Only in Americus

"The Class of '65" returned home Thursday to Sumter County, Ga., where the story of race and reconciliation is set. Another overflow crowd came out to hear about the book, this time at the Lake Blackshear Regional Library in Americus. All four of the students who desegregated Americus High in 1964 came (shown here with Greg Wittkamper and Jim Auchmutey; they are, from left: David Bell, Robertiena Freeman Fletcher, Jewel Wise and Dobbs Wiggins). We were also pleased to see several of Greg's classmates, including David Morgan, who set the reconciliation in motion decades later when he planned their 40th reunion. David's copy of the 1965 yearbook provided most of the senior portraits used on the book cover. Our friends from Koinonia Farm came and handled book sales, and we saw many people from Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing, including Linda Fuller Degelmann, who helped found both organizations. It was heartwarming to see the strands of this story come together in one auditorium. Thanks to Anne Isbell and Jill Dalton Kloberdanz at the library --  and thank you, Americus.