Oh my gosh ... class of 1951??? That means in 2011 I will have been out of school for sixty - 60 - years. Geesh.
Our class had a total of 63 graduates, had the Ox-Eye Daisy as its class flower (ARGH), and the class motto was "What we are to be, we are becoming". Of course we hated the flower and had absolutely no clue with regard to what the motto was saying. But now, nearly 60 years later, I know.
Of the original 63 members, I believe about 8 or 9 are deceased. A couple of them were good friends of mine and actually lived in the SW portion of Ohio at the time of their deaths. One of cancer, and the other in an automobile accident. My sister in law who graduated with me died in 1994 ... too young to leave us.
Over the past 60 years lots has happened in my home town. The steel mill that was prospering when I left there back in 1956 is no longer in operation. That means that the property owners have lost quite a bit of their income and the town has begun to go downhill. Speaking of hills, my home town actually consists of four hills and two valleys. One valley was the main street that ran parallel to the steel mill separated by the downtown businesses. Learning to drive in this terrain was a real challenge.
The high school that I graduated from no longer exists. As with so many other school districts in the state, it was consolidated with another school and the district renamed. So were I to travel back home to try to visit my old classroom(s), I'd not be able to. I think the building is still there. Isn't that sad?
I've decided to try to track down as many of the surviving members of the Class of 1951 ... just to say hello and maybe share some memories. I don't know how successful I'll be, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So far I'm in contact with only one - my birthday twin who lives in Texas.
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