On a warm September morning, in 1957, well over a hundred shiny, happy five-year-olds were excited to be starting Kindergarten that day. Little did they know that they were also forming a bond that would last forever. This was the birth of the Slatington High School Class of 1970.
We all made it through elementary school. Five different schools: Lincoln, Roosevelt, Peters, Slatedale, and Walnutport. We learned how to read. We learned how to add and subtract. We learned how to share. We learned manners and respect. In our last year of elementary, we were shocked and gladdened by the arrival of The Beatles. We suffered through the Cuban Missile Crisis by hiding under our desks!
We came together as a class when we all went to Junior High in a beautiful orange brick building on Main Street. Carved in the building facade was “With All Thy Getting, Get Wisdom”. We got more than wisdom. Here we learned more interesting subjects, like Library Science, and Shop and Home Ec. Here we learned to dress up (coat and ties for boys) on Assembly Program Thursday. Here we learned to dance. Here we turned into teenagers.
Four years of high school at the top of Kuehner Hill. We worried about the Vietnam War and its upcoming draft. We made it through the British Invasion and the end of The Beatles. We fought the dress code wars. Our relationships became more serious. Our lives became more serious. We graduated in June of 1970, the 121 members of the Slatington High School Class of 1970.
There are 100 of us left. Triple figures but, still our numbers are dwindling. We are planning our 55th year reunion. When I think of those class members who have died, I can remember interactions with every single one. That’s the blessing of a small high school class. I can’t believe how many years have passed, and how quickly. I’m lucky to be one of the last one hundred. From shiny happy five years olds to weather beaten and world weary seventy-two-year-olds. What a life it has been. I love my Class of 1970. Go Bulldogs!
I’ll end with this. We will, eventually, be down to one classmate left. I hope it’s me! Go Bulldog!
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 