Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
I always thought the Michael W. Smith song “Friends are Friends Forever” was wishful thinking, but a recent reunion of four local friends who have been together since fourth grade has made me a believer. From Thursday, Sept. 10 through Saturday, Sept. 12, Sara Dickinson Pippin, Susan Smith Craig, Kaye Chason Howerton and Vicki Page Jaus gathered at Cherry Lake, one of their favorite childhood meeting places, to share stories and reflections from decades of friendship.
The foursome found it fitting to reunite the year they each reached their 80th birthday and celebrated about 70 years of friendship. They enjoyed hours of conversation, laughs and fellowship. Listening in, you would think these ladies lived next door to each other, but that is far from true. Kaye lives in Perdido Key, near Pensacola, Fl.; Vicki resides in Charlotte, NC; Susan lives in Dahlonega, Ga; while Sara is the only resident of Madison. “We always connect like it was yesterday,” said Susan.
Connection has been easy for these best friends, despite the distance between them. They have stayed in touch by way of phone calls, letters, Zoom visits and occasional get togethers.
Helping cement their friendship were a lot of common interests and family connections. Several of their parents had been close friends for years and then came their tenure in the high school band. The foursome remained in band, serving as majorettes throughout high school. “That was as close to being cheerleaders as we could get,” joked Vicki.
The ladies recall numerous trips to Susan’s home in Cherry Lake, where many weekends were spent swimming and enjoying cookouts and sleepovers. There was a steady rotation between each other’s homes for regular visits.
In 1964, the inseparable group graduated from Madison High School, with Kaye and Susan going to North Florida Junior College (now North Florida College) before rooming together at Florida State University, where they both graduated.
Shortly thereafter, Kaye and Vicki returned as teachers to Madison High School, teaching across the hall from one another. Though careers and circumstances charted various courses for these ladies, their commitment to each other weathered every change, which is rare for many relationships that are tested by time and distance. “We had a lot of fun together, and we made some great memories,” remembers Kaye.
All the ladies recalled a moment during their senior year when they felt the need for some mischief. “We decided to skip one class,” recalled Vicki. “We were good girls. We really didn’t want to get in trouble.” The skipping did result in a visit to Principal Mack Primm’s office, where he gently reminded them they were “the leaders of the school.”
The ladies have many memories that involved no mischief, such as the Powder Puff football game they organized to raise funds for the Spanish Club’s trip to Nassau, Bahamas.
Then, there was the day that Kaye became the first in the group to get a car, a Volkswagon that comfortably sat two. The girls took no thought of comfort before all piled into tight spaces to enjoy the first of many rides.
All of the girls continue to share great appreciation for growing up in Madison and being blessed with great teachers who helped guide the course of their lives. Names such as Carolyn Edwards, Opal Argenbright, Martha Faught and several others quickly came to their minds as examples of teachers who taught them to work towards excellence and accountability in all they did.
We can now only imagine the joy they recently shared as they traveled memory lane together, laughing as they recalled a lifetime of sisterhood, mixed with just a touch of mischief.