ELMWOOD, Indiana — On Saturday, September 14, 2024, the Elmwood High School Class of 1974 hosted their 50-year Class Reunion at the residence of classmate Jerry Thompson, who resides just east of Elmwood.
The reunion was held in honor of the class’s history. Gordo’s Tacos and Burritos Food Truck offered a dinner consisting of tacos and burritos at the bar.
At the beginning of the event, there was a wonderful tour of the Elmwood School, which brought back a lot of memories from fifty years ago. Many thanks to Superintendent Glenn Webb, who served as our knowledgeable guide.
In a word, unforgettable would be an understatement to describe our senior year of high school. Following the Watergate hearings, the Vice President of the United States and the President of the United States both resigned from their positions.
An act of Congress mandated that we switch back to daylight saving time in January, and as a result, school started one hour later than usual every day. This was done because of the oil embargo. The state of Wisconsin was one of the first states to reduce the maximum speed limit on highways to 55 miles per hour.
Additionally, in order to help with national efforts to conserve energy, gas stations in the state stayed closed on Sundays. One of the statements that was included in our senior yearbook was as follows: “With the scarcity of gasoline came gas prices of over fifty cents per gallon.”
Out of the 45 people that were a part of our graduation class, there are just 38 left. There were twenty-seven classmates present for the reunion, in addition to a number of wives and guests.
Chuck “Chuckie” Lechner, Frank Maves, Dave Fischer, Virgil Perry, Dennis Churchill, Bob Field, Jeanne Mountin, Cindy Huebner Bartels, and Arnie Bauer were among the members of our class who passed away and were lovingly remembered by their classmates.
Since they graduated fifty years ago, the Class of 1974 has had a reunion every five years. This has been a consistent practice. Our intention is to begin getting together on a more regular basis and in a more relaxed setting.