05/08/2026
Former Gardner School classmates reunite 60 years after first grade
The Sentinel-Record2 May 2026BRANDON SMITH
(Submitted photo)
Members of Carol Eberling’s 1965-66 first and second grade classes at Gardner School are shown in a classroom photo. First graders are on the left, and second graders are on the right.
Six decades after they first walked through the doors of Gardner School as first graders, a group of former classmates returned Friday to the old campus to reconnect, reminisce and celebrate a shared past.
The reunion marked 60 years since the group began first grade during the 1965-66 school year at the school, located at 525 Hammond Drive. About 15 classmates attended, along with their former sixth grade teacher, Katy Patton Weaver, known to them then as “Miss Patton.”
Forrest Spicher, a member of the class who now serves as a board trustee for National Park College and market executive for Regions Bank, said the gathering grew organically over recent months as he and other classmates began reconnecting over lunch.
“It’s very heartwarming,” Spicher said. “I have to say that it’s been a thrill to reconnect.
“And we’ve just, in some ways, picked up right where we left off. We’ve all gone different ways and different pathways. We’re gathering here today, and we’re going to have lunch in the library, rather than the cafeteria. And I remember back in the day when lunch was 25 cents for lunch, and if you wanted an extra milk, it was an extra 3 cents. So I think things have changed, but we’re all very used to each other. Our paths have crossed in the last few years, but some of us we haven’t seen them since probably high school.”
Classmate Rick Gillham, owner of Arkansas Tire Co. in Hot Springs, said the turnout reflected both enduring friendships and the passage of time.
“It’s amazing to see all your classmates, the ones that were able to show up and be here,” Gillham said. “We’ve lost a few out of class, but it’s
awesome after 60 years.”
Classmate Chris Collier, executive director of the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation in Little Rock, said revisiting old photos and memories added to the experience.
“It’s fun. It’s rewarding,” Collier said. “To be able to kind of see the faces and really start reminiscing, it’s very rewarding.”
Along with lunch in the school library, the event included a tour of the building, which has been renovated
multiple times since the 1960s.
“I remember the best part was the playground, and all of us had a lot of fun,” Spicher said of those early days. “We played tetherball. We were on the swing set, and there was a grassy area on the north end of the parking lot, and we would have small battles.
“That was during the Vietnam War, so a lot of little boys, they were into war and battles and stuff like that. So, we hid from each other and
attacked each other. It was just a lot of fun. It was a good, clean environment.”
Weaver, who taught the group in sixth grade, said seeing her former students again was deeply meaningful.
“All the Gardner kids — seems like there’s more of them that I’ve kept up with in this group — but they’re all just good kids and have done good things with their lives,” Weaver said.
“And then none of them were ever a problem. It was a small community school. Only eight, nine teachers. And what I remember is bits and pieces, but what I have enjoyed is watching them grow up and become who they are now.”
She described a different era of education, with self-contained classrooms, limited supplies and a structured daily schedule.
“They came to me at 8 o’clock in the morning, and they didn’t leave till 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” Weaver said. “And we had our set schedule, and we did spelling, English and writing and reading and math in the morning, and social studies and science
in the afternoon. … We had textbooks, we had pencils, and we had notebooks. We had desks. And they sat in them and worked, and did what they were supposed to do, and they were good kids.”
Seeing them grow into accomplished adults with families and grandchildren is amazing.
“And to think enough of me to bring me back, to meet with them, and to be excited about that, you can’t ask for any better blessings,” she said.
Spicher credited Weaver with helping shape his own development, especially during his sixth grade year.
“I really felt like I came into my own,” he said. “Miss Patton … was instrumental in that.”
He noted the building itself stirred strong memories, even as renovations have changed its layout.
“This place has been renovated twice since we were in school here. … It’s hard to imagine. I had a hard time finding the principal’s office, but once I did, I had a little reverberation from bad memories of going to the principal’s office, but it’s all good,” Spicher said laughing.
Gardner was part of the Hot Springs School District. HSSD Superintendent Mike
Hernandez said the district welcomes opportunities to host alumni returning to their former schools.
“It’s always great when we have alumni come back and want to celebrate and see old friends,” Hernandez said. “It’s a chance to relive some of those nostalgic times of walking through buildings and remembering.”
For the former Gardner students, the reunion offered more than nostalgia as it reaffirmed lifelong connections rooted in a small neighborhood school.
“A lot of us lived very nearby, so we became fast friends,” Collier said. “It was just nice having the community. It was special times for sure.”
