LETTER TO CLASSMATES FROM BUTCH WHITE:
Although life does give us many memories, sometimes it can be interrupted without
warning, such as a pandemic. When this school year ended so unexpectedly for
our graduates, the view of realizing their goals, which had been laid down for
several years, has a two-fold consequence...their past and their future. The Class of
2020 will be called upon to deal with graduation in different ways.
I am a member of the Class of 1960 and we were proud to be the first class to
graduate from the newly built high school on the hill
. We were also the last class
of senior high students to attend the Jefferson/Jackson buildings. For me and my
classmates, the memories are rich and full, lasting a lifetime. 2020 will be a year of
celebration for us as we gather together for our 60th year class reunion. We will
celebrate but to what extent is still unknown. We will reunite with our friends and
classmates from the past, although some physically frail, yet all looking back to a
time of rejoicing with vivid memories.
Memories of my high school years have stayed with me my whole life, so I decided
to put my thoughts on paper while sitting in my garage, which I turned into a Garage
Café that I filled with memories from my past. There are tables from some of our
favorite eating places like Ruth & Harry’s Restaurant, a 1955 Mercury at my side and
1950’s bicycles hanging from the ceiling. Most imporantly, is the classic oldies
music, which our parents thought was the devil’s music, playing in the background.
It reminds me of the innocence of being 17 again. The Teen Center was the place to
go for after school gatherings. Dancing to the jukebox at the YMCA was a must after
a football or basketball games. Cruising through the streets of Punxsy till the tires
fell off
and stopping for gas at 28 cents per gallon every Friday night was a regular
occurrence. We would go from the Dairy Queen at one end of town to Joe’s Tasty
Freeze in the middle and on to Chango’s in Cloe. There was ice cream at the Palace
of Sweets, cherry cokes and milkshakes at the Drug Stores, and fries at Parente’s.
Hamburgers at Hesters were the best and some would venture the four miles to
Finley’s Luncheonette in Big Run. There were movies at the Jefferson and Alpine
theaters, and at the Starlite Drive-in in the summer. We would engage in the activity
of being young and maybe a little crazy. Anyone that has watched the old
TV
program Happy Days
will get an idea of our Class of 1960!
To the Class of 2020, I say hold on to the good times and memories that you have
had together and never forget your high school days. The Class of 1960, wishes
that all of your hopes and dreams come true and you’ll create many wonderfül
life-long friends and memories together.
There were two men looking through a window with bars; one looked down and
saw mud. The other looked up and saw stars.
Keep looking up.
SECOND NOTE FROM BUTCH WHITE:
The person who made the most impact on me was Chuck Daly. He inspired me to form the Chuck Daly Foundation, which offers scholarships at PHS to both male and female student/atheletes in both basketball and golf.
