By Emily Williams
When it came time to prepare for her class’ 10-year reunion, Alden Blackwell wanted to create something special in Rosewood Hall.
What began as a photo display of the 2007 Homewood High School class’ past has become Patriots of the Past, a gallery displaying more than 50 photos from Homewood High School yearbooks between 1973 and 2007.
According to Blackwell, the photo display represents the essence of Patriot Pride. The photos will be organized by year and, in honor of her class, the 2007 Who’s Who of Homewood High School will be prominently displayed.
“Another thing that surprised me when I looked through the yearbooks was the diversity,” she said. “I was very proud of that.”
She recalled running across a photo of a black student and white student at a sporting event reaching out and clasping hands in celebration and was happy to find that it was from the early 1970s, a time still shrouded in racial tension.
As she filtered through 34 years of yearbook photos, she found it fairly easy to whittle down her top picks, favoring candid photos over the posed shots.
“I really just chose the photos that stuck out to me. Photos that weren’t too cheesy,” she said.
Blackwell paid homage to her own high school experience, including a photo of one of her favorite high school teachers, Robin Brown, from the instructor’s ninth-grade year at Homewood.
The Homewood Arts Council adopted the gallery as the second installment of its Historic Homewood Gallery series. The opening reception at 6 p.m. May 4 will help kick off We Love Homewood Day weekend and will serve as a mixer for the HHS Class of 2007’s 10-year reunion.
The event will include refreshments by Red Clay Event and Bar Services and Yellow Bicycle Catering.
For more information, visit the “Patriots of the Past: Gallery Reception” Facebook page.