Something won’t happen Sunday afternoon that had only been skipped twice—now three times—since 1933.
That’s 87 years. Rockdale has been in existence since 1874. That’s 123 years and there have been Rockdale Homecomings for 70 percent of that time.
That’s not to say Homecoming should have gone ahead on Sunday. Cancellation was certainly the right call. A room full of people who have seen a lot of sunrises, and might need to get pretty close to each other to strike up a conversation, is not something you want to do during any pandemic.
And certainly not this one.
It’s not like organizers have looked for excuses to cancel the events. They did it in 1942 because of World War II. They did it again 18 years later because of the death of Mrs. C. M. Sessions, Rockdale Homecoming Association (RHA) president for more than two decades.
Fortunately, the next year, volunteers picked up the torch wielded so competently by Mrs. Sessions all those years, reorganized and homecomings continued in an unbroken string for almost 60 more years. Until 2020.
Over the years Rockdale Homecoming has been held in many venues, primarily Fair Park. It was once one of the largest gatherings in the annual ebb and flow of life in our community, often topping 400 persons in attendance.
After the air-conditioned KC Hall was built, Homecoming moved there. After all it is held in June and this is Texas.
It began to draw dwindling crowds and was moved to the Patterson Civic Center where it has remained ever since.
Why did attendance drop? Easy. Times and technology changed. Not too many decades ago, a number of people only saw each other once a year, at the Homecoming. Now, well, we all keep in touch—every day, if we wish—by devices in our hands or on our desks.
Still, there’s a need for person-to-person contact. Just not in 2020. There’s just something about telling someone “you haven’t changed in 40 years” face-to-face that’s so special. Sometimes it’s even true.
The Rockdale Homecoming Association has done a great job reviving the event by honoring a business/family. In 2020 it was to have been Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home/Clyde Jones Family.
But, good news. Homecoming isn’t going away. It is open not just to Rockdale High School/ Aycock High School graduates, but to everyone, Rockdale residents, people with Rockdale connections and anyone who has an interest in Rockdale.
It’s going to be held again June 13, 2021. The Jones Family/Phillips & Luckey will be honored then and we can all share stories about how we survived the you-know-what in 2020.
See you there.—M.B.
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