September 15, 1999
Traverse City High School Class of 1939 reunites for 60th reunion
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Traverse City's slice of the "greatest generation" gathered Saturday afternoon for the 60th reunion of the Traverse City High School class of 1939 at the Holiday Inn. Forty-five members of the class attended, some coming from Florida, Ohio or Pennsylvania, with another 40 guests or spouses coming along.
Representing a pivotal generation in American history, members of the class of 1939 were born in 1920 or 1921, came of age during the Great Depression, fought in World War II and returned home to raise the Baby Boom generation. Many of them married young, oftentimes marrying classmates from school, and are still married unless they were widowed.
"This was a special generation, the greatest generation," said Lee Bonner of Clarkston, a retired teacher who attended the reunion with his wife of 56 years, Lois. "We lost our home during the Great Depression and I went into the Air Force halfway through college when the war started. Our generation, we got married and stayed married, it was just the thing to do in those days."
The class of 1939 included 161 graduates who attended school at what is now Central Grade School. Despite the challenges of their early years, the 90 survivors of the class certainly beat the odds of the average life expectancy, which for people in 1939 was just 59 « years.
Many classmates have kept in touch over the decades, even though many of them moved out of the area years ago. The class held 25th, 40th and 50th reunions and since the 50th one, they have been holding them annually. With about half of their remaining classmates living in the Grand Traverse region, they get a respectable turnout each year.
Former class treasurer Jim Woodrow kept everyone connected after the 40th reunion when he founded 'The 39 Line,' a newsletter about class members. This newsletter has kept classmates up to date about each other's lives and the changes that have taken place in and around Traverse City.
"There really is a special bond from high," said Gordie Charles, editor of 'The 39 Line' for two years. "I wouldn't say we were more active than other classes, but we have held together more. I attribute it to The 39 Line because it kept people in touch."
This year's reunion was dedicated to former English and Dramatics teacher, Geraldine Pagel, who at 96 « attends many area reunions for classes spanning her 43 years of teaching. For her students in 1939, she taught sentence diagramming and had students read classics that are standard English class fare even today, such as Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and Silas Marner.
After visiting with her former students for a while, the in-demand Pagel had to duck out of the festivities early to attend a reunion for the class of 1944, her third reunion of the weekend.
"It is so interesting to see them as adults," said Pagel, who spent all but six years of her career teaching in Traverse City. "I've taught some of their children and grandchildren."
All was not serious study or living for members of the class of 1939. They had fun after school and during the summer by swimming in the Bay, roller skating, eating burgers at J&S Hamburg (just 25 cents), and playing at the We-que-tong Club, located at the mouth the Boardman River, and at the Oa-ta-ka beach, farther to the east.
"We would go into Pete's Caf‚, right downtown, to have a soda," said Helen Allers Nicolen, a city resident. "We were a close class, we had good football and basketball teams. In those days, we may not have had everything we wanted but we had what we needed."