Mike Tussey: Moments to remember — the pulse of our lives we will never forget

If you grew up in the 40s or 50s and you are still with us, you know how special it was growing up in those “innocent times.” It’s hard to describe it all as most of us will agree the 50’s and the 60’s were great decades, yet totally different in so many ways.

Graduation was something we all thought about and knew it was the door to being on our own and finally independent. I remember my graduation like it was last Friday. In fact, it was on a Friday, May 30, 1956. 68 years ago, way back there in the mid 20th Century. Some of us remember a huge graduating class well over 200. Then, there are those of us who graduated with a minuscule number of only 20.

That would include me.

Let me push the button to the time machine that is set for the aforementioned date of May 30, 1956. I would graduate from a very small high school located in the west end of Ashland – Holy Family High, a parochial school. Of the 20 grads, there were 8 boys and 12 girls. Most of the 20 began our education in 1944 and some of us remained together for the entire 12 years.

A few blocks away, another very small school – Booker T. Washington. They too, were small in numbers. Friday, May 30, 1956 was a scorcher. I remember the temperature was pushing to the 90 mark when my family and I headed to the small school gym.

The ceremony would include the grads up on the stage, families and friends sat on the basketball court. By the way, there was no A/C, but the windows of the gym were opened wide which really didn’t make a difference at all. The cap and gown we wore over our shirts and ties and dresses made the heat even more noticeable.

I don’t remember seeing any large fans anywhere. If there was a few, they were little relief.
Our speaker that night was William Hull of Ashland Oil who spoke to us about the future and continuing our education onto college which lasted nearly 20 minutes. I remember sweat began trickling down my brow into my eyes. I could see other grads having the same problem as well.
However, later we all received our diplomas as graduation day came to a historic end for us all.

After that day in late May, I can truthfully say, most of us never saw each other ever again. Memories were all that was left. Everyone seemingly went our separate ways.

Many of us had that one lifetime friend, the confidant who was always there. For my wife Jo, it was Patty O Neal. Patty still lives in Ashland and keeps in touch with Jo on the phone with long conversations.

A few years after graduation, I met Jo and we were married 63 years ago this June 30, 1961. Jo attended Ashland High located a short distance from Holy Family and graduated in 1958. Ashland High was a huge high school compared to my alma mater, graduating well over 200 that year.

In the mid 50s there was no internet, no I-phones, only movies theaters and AM radio for entertainment. December 1955, was the date a quartet named the “Four Lads” recorded and released a monster hit that hit #2 while selling 4 million copies sweeping natiowide – “MOMENTS TO REMEMBER.” As I continually listened to it over and over as the weeks passed by, the lyrics caught my ear. Good reason, because I was a senior and in a few months, things would drastically change for many of us.

Take a moment, and review the following lyrics and you’ll see why and how it caught our attention:

January to December, we’ll have moments to remember 

The New Years Eve, we did the town, the day we tore the goal post down, we’ll have these moments to remember

The quiet walks, the noisy fun, the ballroom prize we almost won, we’ll have these moments to remember

Though summer turns to winter and the present disappears, the laughter we were glad to share will echo through the years

The drive in movie where we’d go and somehow never watched the show, we will have these moments to remember.

When other nights and other days my find us gone our separate ways, we will have these Moments to Remember

Laura Muer Willis, a member of the Holy Family Class of ’57 – reflects back to that very special day and those unforgettable memories: “I certainly remember my Graduation Day so much. I had to give a speech and I wanted to say what was on my mind about years past, but I was instructed to talk about our new school building. So I did. I really enjoyed my high school years and thought I owned the school when I was a senior. I will never forget my lifelong friends, Peggy Krell, Sue Gossett, Connie and Maureen Friel. We were very close.”

Fifteen years later in 1972, the Statler Brothers recorded an award winning that reached #6 – “THE CLASS OF ‘57”. It’s a good bet you remember these historic lyrics that serve as a metaphor for any graduating class. The song captured the memories of friendship, nostalgia, and the passage of time. The lyrics tell it all. While reading them, you almost want to sing the melody:

Tommy’s selling used cars, Nancy’s fixing hair, Harvey runs a grocery store and Margaret doesn’t care. Jerry drives a truck for Sears and Charlotte’s on the make and Paul sells life insurance and part-time real estate.

Helen is a hostess, Frank works at the Mill, Janet teaches grade school and probably always will. Bob works for the city and Jack’s in lab research and Peggy plays the organ at the Presbyterian Church.

Betty runs a trailer park, Jan sells Tupperware, Randy’s on an insane ward, and Mary’s on welfare. Charlie took a job with Ford and Joe took Freddy’s wife. Charlotte took a millionaire and Freddy took his life.

John is big in cattle, Ray is deep in debt, where Mavis wound up is anybody’s bet. Linda married Sonny, Brenda married me, and the class of all of us is just part of history.

And the Class of ’57 had its dreams, things get complicated when you get past 18, but the Class of ’57 had its dreams.

As we all descended into our new lives and families, every once in a while an invitation pops up for your class reunion. Did you attend? Jo’s class of ’58 held their 10-year reunion in Ashland’s Henry Clay Hotel. We still vividly remember that 1968 night – even today. A photo shows Jo with the marked circle.

Today, Charlene Cooper of Ashland High’s Class of 1959, says the class still meets every month reliving the past while catching up with an average of 24 attendees. “65 years have passed since May 25, 1959 when our graduation was in the small Ashland High gym hosting our huge class of 298. It seems our years flew by, but our class became very close and many of us became lifelong friends. We made our trips to the Bluegrass Grill –Ashland’s social headquarters where everyone cruised in and gathered.

The fads we wore made us cool at the sock hops and in class. Young and carefree we were, yet we truly cared for each other. It was a wonderful time to grow up.”

So, the summer of 2024 is on the horizon, and with that comes the possibility of your class reunion. If you go, be prepared for some of your classmates to walk right on by and have no idea who you are. We all change! Be sure and wear you nametag too.

Those “Moments to Remember” will resonate forever.

From the Class of ’56, ’57, ‘58 and ’59 – Have a wonderful summer.

Mike Tussey has “retired” from a 60-plus-year career as a legendary play-by-play announcer for over 2000 football, baseball, and basketball games, including most recently for ESPN+. His career also includes a stint in law enforcement, teaching and coaching, and writing books, including the “Touchdown Saints.” He grew up in Eastern Kentucky and now lives in Florence with his wife, Jo. He has opened another “Door of Opportunity” and is now a regular columnist for the NKyTribune.