Remembering Mt. Vernon - My School Years

The date I will never forget--May 29, 1969

The day that 208 of us graduated from Mt. Vernon High School.

High school was tough for me.  We had moved from northeastern Ohio to southwestern Indiana when I was going into the 7th grade.  There were a bunch of us who moved that year.  Dad's plant had closed in Alliance, Ohio, and because he was salaried, he was given the option of three places to move, and he chose Mt. Vernon.

The summer of 1963 was hard.  Leaving behind family was one thing.  Leaving school friends was another.

Going into junior high is hard no matter where one lives.  Moving into a new building.  New teachers.  Combinations of 6th graders from various elementary schools into one large group at a junior high was tough.  But move to a place totally unknown, with no friends, and no knowledge of buildings or teachers or customs?  Extremely hard.

The first day of 7th grade Greta and I boarded the bus and a girl scooted over in her seat and asked me to sit with her.  That girl was Jane Ann, and she became one of my very best friends.  Our classses were the same, and we rode the same bus, so that worked well for this girl who knew no one.

As the days moved forward and the years progressed, I still maintained my shyness.  I was hesitant to make friends.  Many of the girls in my classes had been in school together since kindergarten. Many of them lived in the same neighborhoods.  Some of them were cousins or had older brothers and sisters who were friends.  Church activities gave some of them a common bond also.  But for me---I had none of that.

Looking back I attribute part of my shyness to being one of the "Ohio people" because as I said before, there were quite a few families who moved in over the summer and increased the school population by a hundred or more.Classes grew in size.  More textbooks were needed.  We were often referred to as the "Ohio people" and not kindly.  We were different.  Different accents. Different levels of knowledge than what our classmates had.

The other thing that was a negative in getting to know other people was Mom. She disliked Mt. Vernon so much that she made it miserable for Greta and me.  She didn't like anyone that she met.  She didn't like any of the churches that we tried on Sunday mornings.  She wouldn't help me with 4-H projects so my membership in 4-H sputtered after one year of trying to fit in a new club.  I found out later that she was banned from the women's group at church because of her complaining and trying to dominate the group.  Whenever I was asked to go home with a new friend, she hesitated to let me and then quizzed me about everything when I came home - Was their house nice?  What kind of furniture did they have?  I can't remember all of the questions, but I do remember not having answers because those things just were not important to me. Everything that happened, every custom, every way of doing things in Mt. Vernon was met with 'well, in Ohio we didn't do that...." or "in Ohio we did it like this...." and that put people off.  She didn't try to fit in or make new friends; therefore, that trickled down to Greta and me. 

Finally as I went through those 6 years of junior high and high school, I determined that the only way out was to study hard, get a scholarship, and go to college.  So I worked hard for my grades. I studied all the time.  I went to basketball games, some football games, a  few dances, and even the junior prom.  I wasn't popular.  I was just a quiet girl.  I was involved in clubs and other activities, but I didn't have a car, and I wasn't allowed to ask for rides, so going out with friends was not an option on weekends.   School activities were about it for me.  My 'socializing' was at games.  Dad dropped me off; I called after from the pay phone, let it ring twice, and Dad would pick me up.

When I graduated, I was relieved.  My class rank was good, and I had received a full tuition scholarship to Indiana State.  I came home on weekends to see Greta and my folks, but usually Mom was so disagreeable that the weekends were not pleasant.  I continued taking classes in the summer at ISUE so I could stay busy and out of the house. Even then the only people from my class I saw were Jane Ann, Thelma, Susan, and Debbie.

Moving to Monticello, then Francesville with my first job was a blessing.  Mom and Dad moved back to Wooster, and Greta went to school in Evansville, then took her first job in Wadsworth, Ohio.  My time back in Mt. Vernon diminished to nothing.

How many people did I keep in touch with after I graduated?  Not many.  Jane Ann, of course, and Thelma.  Susan.  Debbie.  But that was about it.  I wasn't close to many of the others in my class for various reasons alluded to above---they didn't welcome the "Ohio people" very well, I couldn't do things with friends because I didn't have transportation and no money besides, and I just didn't fit in with anyone other than those four girls.

With the advent of FB, however, the connections to some of my classmates re-surfaced.  I have 'talked' more to people from my class since our 'friendships' on FB than I ever did when we were in school.  I saw Nancy at Women of Joy and it was like we were old friends.  Sherry sent me a cover for my Kitchen Aid mixer that she had made, and that connection of 'high school friends' was still there.  I chat with Cidney and Debbie like we have been chatting for over 50 years.

This weekend was our 50th reunion.  I have seen a few pictures posted on FB and I have been feeling a little melancholy.  

I have never attended a class reunion.  Most of the people in my class I haven't seen since the day we walked across the stage and received our diplomas.

But I still feel melancholy.  What would it have been like if I HAD attended?  Would I have been recognized by former classmates? Would any of them have any memories to share of times in classes with me?    I have been trying hard to think of anything I could say to any of them about times from high school, and I honestly don't know what I would say.  I can think of nothing, no memories, no common threads in our lives.  Even though I walked the same halls, in the same buildings, and attended the same ball games, there are not many shared memories.

Which I guess is why I stayed home.

But 50 years?  What happened?  How could these years fly by so fast?  I am sure that the group is sitting in the Farm Bureau building, pulling out their phones and showing pictures of children and grandchildren.  I am sure they are talking about their retirements and vacations they have enjoyed.  I am sure there are discussions about health issues, because at our age, we have them.
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So here I am.  Sitting in my dining room, typing on the laptop, feeling sad and melancholy.

Instead I spent the day with Tessa going to quilt shops and apple orchards this morning and with Landon going to Barnes and Noble and Meijer (in the new Escape even!) this afternoon. I spent dinner with the kids and Hilary and Gary,eating Arni's pizza and a stromboli.  I sat on the deck, watching Owen, Tessa, and Landon cart the pumpkins around in a small wheelbarrow and decorate for fall.  I had hugs from Lynnlee and laughs from Cooper today.

And that is really why I stayed home.  I feel more alive and energized with my grandchildren, doing fun things with them, and making more memories.

Someone from my class said she missed me coming this weekend and said there was talk of another get-together to celebrate 70th birthdays in a couple years.

Sounds fun, but I probably won't go to that either.  That part of my life is over.  Done. Finished.  Time to enjoy now!