July 21, 1999
Reunion a rush for class of '49
206 members of Traverse City Senior High reunite this weekend
Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"We're the '49ers, Always in a Rush!"
Behind this rallying cry, 206 members of the Traverse City Senior High graduating class of 1949 burst into adulthood on the edge of a wave of postwar prosperity. They grabbed jobs, entered college and walked down the aisle with high hopes.
Fifty years later, 96 members of the class and 73 spouses came together again to see how it all came out and dust off old friendships. Some had not seen each other in 50 years and others had renewed their acquaintance at the 15th or 25th reunion.
"It is an exciting time to be here together after 50 years," said Eileen Haywood, who came to the reunion with her high school sweetheart, Ken, whom she married 46 years ago. "Oh, to be 18 again, such a great age."
Reproductions of yearbook pictures served as nametags for the 98 class members who attended. Squeals of delight and surprise rang out frequently as people who had not met in decades realized whom they were talking to. And the more people changed the more they stayed the same, attendees said.
"As you are visiting with someone you can see that spark in them that is the same as years ago," said Edna Berry Bezile of Holland, Florida. "The more you talk, the more you see of it and you know just who it is."
The class of '49 boasted a number of marriages of high school sweethearts who are still married today, celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. One of those couples is Gary and Mollie Ferris of Lady Lake, Fla. They were married the August, after her graduation, in Denver, Co., where Gary was stationed with the Air Force. He was a graduate of the class of 1948 and the two had been friends since he was four and she was three years old. They went steady all through high school and after her graduation, she borrowed some money and headed west to get married.
"We decided to leave town because back then we saw no future in Traverse City, with no jobs here like there are now," said Mollie, who followed her husband around the world on his different Air Force postings, raising six children along the way. "But this has always been our home, there is no place like it. Of all the places we've been, Traverse City is always the prettiest."
For couples like the Ferrises, who were attending their first class reunion, they recall that dating 50 years ago did not cost so much as it does today. A dollar could buy a couple an evening of roller-skating at the Coliseum downtown plus a movie. Afterward, the popular stop for a quick bite to eat was J&S Hamburg or another local diner.
Jitterbug and swing dancing, so popular again today, were in their heyday when the class of 1949 were in high school. Roushe's Dance Hall out Garfield Road and the Bogi Club (named for Boy-Girl) in what is now the Lake States Insurance Building downtown were popular hangouts for couples and singles alike.
Despite a class motto of 'California or Bust,' many members of the class were firmly grounded in school-oriented and hometown activities. Football, pep club and cheerleading drew the crowds of involved students.
Overall, people at the reunion remember the class as being a fun and friendly bunch.
"There was a closeness and we very friendly group," said DeVella Colwell of Horseheads, N.Y., the former class vice president. "We would have slumber parties after the games where the girls would get together at someone's house."