Some left and, some stayed

By the end of high school we were all faced with a huge decision--- stay in Loudon or go some place else? Each of us made that decision as our circumstance dictated. School took some away, but some of those returned when they were finished, others did not. Jobs took others away, and when the jobs petered out, some of them came back to Loudon while others did not. A few others, like me, had our decision made for us by the military, and when their hitch was over, some came back to Loudon while others did not.

The reasons for staying away or coming back is as varied as the people who had to make the choice. Some saw nothing for them in Loudon, and some wanted to stay in a place familiar and good to raise their families. As I've stated before I firmly believe that if not for the draft, I would have stayed right there, with Maremont, because that was my goal --- latch on to a good job and progress up through the company. But, when I left, things begin to change and as my responsibilities changed my goals changed right along with them, and I ended up staying away.

As I've followed lead after lead to find our classmates, I have come up with a little list of those, that as far as I can tell, left Loudon and stayed away. I'm not absolutely sure if this is a complete list, and I'm not sure if someone hasn't moved away and back again more than once. For sake of discussion, "staying" means they're still within a 50 mile radius of Loudon. Those who left and stayed away include:

Doug Adkins
Sherry Bright
Kaye Collis
Sue Crisp
Brad Gray
Susan Johns
Jake Lane
Kenny Parks
Mike Stafford
Tony Woody
Me.

For the record, Freddy Lindsey and Allen McNabb would have been on this at the time of their passing.

All in all, that is a very small list (roughly just 10% of the class), even if there are a few others who I may be wrong about. Obviously, if anyone can help me update this list, I'd appreciate the help.