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It’s Here! Twin Rivers Wine has arrived! New Officer Page 16 Welcome, Officer Moran Page 6 EGW JULY 9 AND 10, 2016 V V V PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895 HISTORY OF THE FORMER COLLEGE OF EMPORIA ALUMNI KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F T H E L Y O N C O U N T Y H I S T O R I C A L WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM V V V LEMUR TWINS BORN AT DAVID TRAYLOR ZOO S O C I E T Y By Bobbi Mlynar Special to the Gazette Editor’s Note: This is the last in a five-part series of articles about the former College of Emporia, a private Presbyterian institution that operated here from 1883 through 1973. Alumni are in Emporia this weekend for their annual reunion, related tours and activities. Although the College of Emporia closed almost 43 years ago, the seeds of relationships planted decades ago continue to bloom among members of the C. of E. Alumni Association and its friends. Reunion activities for the group began the evening of Friday, July 1,  and will continue through the weekend. The basement of the former Kenyon Hall, now Kenyon Heights Apartments, is serving as a central hub for those who attend. The association’s 28-member board of directors met  Friday morning, with many traveling in from across the country. The reunion agenda is packed with activities — a pre-event golf tournament  Friday  morning; a pizza to re-create the atmosphere of Pete’s Parlor, which had been a popular gathering place for eating and dancing when the college was open; a tour of the campus; a bus tour of Emporia guided by local historian Roger Heineken; catered COURTESY PHOTO A pair of ring-tailed lemurs were born April 8 at the David Traylor Zoo. The births were the first of a lemur species at the zoo. Special to The Gazette meals at the Granada Theatre; a business meeting with introduction of scholarship winners; and more. “It’s amazing we have 200 people that are coming back, that are registered for the reunion,” said C. of E. alumna Maxine Mitchell, who graduated in 1954. “Even those from all over the country that came and were here just a few years feel some kind of a kinship that keeps them coming back.” Through the reunions, newsletters and scholarships, the alumni have found ways to keep the College of Emporia heritage alive, not only for themselves but for others.   Long-time Emporia teacher Sharon Spencer Stewart said those involved in sports — especially football and basketball — “really did feel a closeness to each other and have stayed in touch. “And when you read some of the things they’ve written, it is important to them to get together,” Stewart said. Another Emporia district teacher, Clarence Howland, who came to C. of E. from Troy said relationships may have been strengthened because students stayed on-campus most of the school year. “We were there for a semester; you know, we went home at Christmas,” Howland said. “Today, they’ve got cars, they’ve got money, they go home for the weekend. So you don’t have the closeness you had in the ‘50s.” The size of the college also was a factor. “We were just a little small Please see C. OF E., Page 3 The David Traylor Zoo of Emporia is excited to announce the birth of ring-tailed lemur twins. The pair were born on April 8 and have been carefully monitored for the past 13 weeks. Nova, age 4, and Oscar, age 3, are very attentive parents that have done a fantastic job rearing the twins thus far. The twins are beginning to venture away from Mom for short periods of time, nibbling on solid foods and testing out their jumping ability from tree to tree. The births come as part of the ring-tailed lemur Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The David Traylor Zoo is an active participant in this program. SSPs are designed to maintain genetically diverse and demographically stable captive populations of species. Ring-tailed lemurs are an endangered species native to Madagascar. This island off the southeast coast of Africa, is the sole home of lemurs in the wild. Habitat destruction is the biggest threat to the survival of all lemur species. Lemurs have been exhibited at the David Traylor Zoo since 1990, but this is the first birth of a lemur species at the zoo. Ring-tailed lemurs are noted for their wideround eyes and their white and black, long-banded tails. Ring-tailed lemurs are unusual in that they are active during the day. They inhabit dry brush, scrublands and closed canopy forests of Madagascar. The zoo invites the public to the grand opening of Mission Madagascar at 10:30 a.m. July 23, to celebrate the completion of the new exhibit and to welcome the twins. For questions, contact Zoo Director Lisa Keith at 341-4365 or [email protected]. CLEANUP UNDERWAY AFTER TWO TWISTERS TOUCH DOWN By Tammy Seimears The Madison News TAMMY SEIMEARS/MADISON NEWS An EF3 tornado that touched down northwest of Eureka Thursday night completely leveled a farmhouse at 220th Avenue and H Road. It was one of two twisters reported in and near Eureka Thursday night. Good Evening As daylight dawned Friday morning, emergency crews and residents were able to begin to assess the damage after two tornadoes passed through Greenwood County overnight that caused major destruction and took the power out to more than 2,500 residents. A twister that has been classified by the National Weather Service as an EF3, with winds between 136 - 165 miles per hour, destroyed a farmhouse near 220th Avenue and H Road, northwest of Eureka, completely leveling it, with only the hardwood floors left exposed. A path of trees and flattened crops aimed straight at Eureka could be clearl