News

The Last Kraus: One family, 10 HHS grads over 22 years

Meredith Kraus, right, shown at sister Judith's wedding, graduates from Hendersonville High School on June 9.

By Bill Moss, Published: June 9, 2017

Part 8: Farewell to the Red and White

Hail to the Red and White
Hail to our Alma Mater,
Ready to stand to her just demands
To keep our future bright!
Sing Carolina’s praise
Hendersonville always
Loyal and eager stand we now!
Pledged to the Red and White.

“Hail to the Red and White,” HHS alma mater

Ten Krauses, counting Ken, have experienced Move Up, the awards assembly that should come with a box of Kleenex upon admission for moms and dads.

Ken went through Move Up in 1977, when he graduated. Since then, nine of Meredith’s siblings have graduated from HHS, starting with Justin in 1998 through Matthew in 2015.

Meredith backstage during a dress rehearsal for the Senior Play.This year’s Move Up makes a bit of history as the first one when the participants are aware that the 91-year-old auditorium is near the end of its life as a high school assembly hall. After a long political and emotional battle, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners decided to replace the historic school with a new one on the old Boyd auto dealership property at Five Points.

Watching the story unfold from southern California, Samuel, class of 2007, has reflected on how that change could fray the cord that has tied generation to generation and sibling to sibling since the 1920s.

“Even though it’s just a building, all of our stories are tied to that building — like getting confidence in theater from doing the senior play in the auditorium connects to me pursuing acting as a career,” he said. “It’s a little sad to see that part of our life going away. We have the building as something we can constantly go back and look at and something we can bond over forever.
“There are 19 years between Meredith and Justin and that’s still something that they both can talk about. That’s pretty spectacular. When they talk about it they don’t have to imagine two different places because the auditorium has been the same.”

* * * * *

In August Meredith will enroll at North Carolina State University, where she plans to study nutrition. She’s enjoyed the senior traditions at HHS, including the Medieval Banquet and the senior picnic. In the senior play, “Crazy for You,” she played Tess, one of the bigger roles, and danced in all but one musical number. Next week she will go through the lunch line for the last time, sit in class for the last time, climb the 48 steps from the first floor to the third floor for the last time, shut her locker for the last time.

Meredith was the 10th Kraus to perform in the Senior Play at HHS.On Friday, June 9, she will put on her graduation gown and take her place in the senior seats, a sea of red at the front of the auditorium.

The awards assembly is called Move Up because juniors move up to the front rows of the auditorium. Principal Bobby Wilkins knows Move Up dates to at least the 1930s from the memories of his parents, both HHS graduates. Although Move Up precedes the official graduation, it’s an emotional rite that makes the evening graduation seem anticlimactic.

“To a great extent it ties into what our school is,” said Pam Bolton, who coordinates graduation day activity for the junior class. “So many of our students have had family go through here, so their parents did it, their older brothers and sisters did it. Meredith’s had nine siblings do it. It’s one of our continuity things.”

Sometime after noon on that Friday, Move Up will draw to a close: Junior marshals will draw back the thick red drapes to reveal nine windows on either side of the auditorium. Sunlight will pour into the hall.

Senior class president Hakeem Jenkins will deliver his farewell remarks on behalf of the Class of 2017. Then Jenkins will call up junior class president Suzanne Thompson, a fourth generation Bearcat who is the daughter of Jeff Thompson, class of 1981. Jenkins will take off his mortarboard and hand it to Thompson. “This is the start of the passing of the torch,” Bolton said.

Seniors walk out of auditorium in Move Up recessional in 2016.Thompson then will say: “We promise to do our best to maintain the high standard of excellence set by the class of 2017.” And she will walk down the steps.
Robert Kirby, a science teacher, will strike a D-major chord on the piano. The juniors will stand and sing a song. It’s one the class members pick after a weeks-long process of nominations, faculty review and voting.

When the song ends, Mr. Kirby will hit a D-major again. The seniors will rise, turn around and face the juniors.

“As I tell the seniors, they will never again sit down in the auditorium as students at Hendersonville High School,” Bolton said. “The next time they come in and sit down they’ll be alumni.”

Then the seniors will sing their song to the juniors.

When their song is over, Mr. Kirby will strike the chord again, the seniors’ final cue.
Meredith and 137 other seniors will turn toward the aisle and begin filing out as Mr. Kirby plays the recessional. They will march 28 steps up the gray carpet runner, then walk out the front doors, half looping around to the left, half to the right.

When the last senior disappears from view, Mr. Kirby will hit his last cue — this time an E-major — and play “Hail to the Red and White.” The juniors will move up. Kirby will play the alma mater continuously until the juniors are seated in what are now their senior seats.

At Hendersonville High School tradition reigns.

But one thing will be different on Bearcat Boulevard three months from now. When school opens on Aug. 28, for the first time in 22 years, no Kraus will be enrolled. Next week Meredith Hope walks out the door and into the world.