The Shadow
More than 100 alumni from Clifton Forge High School attended a joint 1973-1976 Class Reunion held at the Clifton Forge Shriner Club at 2811 Douthat Road on Sat., Sept. 3.
The gathering began with registration taking place at 6:00 p.m., and by 6:30 p.m. the parking lot was overflowing to the adjacent Forrest Park Truck and Equipment’s parking facility.
Gail Totten was CFHS’s principal at the time the students graduated, and he left CFHS to teach math and coach golf at Covington High School where Sean Ginger, one of his golfers, won the Virginia High School League’s 2A state golf championship before Totten moved on to finish his career as a math teacher at Alleghany High School.
Clifton Forge City Schools consolidated with Alleghany County Public Schools in 1983, ending the sports legacy of CFHS’ Mountaineers that included state championships and undefeated football seasons following the integration of CFHS with Jefferson High School in the mid-1960s.
By the time consolidation took place in 1983, CFHS’s football team had won back-to-back championships in football, posting a 23-0 record over two seasons, and the boys’ basketball team had won a state championship on the 2A level by going undefeated, 23-0. Also, the girls’ basketball team had won a state championship to finish 25-1.
Cindy Higgins, Becca Morris and Debbie Williams welcomed the alumni and their spouses and conducted the registration process under the CFSC’s pavilion situated beside Wilson Creek while the caterer was preparing the reunion dinner.
