Pauls Valley graduates honored

In 1929, Anna Stufflebean prepared a breakfast honoring her son and daughter as they graduated from Pauls Valley High School. She also invited others in that senior class who were Methodist. Thus started a church tradition that has continued for 82 years.

In the ’30s, a more formal, seated breakfast began, welcoming all the seniors, and that style continued into the 1950s. As the number of graduating seniors grew, Mrs. Jerry Grimmett and the members of the Women’s Society of Christian Service began offering a continental-style meal.

Today, the meal at the Pauls Valley church is a buffet, served by Anne Tolle, who is Mrs. Stufflebean’s granddaughter, and the United Methodist Women. Attendance exceeds 100 people. After breakfast, the students and their families gather in the sanctuary to view a video of school-year highlights.