Central High School grads gather for reunion

Not only were the 1950s a much different time than now, they were the best of the 20th century — or at least that was the general consensus at the Central High School 1950s Still Rockin' and Rollin' Reunion this weekend.

People who came of age in the 1950s share a similar mentality, said Neva Kay Ross, co-chairman of the Reunion Planning Committee, which helped plan the reunion.

Every five years since 1988, there has been a reunion celebration for the graduating classes of Central High School from 1950 to 1959.

Liz Grimes, co-chairman of the 1950s Reunion Planning Committee, said there have never been fewer than 400 people at the reunion, and the last two, in 2003 and 1998, have been the biggest.

"I never thought this would be so big," Grimes said.

Attendees agreed that 1950s Cape Girardeau embodied a culture that no longer exists.

Grimes, a 1956 graduate, remembers the comfort her childhood neighborhood provided her. For five or six years during elementary school, Grimes lived on Bellevue Street, next to what is now Celebrations Restaurant & Bar. She said she was never afraid to trick-or-treat or walk around in her neighborhood.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Bill Roussel, a 1959 graduate of Central High School, operated an antique tractor with Amish buggy Friday at the 1950's class reunion.

"You knew everybody," Grimes said. "And you couldn't get away with anything, because it would get back to your parents."

For fun, Grimes would play outside with dolls or go swimming in the abandoned bathtub in her front yard. At other times, she would use the money she collected from turning in tin cans at Herman's Grocery Store to go to serials, cartoons and movies at the Rialto movie theater on Broadway.

Throughout the decade, teenagers could enjoy several things, including rock 'n' roll, dancing and cars, said Ken Lipps, a 1959 graduate. One could find the first two at a teen town, a free hang-out for teenagers.

In 1954, a teen town was built in a structure at the corner of Themis and Spanish streets. Each Friday and Saturday night, around 150 teens would gather at teen town as Little Willy the Screaming Hillbilly would chaperone and play 1950s musical classics such as "Honey Don't" by Carl Perkins and "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets, Lipps said.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Nancy Wickham, a 1951 graduate of Central High School, registered with her husband, Herb, at the 1950s Still Rockin' and Rollin' Reunion with assistance from her classmate, Lois Leming Woodford.

The cars of the 1950s also distinguished the decade, said John Martin, a 1958 graduate.

"Cars today are more efficient, dependable and safer," Martin said. "They all look the same."

In high school, Martin owned a 1951 Dodge Mercury that could go up to 126 mph. He said he frequently drove around in Cape Girardeau or surrounding cities looking for people to beat in races and gain bragging rights for having a faster car.

Former graduates also said the 1950s came with a different set of expectations.

Wayne Boswell, a 1958 graduate, thinks only one-fourth of his graduating high school class went to college. He said students didn't go to college because they either went into the military, got married or couldn't afford it.

Phyllis Bono, a 1956 graduate, said many women didn't go to college because the only jobs to require an education were positions as nurses, secretaries and teachers. Most jobs only required a high school education, she said.

The work ethic of the young has decreased since the 1950s, said Vince Ventres, a 1951 graduate. Since he was 11, Ventres said, he was always trying to "hustle a buck."

He said his children and his grandchildren don't know how to work for the things they want. He partially blames himself for making it too easy for his children. But he thinks they should teach themselves how to work hard.

"We've become a push-button society," Ventres said, meaning everybody wants life to be easy. "If something's hard we go bananas."

adohogne@semissourian.com

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