The 2006 reunion marks the 80th anniversary of a 1926 gathering held at the big bubbling spring of the Salado Creek, east of the Main Street Bridge. This get-together was a “welcome home” party given in honor of John Shanklin and Mrs. Felda Davis Shanklin, as they returned from a several years’ stay in Mexico. Their friends decided an all day picnic would be an appropriate way to welcome them back. It proved to be such an enjoyable gathering that they decided to meet again the following year.

Although there had been earlier reunions of students of the Salado College and Thomas Arnold High School in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it is this 1926 event which seems to be the most likely origin of our present day reunion tradition.

The following year, 1927, they met again as agreed at the “Old Salado Grove” campgound and park on the south side of the creek near the Big Spring. A vote was taken, and it was decided to hold yearly reunions. The 1928 meeting was held at a Spring located on the Robertson’s Plantation property, just west of town on the Salado Creek.

Here the Salado Reunion Association is said to have been organized, and the reunion has been held annually ever since, with the exception of the war years of 1942 through 1945.

In earlier days, the reunion was called “The Old Settlers’ Reunion” and was a meeting time for early families of Salado, their descendants, and alumni of the Salado College and Thomas Arnold High School. As the years passed, the name changed from the “Old Settlers’ Reunion” to the “Salado Reunion and Homecoming“, and now is often just referred to as the “Salado Reunion”.

During the past 80 years the location of the reunion has also changed, being held in a number of different locations. In addition to the Big Spring area, the Salado Grove campground and park area, and the Robertson Springs, the early reunions were sometimes held at the Shady Villa (now the Stagecoach Inn), and at the old tabernacle of the First Baptist Church located along the creek.

Beginning with 1958, our reunion records do give the locations of the meetings, and so we know with certainty that the 1958 through 1978 reunions were held at the old Salado school gymnasium (now the location of the parking lot just north of the present Salado Civic center on Main Street). From 1979 through 1993, the reunion was held at the Pace Park Pavilion on the east side of Salado’s Main Street. Then in 1994, the reunion was moved to the upstairs of the newly renovated Old Red School building on Main Street (now the Salado Civic Center). The reunion was held there from 1994 through the year 2000. (Also, in the year 2000, the Salado Reunion was designated as one of Salado’s four Sesquicentennial events to honor Bell County’s 150th anniversary). In 2001, the reunion was moved to its current location, here at the Salado Intermediate School cafetorium located on Thomas Arnold Road.

In earlier years, the reunion was held on the third Saturday of July, but due to the hot Texas summer temperatures, it was decided it would be better to move it to the second Saturday in June. This change took place in 1967.
Although we are meeting here today in air-conditioned comfort, the reunion attendees of earlier years didn’t have that luxury! In fact the reunion wasn’t held at a location with air conditioning until 1994, when it was held for the first time at the Civic Center.

Although we are having a catered meal today, all of the reunions before 2000 were pot-luck gatherings, with tables loaded with an abundance and a variety of home-baked and home-prepared main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. (We have sacrificed the variety of those earlier meals for the simplicity and convenience of the catered meals of today’s reunions!)

The reunion attendance has varied widely through the years. In a newspaper article about the 1958 reunion, it was noted that there were about 400 in attendance. That number had dropped to about 200 by 1967, and down to 104 registered guests by 1973. The numbers stayed at about 100-200 throughout the 70’s. A new emphasis was put on the fact that the reunion wasn’t just for Salado alumni, but for new residents as well, and for anyone with an interest in Salado. Despite this new emphasis, the numbers remained about the same through the ‘80’s and the 90’s. At the 1999 reunion, there were only about 100 guests registered. As the numbers seemed to be declining, rather than increasing, a new approach was suggested beginning with the year 2000. Each past graduating class was to have a contact person who would send invitations to his/her former class members. With this change, the 2000 reunion had over 220 guests registered. Last year’s 2005 reunion had ______ registered guests.

The information for this historical background of the reunion was gleaned from our reunion records which contain articles, registration lists, and photos from past reunions, beginning with the registration list of the 1951 reunion. I’m sure there were earlier records, but they are not with the materials we currently have. If anyone here knows the location of any records or photos of reunions of the years before 1951, please let us know. We would love to incorporate them (or copies of them) into our reunion albums. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to look through these albums before you leave today’s reunion.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my good friend, Sherry Jackson, for helping me organize our materials into these new albums for this year’s reunion.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little of the background of the gathering we are celebrating together, 80 years after that Welcome Home party was held at the Salado Big Spring. Thank you for coming, and please enjoy the day!

Linda Cawthon
Secretary/Treasurer