Olin Class of ‘62 Prepares for 50th Reunion

MARION - They danced the twist, wore colored socks and carried large purses.

Their town had three gas stations, two movie theaters and a new Chevrolet dealership.

A night watchman kept on eye on them if their parents didn't, whether they were stopping at the local drive-in restaurant or heading out of town for a dance.

They were the class of ‘62 at Olin High School, a class that has remained tight through the years with annual summer and Christmas gatherings. They are the Olin Lions who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation over the entire Memorial Day weekend around the annual alumni banquet that Saturday night at Olin High School.

"This year we get to eat for free," laughs Jana Henderson, 68, who worked with the United States Department of Education in Washington D.C. for more than 30 years before retiring in 2004.

"When we looked up at the old people at the banquet, we thought that's not us," adds Sheryl Knodle, 68, of Marion. "Now we're them."

In a prelude to the reunion, Sheryl (second from right) hosted Jana (right) and three other classmates - Linda Rogers (left), 67, of Cedar Rapids, Sandra Stephen (second from left), 67, of Monticello and Paul Thomsen, 67, of Anamosa - for a recent informal planning session. The longtime classmates - the girls attended Olin school from kindergarten through graduation while Paul joined them in the second grade - reminisced and reflected, lamented and laughed, gave a couple of cheers and shed a tear,

"We were the first kindergarten class," Sheryl says, "and this year will be the last graduating class."

Yes, this summer Olin's high school and junior high will close, the future graduates going to nearby Anamosa in a whole-grade sharing agreement. And Olin's business district is a shell of its former self.

"It was good in its day," Sheryl (left) says, to which Jana (right) replies, "We had a good time."

School lunch was a quarter, but with an open lunch period you could go to the Triangle Cafe instead.

As a senior, Paul drove a school bus. "I could drive kids around," he says, "but I couldn't haul my dad's hogs."

The movie was a dime, food was purchased at one of two grocery stores, you could buy all of the repair items you needed at the hardware store.

The small town with plenty to do kept the kids close. Of the 31 graduates in 1962, 15 of them went all the way from kindergarten to graduation. All four of these women's fathers graduated from Olin. Sandra, who left town only six years ago when she remarried, watched children Patricia (‘85), Eric (‘87) and Tara (‘88) graduate.

A few of the ‘62 classmates live far away, from Florida and Nevada to Oklahoma and Virginia. But many didn't go far.

Paul (at left) left in 1965 for school in Davenport, but become an assessor in Cedar County and Dubuque before returning to nearby Anamosa. Linda (right) retired as an administrative assistant after 32 years with Iowa Realty in Cedar Rapids. Sheryl was a nurse in Anamosa and Marion, where she's now retired.

"Every Christmas, anybody who came home would always get together somewhere," Sandra (left) says.

They would recall the boys in suits and vests, the girls with bouffant hair styles, and the lifetime friendships. That will never change.

"It'll be fun to see everybody again," Sheryl says, "and talk over old times."