The J.S. Abrams Class of 1971 after church services
“This is truly a big milestone. The Lord has brought us this far because there’s so many that didn’t make it and we’re thankful to celebrate fifty-five years,” Edna Hinson, secretary and vice president of the J.S. Abrams Class of 1971, told us.
The class, whose motto was “The Class With Class,” marked its 55th year with a Black & White Ball on a recent weekend under the theme “Still United In Love.”
The ball, at the Bessemer Civic Center, was a gown, suit and tie affair, with music from Pigromas Choice, musically talented members of the class. Shirley Bandy gave the welcome and occasion, and Diane Gibson led a memorial moment. Food was served, and Hinson coordinated a memories segment, Class of 1971 Walk Down Memory Lane, with Dwight Avery. A fun fact sheet made up like a newspaper carried headlines from 1971.
The class spent the weekend together, visiting the annual J.S. Abrams Alumni Day with other classes and closing Sunday at Greater Bethel Primitive Baptist Church, where classmate Rev. James Eades preached from Psalms 37:25-26 on the subject “Down Through the Years, the Lord Has Been Good to Me.” Class members sang together.
The Class of 1971 was the first Abrams class to hold its commencement at Bessemer’s Snitz Snider Stadium, 901 4th Ave., among a few other firsts.
Hinson said today’s young people do not seem to have the same care for one another that her classmates had. “We were actually friends growing up and we loved one another. The children of today simply need to find Jesus and within Jesus hope and better days can be found in tomorrow,” she told us.
