Last Saturday on a beautiful sunny day (how did they do that?) there was standing room only for The Dalles Wahtonka High School graduation – a time for these high school seniors to celebrate the completion of one chapter in their lives and the beginning of another – as friends, parents and grandparents watched with pride and admiration. But I wonder if these young people see the many opportunities ahead; believing that anything is possible and wanting to make a difference. I hope so.
But as we stand and watch from the other end of the time continuum – weathered and wiser, I wonder if we – as seniors, after our graduation from the workforce, having left behind the friends we knew so well – still look to the future more than the past, still see our opportunities and possibilities ahead and still believe we can make a difference. I hope so.
As she looks ahead, Rymmel Lovell is also looking back by helping establish the School District Archive Museum: a place to collect and display local school history including memorabilia from both The Dalles and Wahtonka High Schools. You can find old trophies, pictures, and scrapbooks; and vintage computers including the TRS -80 and apple computers. And did you ever want to relive the excitement of those high school football games? You can. Included is a collection of 16 mm films of TDHS football games if you or your class wants to convert any to DVD format.
But the museum collection is far from complete and Rymmel is always looking for additional photos – particularly class or student pictures from the Thompson and Court Street schools and pictures from Wilson School before 1970. You can call her or bring the photos to the Center – and she will gladly accept copies if you want to keep the original.
The School District Archive Museum is in the old Wahtonka High School and is now open every Saturday from 10:00 – 3:00. The entrance is near the south east corner but when the museum is open, Rymmel will have signs out for the directionally challenged. And if you would like to volunteer, use the museum for a meeting, schedule a special tour, donate memorabilia, or just would like more information, you can call Rymmel at 541-296-6546.
To get into that graduation spirit, the Center is offering a special $1.00 off on the Center’s June 19th Saturday breakfast, if and only if you have enough guts – no vanity allowed – to bring your high school yearbook to the breakfast (Skip the pictures, I want to know what your friends wrote about you!). And to get the fun rolling, I have left my 1966 high school yearbook at the front desk – and what a handsome guy he was.
A local resource to pacify your creative urge this summer is The Dalles Art Center. Check out the many opportunities in June: Intermediate Watercolors class, an “Introduction to Pastels” workshop, and “Making Jewelry with PMC”. The Art Center is open every Tuesday-Saturday from 11-5 PM so you can enjoy the current monthly exhibit of local artists. For more details, call 541-296-4759 or go to their web site at thedallesart@embarqmail.com.
And there is more. The public is invited to their Annual Volunteer Appreciation Party at the Art Center this Saturday, June 11th at 2:00 PM. For this special event there will be a presentation on R. Crumb’s “Book of Genesis” by the Portland Art Museum Speakers Bureau. (R. Crumb was the controversial founder of the underground comix movement.)
Tuesday night is music night at the Center and on the 15th the Strawberry Mountain Band will be back to raise the roof – lead by the venerable Andre Lamoreaux. And tonight you can savor the sweet sounds of The Notecrackers. And it’s all free (donations are appreciated) and we don’t check ID’s at the door.
Virginia McLain was one of ten entries who remembered that Rod Serling was the creator and narrator of the television series “Twilight Zone”. This week’s “Remember When” question is courtesy of Ron Nelson who remembers after his bedtime, hiding under the covers with the radio and listening to the adventure series “I Love a Mystery”. The radio series was about three friends who ran a detective agency and traveled the world in search of adventure, and from 1950 – 1952 was heard weeknights at 10:15pm. Who were the three friends in “I Love a Mystery”? And I will give you a hint – one was Jack. Call 541-296-4788 or email mcseniorcenter@gmail.com.
Well, that’s enough – time to blow out the candles and shut the doors. Until we meet again, as Milton Berle, Mr. Television himself, once said, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
