Reunion

I got a post card in the mail yesterday about my 40th year McNary High School reunion for the class of 1966. The card brought a flood of memories. Our senior class will join North Salem High School at Pietro's Pizza. Then there will be a picnic and potluck in Keizer the next day in August.

Our senior class was split because it was so large. Our sophomore and junior years at North Salem High School was split into an early morning school and an afternoon school. My senior year at McNary left us part of what we once were at North. My junior and senior year were half days with morning at school and the afternoon at W.T. Grant Company on Liberty Street. I was manager of three departments and enjoyed retail. I've always liked business.

I belonged to Faith Lutheran Church on North River Road in Keizer. Our Luther League often did many activities together and they were my best friends. I remember meeting at Pietro's after football or basket ball games for pizza in a group. I remember slumber parties at Merna's house. We watched the Beatles for the first time together at one of Merna's slumber parties on the Ed Sullivan Show. Merna's mother died last year in Portland. She was a kind woman.

The guy in charge of the reunion was one of my skating partners. During elementary school, junior high and stopping in high school, I used to roller skate and compete. I can't find my metals that I won in competitions for dance and free style. I didn't get very far. I only received three metals. Two for dance and one for freestyle. There was a movement to make roller skating part of the Olympics but it didn't happen. I remember the fun of my book of choreography for dance. I loved to roller skate. I used to live at Skateland on the weekends growing up. Almost every Saturday. Almost every Sunday. Sometimes during the week. I loved to skate and I loved dancing on skates. It stopped before it got a chance to really begin. I didn't get to take the lessons I needed. The Olympic dream for roller skating didn't happen. I sure don't understand why, considering some of the events in the Olympics today. Roller skating is a healthy sport for kids to keep fit and active. I think they made a big mistake to not allow it. There was room for roller skating in the Olympics.