Class of 1955 Reunion was a success

The Olney High School (OHS) Class of 1955 met Saturday, Aug. 7 for their 66th-year reunion. They met at the Olney Heritage Museum, located at 213 E. Main Street, compliments of Carla Perry.

It was a great day of reminiscing about past events and catching up on everyone’s lives and families. Unfortunately, because age and distance have hindered travel, it was a small group. Still, the attendance of other OHS schoolmates made it an unforgettable day.

The attendees included Barbara Larimore, Martha McCurrin, Charles McCurrin, Gilbert Wright, Joy Swayze, Elizabeth Willard, Lily Jo Abston, Linda Dunlap, Runay Carrell, Brenda Rogers, Franklin Furr, D’Ann Graves, Jack Willard, Don Wainwright, Carla Perry, Rodge Dunlap, Bill Abston and Kenneth Rogers.

LOOKING BACK THROUGH THE YEARS:

- In September 1943, amid World War II, a new group of 6 year-old children entered the first grade in the very new elementary school building on Hamilton Street. In the 12 years of their schooling, they excelled in academics, sports and music. Some went on to college or joined the military, while others entered the job market.

- A notable event happened in May 1951; the historical Olney tornado. As the class was practicing for 8th-grade graduation in the high school auditorium, the tornado hit and leveled everything across the street, leaving the hospital, high school, and elementary school with minor damage. They still talk about it today.

- A little known fact (as confessed by a fellow classmate): At the end of the senior year, a group of senior boys scaled the fence of the new city swimming pool for a midnight swim. This was prior to the official opening of the new pool. Don’t tell!

- In the 1950s, it was common for girls to marry young. There were several engaged girls and even a few who married during the 1954-55 senior year. Unlike divorce and live-ins of today, marriages were generally held together in the 1950s.

We can look back and agree that this generation of the post-WWII era in the 1940s and ’50s has lived in the “best of times” in all of history.