Junior High

Seven hours to drive back into Barberton, Ohio. The tour was 45 minutes in length then seven hours back to southern Indiana.

What was the attraction?

The graduating class of Portage Junior High School from 1955 was returning 'home' to say goodbye. The building was being torn down. Built in 1930 it was the same school my mother-in-law had attended before my husband and had been used as a school continuously.

We met in the gym/auditorium for name tags and souvenir booklets. The original school boasted eleven classrooms including a domestic science room. The office boasted a public address system. One addition had been built on during the 1950s after a fire in the main building. My husband quickly, way too quickly if you get my gist, pointed out, "I didn't do it," the same thing I'm sure he told his parents at the time.

We meandered through the hallways and rooms, some having difficulty with the same stairs they raced up as students taking double steps. In any given room the group would disagree about what the class originally was, science, geography, perhaps math. It was too long ago to remember.

They all remembered being required to climb ropes in the gym all the way up to the ceiling and one former cheerleader remembered having to hang unto the rope and jump from the balcony to the floor of the basketball court surely something which would today bring on lawsuits and emergency room visits.

Good memories apparently since this is the only group I know who gets together to celebrate the demise of a building they were all too happy to leave at the time.

Sadly, I was not treated to a rendition of the fight song with which I close this blog. It, too, would be up for scrutiny in today's PC world.

On the warpath Portage Indians, all ye stalwart braves,
choose your warpaint don your feathers
Rally round the fires, Hi-yi-yi.

Gather round us all ye warriors, as the flames rise high
We'll give a mighty cheer for Portage Junior High.

And that's what I think about it.