Emily Gray 1985 yearbook photo is of Roxanne Higby, left, National Honor Society treasurer at the junior high; Kandy Grumet, vice president; and Tim Bee, president.

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It was 1985.

New Coke had just been introduced, Nintendo released "Super Mario Brothers," Jim Kolbe was getting settled on Capitol Hill, and Gabrielle Giffords and Tim Bee were wrapping up ninth grade at Emily Gray Junior High School.

Tim, the studious one, was president of the National Junior Honor Society.

Gabby was known for being talkative and social. Her friends even predicted in a "Believe It or Not" section of the school yearbook that she would be a "T.V. spokesperson" by 2005.

The two classmates were more acquaintances than pals. But they had spent almost every school day together since kindergarten — first at Tanque Verde Elementary and then at Emily Gray, two small schools that serve a tight-knit, rural area on the Northeast Side.

Now, the pair of childhood schoolmates who played in band together are matched up in the race for Arizona's 8th Congressional District — Kolbe's old seat — 23 years after their paths diverged. After Emily Gray, Giffords went on to University High School; Bee attended Palo Verde High.

But in a place like Tucson, where natives seem to find childhood connections around every corner, Bee and Giffords would meet again — 15 years later when they each successfully ran for the state Legislature in 2000.

The relationship may seem to have little relevance in what has become a multimilion-dollar campaign, unfolding during a time of war and hard economic times. Yet the childhood connection, now distant, has come up frequently over the past year at debates and interviews. And their shared childhood has at times shaped the narrative and dialogue of the campaign.

For example, at their first joint appearance this campaign season, Bee compared it to the time they shared the stage and the role of Gepetto in a grade-school "Pinocchio" production. More recently, Giffords deflected criticism from Bee on energy policy, by responding, "I'm sorry to hear my opponent, who I've known since I was a little kid, talk this way."

And while they disagree on some specific education policy, each says their commitment to public schools stems from personal experiences.

"Both grew up with a sense that they needed to return back to the community," said Spanish teacher Donna Wilson, who still works at Emily Gray. "I think their parents did a very good job instilling in them that responsibility."

Their backgrounds and home lives, however, differed greatly.

Bee's father was a teacher, and their Christian faith was key in the family's life and Bee's upbringing on Tucson's East Side.

Bee has said during the campaign that his father's profession meant a modest upbringing — often missing out on the latest fashion trends.

Giffords, meanwhile, was from a prominent local family and the potential heir of a notable Tucson business. By the '80s, El Campo Tire was among dozens of tire stores in Tucson.

But back in the '50s and '60s, Gabrielle's grandfather, Gif Giffords, was a fixture in Tucson's business scene and so were his TV commercials.

Gabrielle's father, Spencer Giffords, was on the Tanque Verde School District governing board and made his presence known.

"He was a welcome sight," Wilson said. "Mr. Giffords allowed his daughters a lot of latitude in that he made them responsible for their own work. He gave the teachers a lot of latitude as well, and he trusted the teachers."

Memories are scattered 25 years later, but Chris Voutsas, who still teaches social studies at Emily Gray and was hired by Spencer Giffords, said Bee was clearly a "natural leader" during those Emily Gray days.

Of the two, "he probably had more of those innate qualities when he was here," Voutsas said. "He was admired by students and even by faculty."

Voutsas described Giffords as a "people person."

"We called her Gabby, not because it was short for her name," Voutsas said. "She was pretty much a social animal.

"She was the type of person you would expect to grow up to be a newspaper reporter or something," he said.

"People were just kind of drawn to her," recalled Jean Di Maria, formerly Jean Hudson, who was a year behind Giffords and Bee in school. Her future husband, Brandon, however, was in their class.

Di Maria, whose children are now in the school district, called Giffords a "performer."

"She was a really good singer," she said. As for Giffords' political career — "I'm not surprised at all," Di Maria said.

She didn't know Bee as well, Di Maria said, but she described him as "very studious. He was kind of known for getting good grades."

Voutsas said the same thing of Bee. Giffords, he said, "was a good student, but not a great student, and she'd be the first to admit that."

Voutsas remains in touch with Giffords. During an annual eighth-grade trip to the U.S. Capitol, Giffords is especially attentive to Emily Gray students.

"It's such a treat for her, and it's part of her roots," Voutsas said.

And in a recent interview, Giffords said she thinks the childhood connection with Bee "reflects how great our school was."

"I remember Tim from growing up with him, but we weren't best friends," she said.

And Bee's older brother Keith, who was four years ahead, said that while the families knew each other from living in the area, "it's not like we had dinner together at each other's houses."

In that respect, the connection may say more about the school than anything else.

"I think it adds an interesting bit of intrigue for a lot of people, to know that we grew up together," said Tim Bee. "But we're running the same kind of race we would always run."

Still, one former schoolmate suspects the connection did, at least initially, influence the race.

"The comment that they make that they were friends before all this happened — that's actually true," said state Rep. Jonathan Paton, who coincidentally was also a student at Tanque Verde and Emily Gray — a year behind Giffords and Bee. "Even the sparring between them, if you compare it to the national stuff, I don't think you can say it's been especially nasty."

But Voutsas — who said not a week goes by when the Giffords-Bee race doesn't come up in his social studies class — is more sensitive to the tone of the campaigning.

"It's kind of sad to see all the negative campaigning," he said, "but I guess it's just kind of part and parcel."