GRADUATION DAY 1955

As I sit at my computer on Thursday, May 31, 2007, I am reminded of our graduation day, June 1, 1955. My Central diploma, framed and hanging above my desk, especially reminds me of that day.  I remember the beautiful graduation setting at Freedom Park.  Because the Armory burned following the 1954 graduation and Ovens Auditorium was still under construction, we had no place large enough to handle the crowd.

The morning of June first broke into a beautiful, sunny day.  We had a practice for graduation that morning and the weather looked promising.  It’s a good thing, for I am not sure what our alternate plan was.  I remember spending the day with friends and being so glad that exams were behind us and our high school days were about to end.

We were instructed to arrive early in the evening at the park to line up for the procession.  I don’t know what requirements there were for the boys, but the girls were required to wear black shoes and stockings.  Miss Frazer was there to make sure that “rule” was enforced!  Our caps had to be placed squarely on our heads.  Wouldn’t Miss Frazer have a fit if she could see how graduates dress today!

When the music started, the long lines of graduates began to descend the terraced amphitheatre.  The sea of grey was a stunning sight.  My homeroom was about mid-way in the procession, and I remember looking behind and above to see the remainder of graduates as they made their way to their seats.

There were speeches, announcements of scholarships and honors, and finally it was time to go to the front to receive our diplomas.  Then it was over.  The music began and the long lines of graduates ascended the terrace to leave on whatever adventure their life would take them.  I don’t remember tears, but I remember hugging various classmates and thinking, “this is the last time I will ever see some of them”.  I knew there were great things to which I looked forward, but I would walk away from friends that night, never to see them again. That was a somber day, but there is no way to capture that moment except in my mind’s eye.

It’s interesting to think about that day, for there are so many friends who were very special to me during those days at Central High School.  I went on to make new friends in nursing school and college, but youth is a wonderful time in one’s life.  It’s a shame that we look forward to finishing a segment of time without making that time really count.  We look back with older eyes and bodies and “think if only I had….”  

I’m glad that so many of you have worked hard to keep us connected.  It means so very much, especially to those of us who don’t live in Charlotte. 

Linda Patton Nance

Wilmington, NC