Peters Township Class of 1963 celebrates 60th reunion
Courtesy of Arleen Wagner
Photos: Courtesy of Arleen Wagner
A cake celebrating the Peters Township High School Class of 1963.
Courtesy of Arleen Wagner
Peters Township High School Class of 1963 celebrated its 60th reunion Oct. 7 at VFW Post 764 in McMurray. Those in attendance included (front, from left) Kay Crothers, Dona Venturella Dei, Carrilee Lightholder Hemington, Susan Redic Turton and Carolyn Overcashier Richardson; (back) Larry Wisniewski, Wayne Wicks, Robert Petre, Matthew Terchick, Larry Richardson and Donald Dei.
The Peters Township High School Class of 1963 celebrated its 60th reunion Oct. 7 with dinner and music at VFW Post 764 on Valleybrook Road in Peters Township.
Twenty-one people attended the reunion (11 classmates and 10 spouses).
“It went very well,” said Carrilee Lightholder Hemington, a member of the reunion committee. “It was so nice to see people that you haven’t seen for a long time, even some people who live in the township that you don’t run into somehow.”
There were about 100 in the 1963 graduating class in a high school of about 400 students.
“A benefit of high school in the sixties is being a small group, we knew most everyone,” said Arleen Wagner, who was the class secretary and a member of the reunion committee. “There was no social media and no need for safety precautions which we agree made for very happy times.”
Hemington said the community was much more rural at the time.
“Our class was small, so you knew everyone,” she said. “I imagine it’s not that way anymore. The population has grown so much. It was a closer knit place.”
She also recalled a time cows from the Orr Farm got loose and ended up in her family’s yard at night.
“The moon was out and there were these huge cow shadows,” she said before adding with a laugh. “Of course, there were cow pies the next day.”
Wagner, who was not able to attend the reunion due to illness, said the 1960s were, indeed, a fun time to be young.
“We had a wonderful time,” she said. “There was nothing to be afraid of. It was just a great way to grow up. Everybody knew everybody and I think that’s what made it such a wonderful community. It was just a great time to be a kid.”
Before dinner, a tour was arranged of the new high school on East McMurray Road. The attendees reported being amazed at the size and beauty of the facility.
“It was very, very impressive,” Hemington said. “It’s quite a facility. I think the young people in the township are very fortunate to have such a beautiful place to learn and do their athletics and other activities, very nice.”
Quite different from Peters Township High School in 1963.
“There was no swimming pool, one art room,” Hemington recalled. “We did have an auditorium, but it was nothing like the grand facility we have now.”
The hope is to have the members of the Class of 1963 get together once a year. In fact, Sept. 14, 2024 has been picked as a date for the next reunion.
Help is sought in locating classmates at PTHSclassof1963@gmail.com.
“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy,” Hemington said. “Just to be together, that’s the main thing.”