The 60th Anniversary: Lilly-Washington High School graduation

Classmates Frank Kawtoski (seated) and I at our 50th

Who would have thought back in 1966 that we would be gathering for a 60th-year reunion?

Yet, that is what is going to take place later this year — though the final date and location has not been set.

In 2016, we celebrated our 50th, and it was a great reunion. Few of us were thinking about 60 — we were just happy to have reached half a century.

The History

We knew that no other class would ever graduate from Lilly-Washington. That was because the state of Pennsylvania mandated that smaller schools had to merge with others to make larger ones. The question of whether or not that makes for better education is still a question that I hold.

Larger does not mean better.

However, we were happy to be the final one to ever graduate from a school that started in 1917, I think. Maybe earlier. So, it existed for 50 years, and we were the last.

Now, we have joy that many of us can still celebrate those days. I look forward to it, and hopefully, enough of those 54 graduates will be able to join in a celebration.

So, now we should have a virtual meeting to talk about when and where. We have to realize that when we reach 65, we will all be in our 80s. This year may not be our last chance to celebrate … and hopefully, it will be a joyous celebration.

We have to contact everyone in the class, so let’s start it as we enter March 2016. Let's make this a joyous one.