In 1962 I graduated from Clinton High School which by today’s standards should have resulted in a graduation celebration of humongous proportions.
I remember my high school graduation party very well. Compared to today’s festivities it would be considered boring.
Most parties during those years consisted of grandparents, several aunts, uncles and some cousins celebrating in the graduate’s home.
Coffee was a must along with a heavily frosted cake decorated with a congratulatory message. Ice cream may have been an added addition too.
Since our mom had passed away the previous fall our chief party planner was not with us.
Our Dad was kept busy doing the farm work, milking cows, slopping the hogs, picking eggs, tending to the sheep herd, and putting in the crop.
Of course, we four siblings were involved in assisting with some of the farming operations too as well as helping to fix meals and maintaining other household duties.
So, when my graduation day arrived, we decided to join forces with our cousin Rich who was graduating the same day from Wheaton High School. Our family made the twenty-five- mile journey north on old Highway #75 and we celebrated with their family.
I don’t even remember if we had a cake. I always thought it was a disappointing way to celebrate the culmination of twelve successful years as a student.
I would have much more enjoyed a humongous party like today’s standards.
It was ironic that upon completing five years of college I began a thirty-four-year teaching career at Wheaton High School and had a bird’s eye view on the evolution of high school graduation celebrations.
The small family gatherings began to expand which of course put tremendous strains on the mothers of the graduates as those early celebrations took place in the family homes.
The mother’s housekeeping skills would be on display!
New carpets, fresh coats of paint (even inside the closets!), new living room chairs and possibly new cupboards in the kitchen all suddenly became necessities.
Landscaping around the home had to be improved. Trees were trimmed, lawns were made to look like carpets and flower gardens sprung up! 🙂
The attendees to the celebration expanded from aunts, uncles, and cousins to include friends and neighbors.
That meant coffee and cake wouldn’t be enough sustenance to satisfy the hungry visitors, so the menu planning had to go into high gear.
It was a contest each spring to see who had the most unique menu. Ham sandwiches, chips and pickles just weren’t going to impress anyone.
Over the years the menus have grown and become more complex. The more exotic spreads were discussed and compared for weeks after the celebrations were over. 🙂
As time went on mothers began to wise up. Actually, there might have been a father or two involved in that enlightenment too.
All the newer homes had connecting two or three stall garages. Instead of cleaning the house from top to bottom, painting and replacing carpets and worn- out furniture why not just hose out the garage and have the party in among the stepladder, air compressor and the garden tools?
A new tradition was born. Now if a beer got spilled or potato salad got mashed on the cement floor wait for the visitors to leave and hose out the garage one more time! 🙂
The garage tradition continued for several years and then I think probably a mother thought why was she responsible for preparing the garage for the party when her farming husband had that big, beautiful Quonset sitting out in the yard?
And who do you suppose got the job to clean up and hose out the Quonset?
One less thing for mom to worry about. 🙂
So, another tradition was born for farm families celebrating the graduation of an offspring.
Once the mothers living in the urban areas where Quonsets were not easy to come by another tradition arose.
Why hose out the garage when scattered all around the community were places just waiting to host a graduation party and no hosing or cleaning would be required?
In our community we have a variety of church basements, city park shelters, a local golf course club house, local restaurants, and for the adventurous, “rent a tent”. 🙂
The only negative thing about those places of celebration is that celebration dates have to be coordinated with the graduating seniors’ families. Only so many celebrations can take place at a given time.
Several weekends are needed to provide time for all the families to complete their celebrations.
That is good for the community’s waistlines. One or two celebrations per day is plenty. 🙂
As a teacher I have had the pleasure of attending my share of these wide varieties of family feasts.
As I gaze over the guests in attendance I see grandparents, parents, and students all of whom I have had the pleasure of teaching. In fact, that was when retirement seemed a likelihood to me when my third generation of students began to arrive at my classroom. 🙂
Every face whether young or old is a reminder of the pasts we shared together as teacher and students. What joyous memories! 🙂
My first students that I taught in 1967 turned 70 years old this year. 🙁 (And that is hard to believe because I don’t think I’m 70 yet!?) 🙂
Tomorrow we attend our first two graduate celebrations. I wonder what the menus will consist of?
Let the traditions continue!
Until next time.
