A fifty year-old cross country reunion

Where are they now?

Nothing pleases me more than to have one of my columns serve to reunite old friends who once called Tryon, home. This week I received a wonderful email from Anders (Andy) Andersson who lives in Salem, Oregon. He had read my "Where are they now?" column featuring David Hall. Andy and David had been close friends in Tryon in the 50s and he asked me for David's email address.

Several days later I received a heartwarming email from Andy which read as follows:
Hi Stephen,

First of all, thanks for your assistance in helping me find my old pal, David Hall. Dave and I had a wonderful telephone conversation yesterday, in which we tried to fill in some of the main events of our lives since we last saw each other 50 years ago. I recognized his voice immediately, and in some funny way, it was as time had not passed at all. It really seems that friendships made during our early life, are in fact everlasting. We spoke of our families, classmates, and our times together, wondering if the cash we buried on an island in Lake Lanier was ever found. It was a great experience.

As I mentioned, Dave and I were on the Tryon High School football team in the 1950s, and after I left Tryon to join my parents in Massachusetts in late 1957, I had not returned to Tryon until a couple of years ago, when we stopped by on a cross-country trip. As we stopped for coffee in town, I related to the owner that I had at one time lived there, and after mentioning some names of old friends, she called Jim Jackson (a family friend) who joined us for a cup of coffee.

After finishing high school in Massachusetts, I attended the University of Mass. for a couple of years, and then four years in the Air Force, where I was fortunate to have a career in the Veterinary Service. By this time I had married Ruth Kellogg of Great Barrington, Mass. (no relation to Kelloggs of corn flake fame), and a son, Erik was born in 1964 at West Point, New York. He is now in the Oregon Governor's Office in their Economic Development Unit.

After Air Force, I spent a thirty year career in New York State Government in the Department of Agriculture and Markets, retiring as Director of Human Resources in 1996. During this time we lived in Saratoga Springs, and Newtonville, New York, just outside of Albany.

Since my retirement, my wife and I have lived in the Northwest, having followed our son to Washington and Oregon. We are currently in Salem, Oregon, and enjoy traveling and photography.

I consider my time in the Tryon area, some of the most memorable time of my life. Not only is it a beautiful place to live, but the people there made us feel welcome.
I was fortunate to play both basketball and football on the Tryon High School teams, and those days are forever etched in my mind.

Folks like Jim Jackson and his family as well as the entire Hall family made our time in Tryon a time I'll never forget.

Thank you again for your article, and for getting me together with my good friend.
Best wishes,

Anders (Andy) Andersson

Andy's words speak for themselves; so, I'll go for now. Keep those emails coming in.

Mail to: s.hefner@comcast.net.