Staff writer
They could not remember the name of the play, but former Kansas State Rep. Don Dahl and 1963 Hillsboro High School graduate Rose Marie Perrill remembered the words of the duet they sang together in a high school play. The two were in town for the Hillsboro All-School Reunion this weekend, and met again Monday at the Memorial Day celebration in Hillsboro’s Memorial Park. They sang parts of their long-ago duet in the shaded park before a backdrop of breeze-blown flags and to the delight of family and friends.
“I played a mother to two children and we were married in the play,” Perrill said. “I can’t believe you remembered the words to that song.”
The two were part of more than 150 Hillsboro graduates who took advantage of time and place set aside for gathering together with old friends and remembering good times.
“You know, I didn’t actually register to attend the reunion,” Perrill said. “But my husband and I came to visit family this weekend and Sue Wadkins encouraged me to go to the reunion. I am so glad we did.”
Perrill and her husband, Bob, traveled from Arizona arriving in Hillsboro last Thursday. They stayed with Rose Marie’s brother, Merle Knak, then attended the all-school reunion banquet Saturday at Hillsboro Mennonite-Brethren Church.
“At first I didn’t recognize anyone,” Perrill said. “It took a little while, but then I started seeing mannerisms that I remembered. Certain people form words certain ways, or stand a certain way. Those mannerisms kicked in and pretty soon, I found friends I hadn’t seen in 50 years. We had such a great time reminiscing.”
Perrill said she and her husband planned to spend the weekend in Hillsboro, then would travel on to Missouri to visit more family before returning to Arizona next week.
“I will definitely come back next week,” she said. “This was so much fun.”
Dahl, the keynote speaker for the Memorial Day Ceremony and a featured alumnus at the all-school reunion, said he would also be back next year, as he resides year-round in Hillsboro.