In the barn built long before they were born with the very boards that still exist where they once stood, where so much of their hometown’s history has been made, the Mexico High School class of 1962 convenes.

The MHS class of 1962 met at the barn at Simmons' Stables Saturday to celebrate its 51st anniversary.

“We had five-year reunions every five years until 2022, that was our 50th,” said Jerry Allen.

Allen has been organizing the class reunions since his predecessor and classmate, Donna Barnes, died Jan. 6 2023.

“She did it for 50 years and it fell on me,” said Allen. “She said, ‘Before I die, I want you to take it over,’ so I have been running it.”

The class of 1962 has said goodbye to 19 people in the last two and a half years, Allen explained as he gestured to the two displays with photos of all the classmates who have died.

“Because we had so many people pass away on us, we decided to do it in three years instead of five, so this is our 14th gathering since 1962.”

The first class reunion was a picnic held at Teal Lake in September 1967 and they continued the tradition at Teal Lake a couple more times.

Since those first picnics, the class has reunited all over Mexico visiting the Lawrence Shelter at the high school, the Elks Club and the Knights of Columbus. This year, however, is their first time in the barn at Simmons' Stables and the 2025 reunion was held just seven days shy of their graduation date 63 years ago.

“The barn has been in my personal life since I was 3 years old,” he said. “I sat over on a horse beyond that east fence watching Art Simmons running his Selbys so it means a lot to me.”

It meant so much that he now volunteers much of his time with the Saddlebred Horse Preservation Foundation.

“We chose the barn because it’s the last thing that we knew when we were children growing up in school,” said Allen.

Memories of Mexico

Over the years, members of the class of 1962 have watched Mexico change drastically before their eyes.

“The Ben Bolt and the Hoxsey hotels just off the railroad tracks are gone, the old coffee shops are gone, the Pizza Hut is gone, so it has changed,” said Allen. “Of course it’s changed in 65 years – that's good. Change is good, but we’re proud of our past and we like to celebrate that.”

For him, high school was a whirlwind of gray and red Bulldog pride.

“I played football and ran concessions for the band to raise money for our trips so I was all over the high school,” said Allen.

His father announced the football games for 27 years including every single game that he played and the high school band, according to Allen, was a force to be reckoned with.

“John Wheeler started the Dixie Green bands back in the 50s so when we came along, he started us in the fifth grade,” he recalls. “We became a band of 100 and he started the battle of the bands in Hannibal.”

Allen remembers that when the swarm of gray and red came marching over the hill in Hannibal blowing their horns, people stopped to listen.

“That was my high school,” he said, smiling.

Ann Stubblefield, who is also involved in the Preservation foundation, remembers the old Mexico and her high school years fondly. She was a member of pep squad and had her hands in more activities than she can name.

Her two closest friends, Sheila “Fuemmeler” Shipman and Jane Floyd, sat beside her as they reminisced. Originally, they attended St. Brendan High School but spent their junior and senior year at MHS after the school closed.

“We had a great group – a real close-knit group,” she said.

Floyd said it is the commerce that has changed the most for her. She now lives in Holts Summit and notices when shops close or are replaced downtown.

“It was an all american city back in 1954,” remembers Floyd.

The square, Shipman will tell you, was the place to be in those days, especially if you had a cool car. She, Floyd and Stubblefield remember shopping, driving around and most importantly, people watching.

The legacy lives on

The class of 1962, in an effort to give back to their community, created a scholarship fund in 2012.

Since then, they have given out 14 $500 scholarships to aid students, particularly those going into the medical field.

“I always try to get each class to stick together and create something of a legacy for your class,” said Allen.

The class has also paid close attention to relevant issues such as the Ash Tree disease that has been plaguing the city.

Jane “Randolph” Oliver came all the way from California with her husband Jim for this reunion. She was devastated by the sight of all the dying trees when they visited her alma mater.

Jane encouraged all of her classmates in attendance to plant a tree and/or donate at least $5 in order to replace the lost forestry around Mexico.

With how many have passed, are unable to travel or cannot be located, there is a chance that this year’s reunion could be their last.

“We had 181 in our class to begin with – we have lost 79,” said Allen. “We only have 100 or so left but only about half respond and we’re spread around the world, so to speak.”

But the goal is to keep the reunions going, every three years, for as long as they can and even after all these years, Allen said the thought of any reunion being his last weighs heavily on his heart.

“They’re good, modest, hardworking people who are retired and enjoying life,” he said.

For more photos, see The Mexico Ledger’s online photo galleries.