We Are the Sub Deb Girls of Danville

   How many people can say they still keep in contact with ten friends that they started kindergarten with?  Growing up in Danville, VA, the same girls I was riding bikes with or taking ballet with became my best high school friends.  There were eleven of us in the same class (our precious Laura died suddently at 39) that became members of a high school sorority called the Sub Debs.  Many of our mothers had been members of the same group back in the 1950's.  One of several sororities in our high school of course we were THE Sub Debs and therefore the best!!!
    So what did we do???  We met every single Wednesday at someone's home (any excuse to escape on a school night) for refreshments and official meetings and to pay our $1 dues.  But mostly when we met we were planning the two formal dances we held each year - bands, all night breakfasts and what boys to ask were the big topics - or talking about our annual week long beach trip to Myrtle Beach where we took over the Blue Bay Inn ( no parents allowed).  The whole year was spent raising money for these ventures - the biggest fundraiser being a big Brunswick Stew sale (we hired someone professional but we helped make it and tend the pots overnight).
     Thanks to our parents still being in Danville, we all stayed in touch and sent Christmas cards but it was not until 2000 (26 years after high school graduation) that we met for a weekend at Smith Mountain Lake.  Since that time we have had numerous trips to the beach and to Charleston and when we are together it is like going back in time.  As often happens with the best of friends, we just magically pick up like we have never been apart.  As Jane famously said - we KNOW each other - we know where we came from and who our moms and dads were - so there is no need to impress or compete.  What joy there is in that knowledge.

These pictures were taken at our last get together in 2009 at Topsail Beach, NC.  Seven of us made the trip.  We laughed and ate almost continuously and spent alot of time walking on the beach and pouring through three scrapbooks I had kept of our high school years.  When we had the Sub Deb dances, the Danville paper even printed news of the events so we were able to go back and review who we took as dates, where the parties were held, what bands we hired.  Our conversations had gone from little children to driving lessons, college applications,weddings, grandchildren (Ginny now has five and Jane has two!) and even hot flash pajamas!!

Next trip - April 26-28, 2013!!  Everyone is searching for our wonderful silver Sub Deb necklaces and memory books to take along.  As time goes on, there is such a sense of gratitude for long time friends that we know and love so well.  The years have passed quickly but we are all very blessed to have one another.

As the song says, We are THE Sub Deb Girls of Danville...We are the ones who have the fun!