaller back then, schools were smaller. The combined class was about 44 or 45.”
He recalls the graduates wore blue caps and gowns and received their diplomas from Superintendent Claude Nieghdy, soon to be succeeded in that post by then-principal Warren Ogle.
“ It was pretty crowded. It was warm at the end of May,” he said.“ I can’ t remember who spoke.”
Gredy said the old Van Buren school had one fairly big room which they used for graduation exercises.
“ The one thing I do remember about Van Buren is that every year on the last day of school, they always had a pitch-in dinner, and even people who didn’ t have kids in school or kids who had graduated would come to that,” he said.“ I always loved to eat, and it was really a feed. That was probably one of the better things that I remember from school!
“ The school was the center of the community back then,” Gredy said.
When the 1961 – 62 school year arrived, the new high school was not quite completed so classes began at the old Nashville High School. The new school opened for the second semester, and the first graduation took place in the gym there.
The gym was crowded to capacity for graduation on a hot, early June day in 1965. The class wore blue gowns with gold tassels and sat on folding chairs on the gym floor facing the west end of the court.
Warren Ogle handed out the diplomas assisted by Richard Pitts.
Sometime in the mid-1970s, the high school started holding commencement outdoors at the football field, when possible. Mr. Gredy, who spent a career teaching at Brown County High School recalls the outdoor events more fondly.
“ It just depended on the weather. If they could have them outside, those were the nicest,” he said.“ Every year, it seemed like there were more and more kids going through— of course, that trend has reversed itself now.”
This year’ s ceremony will mark the 57 th commencement at Brown County High. •
HOTEL NASHVILLE
• Suites, Studios, Hot Tubs
• Restaurant and Bar
• Indoor Pool, Sauna, Whirlpool
• Conference Facilities
• Weddings and Receptions
• Special Getaway Packages
DARLENE’ S at Hotel Nashville
Upscale Dining in a Casual Atmosphere Serving Dinner with Full Bar Service
Menu Features: Steaks, Seafood, Pasta, Chicken, Burgers, Appetizers, Soups and Salads
Reserve your Special Party now!
Meetings and Banquets Catering in your home or other venue Weddings and Receptions
Thurs. 5 to 8 pm, Fri. & Sat. 5 to 9 pm
245 N. Jefferson St., Nashville( 812) 988-8400 •( 800) 848-6274 www. hotelnashville. com
May / June 2019 • Our Brown County 63