Shoreham High School Alumni Gather To Remember And Celebrate
By Cookie Steponaitis
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For Rita Davis (Class of 53), Arlene Stanley (Class of 51), Culene Doane (Class of 68), and Phyllis Allen (Class of 54), Saturday, July 2 was a special day and the culmination of a lot of work and planning. All afternoon more graduates of Shoreham High School kept coming in and mingling with others who gathered for the sole purpose of coming together once every five years to celebrate all of the classes that went to the rural high school that was the heartbeat of Shoreham for so long. The 95 alumni sitting together for dinner and recollections at the American Legion Post # 27 in Middlebury, Vermont, continued a tradition that dates back to 1986 and brought together three generations that called Shoreham High School home.
Any listener moving from group to group could pick up key words and phrases being repeated as people reconnected for the first time in forty years, or met an old friend they saw and talked to just yesterday. Shoreham High School graduates spanned the gambit in ages and stories of where their journeys after high school had taken them, but they all spoke of ‘family, friends, community and knowing everyone.’ Unlike today’s Vermont schools the average graduating class from Shoreham High School ranged between nine and fourteen members. While it seems different and not the norm in today’s Vermont experience, the link forged among those small graduating classes has stood the test of time and brought people together in many unique and powerful ways. “It was extremely tight knit,” expressed Dwight Menard (Class of 1958). “Everyone’s parents were every ones parents.” Willard “Skip” Patterson (Class of 1961) added, “We didn’t know anything different. We thought all schools worked like ours.”
Class of 1942 Alumni Wesley Larrabee spoke with a smile and pride about the eight girls and two boys from his graduating class. “Everyone lived in town and grew up playing together.” Wesley talked at length about the sense of community and at one time continuing to see everyone around Middlebury and the area. He was particularly taken with Bill Garner who was the principal at the time and also the basketball coach. He remembered being at a conference with Principal Garner on December 7, 1941 when word came of the attack on Pearl Harbor and how that shocked the small class and community. Mr. Larrabee went on to talk about his family living locally and their ten thousand apple trees that they planted on their 85 acres just around the corner from the Shoreham Ferry. Happy that the orchard was in good hands and doing well, Mr. Larrabee spoke sadly about the loss of family farms and the changes in his lifetime in the Shoreham community.
No matter what table this reporter visited or what group was asked, the words basketball, baseball and rivalry were mentioned repeatedly. Many remembered games in Jericho and playing the Weeks School, but the intense rivalry between Shoreham and Orwell surfaced again and again. Lessons learned on the court and on the field were remembered long after graduation and friendships made continue to hold true to this day. Both Skip Deane (Class of 61) and Cindy Brush (Class of 61) shared stories of games played and the music program that was a strong part of the schooling experience.
One incredible story which surfaced during the interview connects classmates Randall Wisell (Class of 41) and Pat Brisson Wilcox (Class of 42). While in school Randall not only noticed Pat but, “…had an eye on her, but just never did anything about it.” Graduation came and both Randall and Pat married and had families of their own. In 2006, Randall’s wife of over sixty years passed away and on his way over to visit his wife’s grave Randall stopped at the house someone told him Pat lived in. She wasn’t home. Randall stopped two more times and in the end persistence paid off and the two met up again after 60 plus years. That was two or three years ago and after some dinners at Rosie’s and some other dates; the two have become a couple. With a twinkle in his eye, Randall shared he was 87 this reunion and, “… looking forward very much to the next one in five years.”
Milling around a table of old Yearbooks and photographs alumni took time to relive memories, fill in missing slots in school photos dating back to the 1930’s and share photos of picnics, class meetings, games, graduation and families and even great-grandchildren. The event which was begun as a labor of love in 1986 occurs every five years and brings together usually a crowd of close to 100 who share a tie to a school, a tradition, and a heritage of growing up in a small town where everyone lived in town and knew each other. “Myra Poland (Class of 62) summed it up this way, “I come to see the people and to share memories.” Whether it was the school play, sporting events, excellent academics or the antics of a friend, the room was full of tangible images of lives touched and bonded together by life in a small town. Faith Angier (Class of 42) shared, “I made one incredible friend during my years at Shoreham. Pat Wilcox and I have been friends for over sixty years. That is something that has no price tag or measure.”
“The high school closed in 1969,”shared reunion planner Arlene Stanley. “It burned just over a year ago. Using email and by sending out over 300 letters, Rita, Culene, Phyllis and I work to keep bringing people together and to keep the memory of Shoreham High School alive.” Alive and well, so it seems. Just ask the 95 who attended this fifth year reunion. There was no age limit, no boundaries, and no reservations. Hands were grasped, hugs, laughs, and even a few tears were shed as food and conversation flowed around tables of people sharing memories of the town and the school that continues to bind them together to this very day.