The final farewell

Hundreds of Orient-Macksburg faithful painted the school red and white one last time Saturday as they turned out for a farewell event hosted by a group of alumni.

There were tours of the school, memorabilia on display, a listing of all of the school’s graduates since 1961, a time of playing catch on the softball field and more.

A selfie station in the gym was just one of countless photo opportunities for alumni and other visitors who made the trip for this event.

Orient-Macksburg will whole grade share with Nodaway Valley during the 2025-26 school year, then the district will dissolve. A majority of the district’s students will attend Nodaway Valley once the dissolution takes effect; however, some will attend other area schools.

Alumni came from near and far to get one last look at the school they’ve always known and loved.

Eva Vaughn graduated in 1979 and came back to the event from Hampstead, Maryland, located north of Baltimore. She missed her class reunion last year and decided attending the farewell event would be a good way to see her classmates and those in the other classes from her era.

“You have a sense of pride here,” Vaughn said. “It feels good because you haven’t seen them for 15, 20, 25 years and yet, the hugs make you feel like you’re connected again.”

Teresa (Victora) Proud graduated in 1973 and played on the Bulldogs’ first state tournament basketball team. She came to the reunion from Great Falls, Montana.

“It’s great to meet up with my fellow basketball players and softball players,” Proud said.

Steve Tussey of Orient, who graduated in 1982, was one of the many local people who attended the event. Tussey has countless ties to the school. His father, Jim, was a school principal there, his kids attended school there, he attended school there, his wife attended school there and he coached there.

“Orient-Macksburg has had a proud history of putting out people who have been successful business people and family people. I think the closing was just the change in society. Farm families are smaller and there used to be a lot more farms. With open enrollment and online academies, it was something that happened,” Tussey said. “When I was in school, Orient-Macksburg was one of the smallest schools in the conference and here we are just now closing. It stayed around for a long, long time.”

Teresa Thompson of Macksburg graduated a year after Tussey. In adulthood, she would teach at Orient-Macksburg and eventually become its principal. She was on the committee of people who planned the event.

“Today has been a great day. I’ve seen so many people who I haven’t seen for awhile. I’ve seen people enjoying the memorabilia that has been put up and having conversations about their time being here,” Thompson said. “That’s what we were looking for today — a time to celebrate what happened here, where everybody has gone and the impact this community has had on other communities.”