By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
BAZINE—The tunes of a 1960s favorite, “This Magic Moment,” drifted through the air at a class reunion during the 2023 Bazine Picnic.
A member of the class of 1973 had pulled up the song as the eight classmates gathered to celebrate their 50th class reunion earlier this month.
It was the first time since their high school graduation that all eight had been together in Bazine, and they reminisced about many magical moments they experienced during their teenage years in this small western Kansas community.
The classmates came from near (McCracken, Ness City, Hays) and far (three other states) to recreate some of the best days of their lives.
They rode together as grand marshals in the Bazine Picnic parade, then toured the school buildings where they attended class, developed a close bond that is still intact today and even got into a little trouble now and then.
Dorothy (Koerner) Stieben, senior class president, told of getting kicked off the cheerleading squad her senior year because she skipped school one day with Patty (Rein) Legleiter to get their ears pierced.
“My mom would always say, ‘Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy, what were you thinking?’” she said with a laugh.
One prank that four classmates pulled on senior night was something they were surprised for which they didn’t get reprimanded – climbing the town water tower and painting “SR. ’73” on it.
All eight classmates came from farm families, and they talked of unhooking cars’ odometer cables so their parents wouldn’t know how far they had traveled on a particular night out.
Growing up on a farm is what at least one classmate attributes to his success as an adult.
“Growing up in a small Kansas town, in a farm community, you develop that work ethic where you do the job until it’s done and you do it well,” said Randy Brown, who went on to receive numerous service awards during his long, storied career with the U.S. Air Force.
“That philosophy became how I view life and how I approach things,” added Brown, valedictorian of his senior class, “and it set me up for the rest of my life.”
One of the favorite events of the weekend for the classmates was touring their school buildings – the grade school that still serves classes preschool through grades 8 and the high school that closed 19 years ago but still stands today and is privately owned by a large family.
Brown and Ray Witthuhn, starters for the Indian basketball team, remembered losing only one game at home during their junior and senior years combined.
And all remembered watching games since their grade school days in the gym, a central part of the high school – and the community.
None of the classmates dated each other. Brown said he thinks that’s because the class was so extremely close that they felt like family.
Several of the classmates have gotten together several times over the years, but this was the first time that all eight could be back together again.
They all agreed that this reunion was special, re-igniting memories of their solid, small-town upbringing.
“We always had seven really good friends we could count on,” Brown said. “That’s what I’ll always remember.”
The complete list of the Bazine High School class of ’73 and their current residence is: Randy Brown, Destin, Fla.; Pat Casey, McCracken; Susan (Hagelgantz) DeGroot, Siloam, Ark.; Patty (Rein) Legleiter, Hays; Arlyn Schaben, Ogallala, Neb.; Lynette (Stieben) Stenzel, Ness City; Dorothy (Koerner) Stieben, Hays; and Ray Witthuhn, Ness City.
