Old Friends and New Faces Come Together At Pine Valley Reunion

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By Jackie Van Winkle Myrick

Fried chicken, potato salad, and three different caramel cakes set the tone for a perfect afternoon as more than 50 people gathered Saturday, September 20, at the historic Pine Valley Schoolhouse for the 2025 Pine Valley School and Community Reunion.

Neighbors and friends, some local and others from far away, filled the old schoolhouse with laughter, music, and memories. For many, the event was a chance to revisit family histories tied to the small community.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Pine Valley,” said Linda Evans White, who attended with her husband, Tommy. Her parents had first met at the school—her mother as a teacher, her father as a bus driver.

Stories flowed as easily as the sweet tea. Old neighbors swapped memories of days gone by, while newer residents learned about the roots of the place they now call home.

One of the day’s highlights came from Brad Van Winkle, who displayed a vintage Pine Valley Community baseball uniform once worn by player R.V. House. The sponsor, Blu-Buck Mercantile, was stitched neatly across the fabric. Van Winkle recalled the words of Mrs. Etta Mae House, who had given him the uniform years earlier: “R.V. didn’t know a thing about baseball, but he sure looked good in that uniform!”

The reunion also offered moments of connection across generations. Eleven-year-old Darla Sheldon met an unexpected namesake, longtime board member Darla “Joni” Camp Clayton, whose family was one of the largest in Pine Valley during the 1950s and ’60s.

Travelers came from near and far. Dayton Prestage, who graduated eighth grade from Pine Valley in 1953, was both the oldest alumnus present and the one who journeyed the longest distance, making the trip from Missouri with his wife, Bettie. At the other end of the spectrum, Betty Van Winkle Kilgore of Oxford was the youngest alumna, having started first grade in 1953 as part of the school’s second-to-last class.

Board members in attendance included Brad Van Winkle, Bess Tubbs Simmons, Eddie McCammon, Grant Thompson, Betty Kilgore, Jackie Myrick, Ted Camp, Phyllis Wood Camp, and Darla Joni Camp Clayton.

While the reunion was a day of remembering, plans are already in motion for next year’s gathering. In the meantime, the Pine Valley Schoolhouse remains a community hub, available for rental as an event venue.

For rental information, contact Bess Simmons at 662-589-0055.