First graders at Meadowbrook Elementary are reunited 55 years later

Eighteen of the 30 classmates in Miss Patricia Hill's class at Meadowbrook Elementary School will meet up on Saturday.

FORT WORTH — In 1955 when children across America were captivated by Howdy Doody and the Mickey Mouse Club, 30 students at Fort Worth ISD’s Meadowbrook Elementary School were captivated by their first grade teacher, Miss Patricia Hill.

Now, 55 years later, 18 of those classmates are reconnecting with Miss Hill in a show of appreciation for one of their all-time favorite teachers.

On Saturday, November 13, 2010, the former 1st graders will arrive at Meadowbrook Elementary School by private bus. The current principal, Franchesca Cain, has arranged for a “single-file walk” inside Meadowbrook and a look at room number 112, Miss Hill’s classroom. Before boarding the bus for a ride through some of the “old neighborhoods,” the class will gather around Miss Hill and recreate the class picture from 1955.

“Of the 30 students in the photo, we have contacted 22, with 18 planning on gathering for the recreation of the photo at Meadowbrook,” said class member Jim Marshall. “We couldn’t locate two students, three we could not identify and three, unfortunately, have died.”

The efforts to reunite the class have been very moving for Miss Hill.

"The pinnacle of my teaching career was being named Retiring Teacher of the Year in 1991,” she said. But now, this is the greatest recognition ever done for me."

Following the photo, the class will return to the Shady Valley Country Club in Arlington for a luncheon in Miss Hill’s honor.

Source: Fort Worth ISD