Captured Memories: High School Yearbooks

            High School Yearbooks – there’s just something about them that captures a memory and loads it into forever.

            This Labor Day, my husband’s class is celebrating the walk to pick up the coveted diploma. It’s been 50 years. His school’s colors were black and gold, like Camden’s colors, so I’ve felt a connection to the class since I met them ten years ago. Marvin saved his black basketball sweater and a gold wool coat the team wore for basketball road games. Their Senior ring was far more stylized than our black onyx center stone design.

            Last night I thumbed through a copy of The Cat’s Paw, 1965, and found quite a number of people I’ve met over these ten years. Jane Kennedy Huffman, classmate, let me borrow her treasure for a few days. I recognized these classmates by their eyes and their smiles. And, of course, the hair styles – we had the same flipped up, side part for the girls. Styles showed more crew cuts among the guys in Rector, but they dressed up for senior photos in sport coats accented with skinny black ties. The style had 1965 written throughout the section.

            Cheerleaders, Majorettes, Choir, Student Council, National Honor Society, all the queens and athletes were pictured. And the teachers. Their memories and my memories are somewhat the same because High School in the mid-1960's rocked to the same tunes.

            This graduating class was the largest ever at Rector, I’ve heard, with over 88 receiving the diploma in May of 1965. The class started out with close to 100 members. The basketball team packed the gym and came in runner-up at the State Tournament. Later, as adults, the two rival teams had a ‘rematch’ which Rector won going away. 

            I look forward to the Class of 1965 Reunion because I have learned much about this class and have real fondness for the classmates I’ve met. It was 10 years ago that I accompanied Marvin to Rector for their Reunion and returned for the Labor Day Picnic. The town and the people charmed me, indeed, and I married into the Rector family. I got a great guy in the bargain.