9-8-10 —     Retired teachers greeted former students and friends shared stories with classmates in the morning shade of the shelter house at Memorial Park. While their school days were separated by decades for many, they all shared a common bond—the bond of family that was formed at the Big Sinking Elementary School.

    The school, like the two other outlying elementary schools in Wayne County, has long been closed, but the experience of attending the small rural school is one that no one will ever forget. With that in mind, a couple of former Big Sinking students began to work several months ago on a reunion. They placed announcements in the newspaper, on the radio and on Facebook, hoping to get the word out to former students, staff, teachers, and parents of children who went to the school.

    Kristi Tucker Huckaby and Jonie Rose Jones were at Big Sinking at nearly the same time. Huckaby started school there in 1984 and attended classes there until 1990. Jones went to kindergarten there in 1985 and continued through the sixth grade, when students then came in to town to finish their education at the middle school and high school.

    On Saturday, August 21, they were busy with the final details of the school reunion, as the crowd began to arrive. Neither had any idea what kind of numbers to expect, since there was no formal address list to help them contact former students. But they hoped that it would be a special day for all who attended.

    "It's exciting to see everybody, and it is special," said Jones as she looked around the shelter house at the several dozen people who had already arrived. "It would have been nice if we could have had this at the old school."

    The former Big Sinking School, like Rocky Branch and Powersburg, were sold several years ago and are privately owned. The rural elementary schools closed at the end of the 1994-1995 school year.

    "It was devastating," said Rose, as she talked about her feelings when the school closed in the mid 1990's. "Other people who went to outlying schools have talked to me about how everybody should get to experience what we did."

    Huckaby described it as a "family-type atmosphere," where everybody knew everybody. School events became community events, bringing everybody together in one place.

    Jones remembers the chili suppers held at the school.

    "I have a picture of the hallway that was lined with tables and decorations," she said.

    And Huckaby noted that on Fridays, they got to go to the cafeteria and sing, while Mr. Thompson played the piano. "It was just fun," she said.

    Quite a crowd gathered around Wilma and Bernice Dick, who spent much of their teaching careers at the school. The sisters had brought class photos to share.

    Both Wilma and Bernice taught a the school the first year it opened, in 1960. Wilma began teaching seventh grade and then moved into special programs. She retired in 1986.

    "It feels good to see all these people," said Wilma. "A lot of them I don't recognize."

    But the former students certainly knew her and her sister, as they shared stories with the pair. Wilma recalled those great lunches in the school's cafeteria, as she talked with Betty Jones.

    "The cherry pie was the best," said Jones, as she helped Wilma with names in one of the class photos from the 1970's.

    Bernice started her teaching career in a one-room school, before coming to Big Sinking to teach fourth grade. She retired in 1984.

    "It was different from the one-room school," noted Bernice.

    She said that she knew when she heard about the school reunion that she wanted to attend.

    Several other former staff members were in attendance, including Wanda Barber who worked as a secretary at the school for 16 years. The reunion was a special day for her.

    "I don't get to see all these people...I am so glad they came up with this," she said.

    Barber joined the staff at the school in 1979 and was there until the last day the school was open, in 1995.

    At a nearby picnic table, Jim Pitman was thumbing through an old photo album, as he talked about his experiences at Big Sinking. Pitman attended the one-room school first, noting that he had to walk about three miles to get there. He was part of the first class to attend the new Big Sinking Elementary School in 1960.

    When he heard about this reunion, he was immediately interested.

    "I thought this would be something I would like to come to if I got a chance," said Pitman. "I have gotten to see folks I hadn't seen in a while."

    Pitman had two children also attend Big Sinking Elementary School. He noted that school was like a family.

    Donna Rose attended Big Sinking Elementary School from 1968 until 1975. She then went back and worked on the staff for four years, from 1991 until the school closed in 1995. She said it was very sad when she heard about the school closing.

    "It was like one big family," she said. "If somebody had a problem, then the whole school helped with it...It was a close knit place."

    Carolyn Powell taught at Big Sinking Elementary School for part of the 1965-66 school year, taking over Wilma Dick's seventh and eighth grade class after she moved to another program at the school. She brought a poster with her to the reunion, which included individual photos of each of the students from that school year.

    Pitman and other students were helping her put names with faces.

    Powell said her family moved out of the county for several years, but she came back and taught at Big Sinking for three more years when they returned.

    "It's great, " said Powell, when asked about the reunion. "I wish more people could have been here."