Above, Paulette demonstrates that life is good fifty years after graduation from Sandusky High School, Sandusky, Ohio! Look at that smile!!!
A common Friday night in Sandusky in 1965 included "buzzing the Ave" and the tradition was recreated for the reunion. American Graffiti scenes came to mind!
Here's my very own Class of '65 graduate! Ron, graduating from Port Clinton High School, headed to Tulsa after graduation to the Spartan School of Aeronautics to obtain a commercial pilot's license.
As this car rounded the Ave, I asked Ron what it was and he quickly identified it as a 1957 Bel Aire. Way to go, Ron!
Listed below are events that all happened during their senior year:
* Race riots of Watt, Ca. left 34 dead.
*The 1965 Voters Rights Act was enacted, making it law to allow African Americans the right to vote.
* Martin Luther King, Jr. lead the first march in Selma, Alabama and the march to Montgomery and gave his famous speech, How Long, Not Long.
* Lyndon Johnson increased U.S. troops in Viet Nam from 75,000 to 125,000 and 35,000 protested with a march on Washington. Operation Rolling Thunder was launched in Viet Nam.
*U. of Ca. Berkley hosted the largest anti-VietNam teach-in at that time.
* Malcom X was shot in NYC.
* Blackouts in the North East took place and 1965 was the fist year of mandated health warnings on cigarette packages.
As a point of reference, here are some more interesting facts from 1965:
Gas was 31 cents per gallon. A new VW Bug was $1,769. The Beatles released four new albums, including Help. Mary Quant introduced the mini skirt and the skate board became a craze. The Grateful Dead played its first concert and the Sound of Music was a movie hit. The optical disk and the respirator (replacing the iron lung) were invented.
I'm celebrating the Class of '65-they are fun loving, bright, survivors of cultural tumult, and cruising into their retirement years with a sense of adventure and curiosity. Kudos and many happy reunions ahead.
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