The last class to graduate from Avondale High in the tumultuous 1960s, the Class of ’69 was/is a rambunctious bunch. It has stayed active by holding well-attended reunions at every five-year interval since it graduated on June 9, 1969 (yes, that’s 6/9/69). In addition, it began holding a monthly gathering back in the late 1980s at Fuzzy’s, owned/operated by the late Mike “Fuzzy” Cawthon, former AHS (’68) and UGA football player. That has continued through several venues, the latest being the Avondale Pizza Cafe. The class also holds an annual “birthday party” in the fall and has occasional outings, such as Braves games and bowling sessions.
A few class tidbits:
- DeKalb County began the work of desegregating its public schools during our later years at AHS. The Class of ’69 was the first Avondale High class to have black graduates.
- Thanks to the superior instruction we received, at least a few of us absorbed a portion of the 3R’s. Six 69ers (that we know of) are published book authors.
- Beloved AHS English teacher Mary G. Lovings was our faculty class sponsor. As urban legend has it, saddened by knowing that our likes would never again traverse the hallowed halls, she retired following our class graduation, never to teach again. (That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.) We are gratified that she still lives in Avondale Estates, and that she, clearly a glutton for punishment, still attends our class events as she’s able.
- Near the end of our 6/9/69 graduation ceremony, festivities were cut short when the heavens opened and a driving rainstorm of biblical proportions came down. Class lore holds to the notion that God couldn’t hold back, sending his tears over the departure of such a stellar group from the Lawns of Spacious Splendor, but it has also been suggested that the storm was heavenly punishment for five years of accumulated youthful transgressions. Who says it can’t be both?
