Sunday will mark the 84th Rockdale Homecoming. The annual event will take place at the Patterson Civic Center, according to Barbara Gross, president of the Rockdale Homecoming Association.
Events will begin at 10 a.m. with coffee and donuts for the early visitors. “The morning will be set aside for visiting and reminiscing about old times,” Gross said.
Vickie Everhart will have her display about past homecomings available.
“The homecoming is for everyone in Rockdale,” Gross said. “It is not just for graduates of Rockdale High School.”
A pork roast lunch, catered by Terri York Sandoval, will be served at 12-noon. Tickets for the meal are $12 and will be available at the door on June 10.
Honor class will be the class of 1968. Homecoming honor class is always the 50-year class from Rockdale High School.
The oldest and youngest persons present will be recognized along with the person who traveled the greatest distance to attend.
HISTORY—Homecoming is a long-established tradition in Rockdale and can trace its roots to Ira Perry, rancher and former Rock-dale resident who never lost contact with the “home folks.”
In 1933, Perry’s work led to a small gathering at Fair Park and it was there the Rockdale Homecoming Association was chartered and its meeting date set as the second Sunday in June, a date that still stands.
First president of the organization was Marion Burck Smith of Austin. She was the daughter of A. A. Burck, Rockdale’s first mayor, who brought his family to town in 1874, the year Rockdale was chartered as a municipality. Mrs. C. M. Sessions was elected the first RHA vice-president with Perry as secretary and Mrs. D. H. Sanford and Mrs. W. A. Morrison as historians. The first actual Homecoming was held the next year. Speaker was Mayor E. A. Camp. Rockdale Homecoming was off and running and it’s ready for edition No. 84 on Sunday. See editorial, page 5A.
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