MURRAY – After a cancellation two years ago and a scaled-back gathering last year, the committee for the annual Douglass Reunion hopes to bring the event back to its full glory next weekend.
Douglass High School was the source of education for Murray’s African-American community until the public schools were integrated in the 1960s and the student body was brought into the Murray Independent School District. Several years after the school dissolved, former students began holding reunions with their families, and the tradition has held ever since.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reunion – which would have been the 51st – was canceled for the first time in 2020. Last year’s event was a bit smaller than usual, but Lucille Arnold, who is a member of the Douglass Reunion Committee, said this year is expected to be a return to form.
“We’re definitely happy to finally get together again,” Arnold said. “Even though we know there’s still a problem and COVID is still out there, we’re hoping to enjoy this year a little bit better than the last one.”
This year’s theme is “Douglas Reunited 2022,” and the Douglass classes of 1942, 1952 and 1962 will be honored. Arnold said the committee is expecting a pretty big crowd.
“It is one of those things where a lot of people will RSVP, and lot of people don’t,” Arnold said with a laugh. “It’s hard to get an accurate count of how many people actually will show up, but we have that problem all the time. People can RSVP and some just don’t bother, but they show up anyway!”
The weekend itinerary is as follows:
• 6 p.m. – Meet and greet, Murray State University’s Curris Center
• 7 p.m. – Memorial service, Curris Center Theater on third floor
• 8:30-10:30 p.m. – Bingo/refreshments, Main Street Youth Center, 206 South Fourth St.
• 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Masonic Community Cookout, Playhouse in the Park Pavilion at Central Park. Food will be served until 1 p.m. and the meal is sponsored by Ruling Star Lodge #51, assisted by Virgin Chapter #55 OES
• 6:30-9 p.m. – Douglass Bulldog Banquet, Curris Center Ballroom on third floor
The banquet’s keynote speaker will be Norma Kaye (Wells) Mitchell. A native of Murray, she is the daughter of the late Alfred Wells and Ilene (Love) Wells, a news release from the reunion committee said. Her late brother, Billey T. Wells, was a 1957 graduate of Douglass High School, and Mitchell attended Douglass from first through sixth grades (1959-65). She graduated from University High School with honors in 1970 and majored in nursing at Murray State University. While at Murray State, she participated in the Silver Stars Precision Drill Team and was a member of KANS (Kentucky Association of Nursing Students). She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in May 1975 , and following graduation, she married Vernon Mitchell Sr. and moved to St. Louis, Missouri. The couple was married for 40 years until Vernon died in 2016 and have two children and five grandchildren.
Mitchell’s professional career spanned 40 years, during which she served as a nurse at Firmin Deslodge Hospital (SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital) and SSM DePaul Health Center. She assumed various leadership roles at that institution, with responsibilities including unit-based education for the staff and developing teaching modules for use of select equipment used in the critical care setting. She was also responsible for the fiscal viability of the nursing unit, developing annual budgets, managing the utilization review, coordinating patient benefits and being certified in chemotherapy administration.
Mitchell’s list of career service awards includes the Salute to Excellence Award in Health Care sponsored by The St. Louis American newspaper, and she held professional memberships in the Gerontological Nursing Association, Missouri League of Nursing and Oncology Nursing Society. A longtime patient care advocate, Mitchell has in recent years become a student advocate mentoring young high school and college-aged women. She is a member of the Murray State University Alumni Association, and she and her son, Vernon Mitchell Jr., have established an Endowed Scholarship in the College of Education at the University of Missouri St Louis (UMSL) in honor of Vernon Sr. to help future educators in the St. Louis region.
As a member of Fresh Winds Christian Church, Mitchell participates in Bible class and the Praise Team, and she enjoys reading, current events, traveling and spending time with her grandchildren. She currently lives in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, Missouri.
“Norma is proud of her affiliation with Douglass High School and still considers herself a member of the larger Murray, Kentucky community; a community that embodies a strong commitment in service to others,” the release said.
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