Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Memories recalled at Emmet graduation

Twelve seniors entered the Ross Gymnasium Friday, May 21, with a dozen graduates exiting as Emmet held its commencement exercises.

The gym was filled with family and friends of the class of 2004, all anxiously awaiting the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.

Haley Muldrow gave the salutatory address, saying it seemed like this day would never come, but with its arrival, the class could use a few more days to be together.

"We all probably won't be together again after tonight," she said, "but we all have big dreams and need to hold on to our past, to our family and friends."

Natasha Smith followed with the valedictory address, thanking everyone for helping the class get to where it is.

Georgia Estes, FCCLA teacher at Emmet, was the keynote speaker. She reminisced about the 13 years most of them had been together, pointing out some arrived later to join the Emmet family.

She got the festivities started by poking a little fun at last year's ceremony, which was held in the dark due to severe weather conditions having knocked out the electricity. Estes brought facial tissue for those who may need to wipe the tears (or sweat) away, 20 candles so everyone could see if the lights went out, a lighter to light the candles, water to put them out, a megaphone so she could be heard and a small battery operated fan to keep everyone cool.

Then she got serious telling the graduates their memories of the past would help prepare them for the future. "I have a lot of memories of this class," she said, "the tiny room when they were all first graders. Thirteen little desks for 13 little children, and they were little."

Shane Antley, she said, came to school talking about a pet mouse he had. This mouse could do the most amazing tricks, according to Antley, she said, and the other children repeatedly asked him to bring it to show and tell. He didn't.

At a parent-teacher conference, Estes asked Antley's mother about his "pet mouse" and learned he had no pet mouse, but did have a big imagination.

Estes recalled Natasha Smith playing tag on the playground with her (Estes) as the base.

Mario Hopson was the class collector. He helped sweep up and would pick up the pencils and crayons found on the floor. "He was never at a loss for school supplies," she said.

Nicole McCoy and Holly McKinnon, Estes said, were competitive about everything from who took the best picture to who had the neatest writing.

"We could predict Haley (Muldrow) would be the prom queen," she said. "On her birthday, her mother brought cupcakes, and she was popular that day."

"Then there's Jacky (Simmons)." Estes likened Simmons to the Peanuts character Pig Pen, not because he was dirty, but because there was always a "dust cloud" around his desk. "His desk was messy," she said, "always stuffed full."

Jeremy Hunt joined the crew in the ninth grade. During a resource management class where all the students were given popsicle sticks to build something with, he built a tree stand. Antley joined forces with another student and they constructed a roller coaster.

Shane Connell, called the Colonel, was remembered by Estes for making adjustments to some computer games.

John David Holt came along later, she said, and provided laughs for everyone when things were going bad.

Jenny Miller worked with Estes in Science class to make grape jelly.

"Remember," she said, "in the first grade when you learned those silly rhymes?" Estes said the students always tried to get her off topic and tell them stories, but didn't realize they were learning something from the stories at the time.

Some of the lessons included being grateful for the little things; don't be nosy; follow instructions; do quality work; if you want part of the reward, share in the work; and justice wins in the end.

"You can learn from the past and use those lessons to arm yourself for the future," Estes said. "It's brand new. Never give up. You're completers, accomplishers, finishers, now be overcomers and encouragers. Build people up and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be the ones who make the difference."

She told the graduates to wake up to the world around them, keep up with current events and vote. She said they need to be active in their communities, get involved and look for opportunities. "If one door is closed, look for the open one.

"Emmet is undergoing changes, but isn't giving up. Emmet woke up to the change. We've encouraged each other and we're still here. This is still the Emmet school.

"We're counting on you. We're passing the baton to you. You are the doctors and nurses of the future. You are the teachers. We're counting on you to defend our liberties and the honor of our country."

Estes ended her speech to the students by getting the entire assembly to join in a cheer with everyone spelling E-M-M-E-T.