CARBONDALE - The Carbondale Reunion of Friends met Oct. 9 to 12 in Washington, D.C.

On Oct. 9, the group toured the White House while President Barack Obama conducted his press conference in the Rose Garden on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Tickets were provided by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). That afternoon, the friends were guests of Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson and toured the U.S. Capitol and new Visitor's Center. The group also visited the Supreme Court, Library of Congress and Union Station.

On Oct. 10, some group members toured the National Mall and Smithsonian Museums while others went shopping. Dinner was held in the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, Va. Following dinner, the group boarded a limousine bus for a night tour of Washington, which included visiting the Capitol, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. Live entertainment and dancing followed on the waterfront and at Washington's premiere Nightclub, The Park at Fourteenth.

Those attending were alumni of Carbondale Community High School and Attucks High School. They included Aloysius and Kim Jackson of Oklahoma; Bathshebah (Cathy Eanes) Israel and her daughter of Portland, Ore.; Marilyn Tipton, Annie and Max Ampy, Debra Woods, Mona Brown, Brittiny Brown, Phyliss and Tarrik Khaaliq, David Williams, Miranda Morris and Kendall Woods, all of Carbondale; Charles and Cathy Laster of Memphis, Tenn.; Karen Graves, Charles Arnett and Doris Green Walker, all of Baltimore, Md.; June Watson and Viola McIver of Washington, D.C.; Walter Green of Miami, Fla.; Jerrold and Gilda Harris of Charlotte, N.C.; Karim Abdullah of Denver, Colo.; Raydene James of Springfield; Jameka and Kionte Routen and their daughter of Nashville, Tenn.; Lakendria Woods of Atlanta; Bernadine Ray of Texas; and Mel and AJ Hughlett of Houston.

Carbondale Reunion of Friends started in March of 2006 when CCHS friends Charles Laster, Mel Hughlett and Mark Welch were watching NCAA basketball tournament in Houston. They thought it would be great to have a reunion for those who graduated from CCHS during the 1970s.

The first reunion was in Memphis, Tenn., on Columbus Day weekend in 2008. The hosts were Charles and Cathy Laster. Hosts for this year's event were June Rose Watson and Viola Harkins McIver. The next reunion will be in August 2010 in Seattle with host Bathshebah Israel.

Anyone interested in attending can contact Marilyn Tipton at marilyntipton@hotmail.com.