Browsing the calendar for May, I somehow realized that my high school graduation was back in the mid-20th century on May 30, 1956. This Saturday will mark the 70th anniversary of my graduation from Ashland Holy Family High.
With that thought came so many memories that have become blurs for the most part, but days I will never forget.
High School graduation is often considered one of the top milestones of our lives. Good reason too, because of the significant impact on our personal and social lives. The “Big Day” means college for so many, other grads rather not and join the workforce in society if possible.
It’s a day where we celebrated the past; but also, we firmly understood it’s about our future which means possible college or even a trade school.
Some grads may even think about making the military their profession. Bottom line, the doors will open for some, and for others, the future will be a challenge
Sadly, a recent poll reflects that annually there are 700,000 students nationally that do not complete their high school studies.
So, for me, my graduation day was 25,543 days ago on a hot and sultry Friday night in the tiny school gym.
As I remember, with no A/C the windows were open with little chance of even a small breeze and there were no huge fans in use to circulate the hot air.
The thought of donning my cap and gown would make it even more uncomfortable – and I was correct.
Ashland Holy Family High was a small parochial school with about 100 students through the 9th grade through the 12th.
The Class of ’56 numbered only 20 with 12 girls and 8 boys. A small percentage of those 20 began our education in1944 at Holy Family and would remain together for the full 12 years. I was one of those students.
THE CLASS OF 1956
TOP ROW 1 – BAXETTA ARNETT, CHARLES YOUNG, DELORIS MURRAY, DAVID McGuire
ROW 2 – MAUREEN FRIEL, EDDIE SMITH, PAT SEREY, PATRICIA KELLEY
ROW 3 – BETTY ELDER, CHARLES JARVIS, MARILYN DANIELS, BOB LYNCH
ROW 4 – CAROLYN BURNS, JOYCE WILLIAMS, BETTY JO LUCAS, CAROLE DANIELS
ROW 5 – MIKE TUSSEY, MARY LOU ROLL, ANN CLINE, TIM SIMPSON
The memory of our commencement speaker William Hull of Ashland Oil is vivid. He was right on point covering a great deal in his address in regard to education, motivation and the future. By the time he began till he finished; the gym seemed 10 degrees hotter because of the sweat rolling into my eyes.
As Mr. Hull continued his speech with an accent on continuing our education with college, I remember thinking – I really had no idea as to what the future held for me.
The evening eventually came to closure, and it was time for photos, shaking hands and feeling liberated.
As I looked around, my 1956 classmates were all smiling with their families and friends as I joined in for those magic moments.
It did occur to me that realistically there was a good chance I would never see any of them again. It’s been 70 years and I was almost right. Each of my classmates somehow disappeared into the future, that is with one exception.
It was 1985 and I was walking around Central Park for some exercise and coming toward me was CAROLYN BURNS. I wasn’t sure if indeed it was Carolyn, but it certainly was. She always had a perky smile and super personality that I never forgot. After a few hugs, smiles and great conversation as to where we have been over the last 30 years, we hugged and just like that – the magic moment slipped into oblivion.
Given the fact that Holy Family was a very small school, class reunions, if any, were planned with the thought of all classes returning for one great evening of fun and memories. Over the decades, as far as I know there were two reunions. One took place in the mid-80’s and another in 2000.
I attended the one around 1986 which meant my class would be celebrating our 30th anniversary if they were in attendance.
However, not one classmate from 1956 was present. 30 years can change us all.
When I graduated, I sported a stylish “Flat Top” haircut and weighed about 160. My new look for the 80’s was a ton of hair and 25 pounds heavier. Despite our ID tags, no one had a thought as to who I could be.
That is, until a young lady walked up and asked, “Are you Mike Tussey?“ I replied that indeed I was and she mentioned how much I had changed while telling me she was Edwina Shannon who was a couple of years behind my class. After a few moments of exchanging smiles and best wishes, the evening ended shortly thereafter.
The summer of ’56 seemingly flew by and for me, it meant I would begin my freshman year at Ashland Junior College. The small college located downtown had a population of just under 400 students on a very small campus. Students could remain home and get two years of college hours while saving a ton of money and then move on to a main campus.
In 1957 Ashland Junior College became a vital part of the University of Kentucky meaning that all college hours would be transferrable to the main campus with the new identity of ASHLAND CENTER – UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY. This was huge news.
One of the great assets of attending AJC/Ashland Center UK – the student population was from area high schools in Kentucky and Ohio.
UNFORGETTABLE HIGH SCHOOL MOMENTS
• The CRAZIEST thing I ever did was to play the piano in between classes. Students loved it – the Nun did not. The stunt cost me 30 minutes of detention after school.
• The BOLDEST thing I did was during lunch break when the Nun wasn’t looking – I left the playground to go to Coleman’s Market across the street for a candy bar. On the way back, I got caught. You’re right – detention again.
• The SCARIEST moments came when I was an acolyte (an altar boy) prior to serving Mass while in the sacristy where the priest was putting on his vestments. He would hold up a vestment without giving notice and ask – “What’s the name of this vestment?” We were trained to know the names and that day I got lucky and remembered.
• The FRANTIC moments that occurred during my high school years were when I turned 16 and took my driver’s test in our 1948 Dodge that didn’t have power steering or power brakes. The nightmare came when I was directed by the Officer to parallel park. I began to sweat but nevertheless got lucky and pulled the big Dodge right into the parking space. I proudly passed the first time.
So, that memorable night of 70 years ago closed the door in the early years of my life. Come September that year, a new world awaited via my college years and little did I know the future would change my life forever.
If your class has a Reunion – take my advice. DON’T MISS IT!
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.