Recently I received a call that Dick Unger from our Class of 1950 had died in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He had been living in Clark Community Retirement Home. I talked with his son a long time and then I had my daughter look for his obituary.

It was not yet there but a video had been done a few years ago and it was excellent to watch as Dick reminisced about his service to our nation in the Air Force.

The Air Force wanted him to enlist again but he had lost his first wife, Marilyn Bruce, from cancer during his service career. Marilyn was also from our class.

After a couple of years Dick started writing Margaret Wilson, also from our class, who was a music teacher in Midland, Michigan. Dick said if any thing was to happen between them, he needed to be in Midland and he left the Air Force and went to Michigan.

After my phone call from Dick’s son, I got out my high school reunion bag that held information of many of our reunions. I believe the last one was our 65th reunion when we gathered at the museum for lunch and then went out to our home for dinner in the evening.

I read through many obituaries of those not with us anymore and I was amazed at what our class had accomplished over the years. I came across a booklet we had put together for our 40th year reunion in June 1990. We did four summaries of our years in high school and what was going on in Polo during those four years. They were most interesting and so here they are. The first one is our freshman year.

Class of 1950

In September of 1946 around 70 Freshmen entered P.C.H.S. with pep, enthusiasm, and interest. We all flocked to high school following an ad in the Tri-County Press, which listed the reasons as to why we needed to go there and what the school had to offer.

Our parents are concerned about food prices. Ground beef, 39 cents a pound; bacon, 57 cents a pound; bread, 2 for 21 cents and lettuce 7 cents a head. Sept. 19th Miller’s Market has a sign that states, “Sorry No Meat Today.” An ad in the paper says, “It may be possible to get you the so called “Black Market” meat to sell for 20 cents to 40 cents a pound higher. We believe you would not want that so we are not bringing in meat that must be sold under the counter or out the back door. So we will say “Sorry No Meat Today.”

The movie some of us will remember playing at the new movie theater we had gotten a year before in Polo was “The Outlaw” with Jane Russell.

Comments by shorty in the paper states, “Undefeated – yep, that’s the outcome of Polo’s second team. They’ve really been going to town these Monday nights. Looks bright for us in the next years at that rate.”

Dec. 19, 1946, the stage curtain burns at the high school and Ned Parrett, Leslie Scott and Bob Breckenridge form a three man bucket brigade while Willis Pittenger was having students leave.

A type of cartoon in the spring called “The Wasters,” stated, Jane remembers the old superstition…three on a match is bad luck; walking under a ladder is bad luck…; but she remembers to save used cooking fat, which is lucky for the world starving for fats and oils.” Her can labeled “For Used Fat” is beside her stove. We were still saving from war years.

• Betty Obendorf is a retired teacher and volunteer for the Polo Historical Society.