For 43 years, Sparksville Grade Center provided many who grew up in the southwestern part of Adair County an abundance of treasured childhood memories during eight of the most formative years of their lives.
Open from 1963 through 2006, Sparksville Grade Center was one of several schools across the county that served local families in specific parts of the county, including schools in Knifley and Shepherd. Sparksville students primarily remained with the same classmates through eighth grade, then graduated and headed “to town” for high school. That small school served as the core for social activity, with youth in the area enjoying the campus for basketball and softball or playing on the playground even after school hours.
Given the storied history surrounding the school, and the countless students who passed through its halls, five Sparksville Grade Center alumni have spared no effort to put together a reunion for any who went to school, taught, or worked at Sparksville.
The reunion committee is made up of Candice Compton Robertson, class of 1993; Brett Reliford, class of 1993; Crystal Compton Kingrey, Class of 1997; Kelly Murphy Crawhorn, class of 1993; and Karen Murphy, class of 1998.
So far, the coalition of alumni have made great strides toward getting the reunion off the ground. What began life as a simple nostalgic get-together has blossomed into a full day of remembrance.
Available at the reunion will be a memorabilia table. If anyone has any artifacts of the school, they are encouraged to bring them for display. “We’re going to tag them and make sure they don’t get lost. We’re going to do our best to take good care of them obviously,” Murphy said.
Additionally, there will be a remembrance table set up to honor those Sparksville individuals who have passed away since their time at the school.
Also at the reunion, there will be opening remarks and a simple meal for those who want to eat and a few words spoken to reflect on the 43 years that the school was operational and memories were being made.
“It’s been pretty extensive. We’ve tried to think of everything. I’m sure there will always be something we forgot about,” Murphy laughed, describing the frequent Saturday gatherings of the alumni involved in planning the reunion. “We would meet every two-three weeks on Saturday mornings just together and talk through our idea and then we would kind of divvy out the tasks throughout the weeks and meet back.”
Murphy went on to emphasize how much of a team effort the reunion project has been. “We have had a ton of volunteer support from a couple of the community churches in the area. They have just been fantastic. I can not say enough good things about them. They have not only donated their time… but they have also donated some monetary donations. They have just been wonderful. And of course the fire department—they’re letting us use their facility which is also amazing. They have put in a lot of work… It was really really nice of them.”
One person she mentioned in particular was Candice Robertson, who she says has wanted to do a Sparksville Grade Center reunion for a long time.
“Through the years, she’s picked up everything she sees that’s Sparksville,” Murphy said of Robertson.
“Until you are an adult you can’t really grasp how lucky we were," Robertson said.
The reunion will be held on Saturday at the Breeding Fire Department Training Center, 13951 Burkesville Rd., Breeding, going from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. and anyone with a connection to the school is invited to attend. So far, several hundred have signed up to go.
“It’s gonna be pretty informal,” Murphy stated. “We are anticipating not everybody’s going to stay the full 4 hours… It’s going to be really laid back… We’re excited. We hope everyone can come out and enjoy themselves and remember a simpler time.”
