"Old times there are not forgotten"
At the time of this analysis - June 2008, we are currently listing 406 names on our Class Roster. If we have left any name off that should be included, it can be added. The roster is not etched in stone.
Of the 406 names included, we have verified that 80 are deceased and we now show 16 names on the Missing Classmates List. A few have asked not to be contacted about class matters. So be it!
Of those classmates receptive to us, we discovered that the least likely regions of the nation to find a 1958 Flying Eagle are New England, the Upper Plains and the Great Northwest. Two classmates live abroad.
There are no classmates currently found in 19 states: Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming. Also, the District of Columbia. Perhaps the most surprising name on this list is the State of New York, our nation's third most populous and the largest state in the East.
We are currently contributing but one known citizen to seven states: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Oklahoma.
The most likely place to find one of us is still in West Virginia. West Virginia (which most of us call our native state) presently holds 109, slightly more than one fourth of the total of our class roster. Our congregation in West Virginia's border states amounts to 7 in Kentucky, 12 in Maryland, 16 in Ohio, 5 in Pennsylvania and 29 in Virginia. It should be noted that Maryland, Pennsylvania and both Virginias are losing classmates in favor of Florida. The Sunshine State is second place in our population distribution by being home to 33 classmates.
As a group, we are a decidely Southern people. North Carolina harbors 14 classmates, South Carolina - 10, Georgia - 6, Tennessee - 9, Texas - 4, Alabama - 2, Arkansas - 3 and Louisiana - 2 in addition to those already mentioned. WWHS Class of 1958's contribution to other parts of the country is sparse.
But wherever you find us, as individuals or in small groups, your will be reminded that you still can't beat the Flying Eagles because the kids from the Class of 1958 still form a Beckley team.