Being a graduate of Glacier High School I recently attended
an all class reunion, a grand get together enjoyed
by many Glacierites and friends. I was thrilled to visit with a
number of people from my own class of 1972.

Let me back up moment. Enroute to the event I stopped by
Glacier to see how she had faired during the 42 years since
I graduated. The sad state of our once proud alma mater
was indeed disheartening. At the 100 building I peered in
the office windows only to find a smattering of furniture
scattered about. Walking along I looked into each
classroom and found only empty, dust covered floors.

At the 400 building I reminisced, remembering the fear
Miss Moore put in me. This teacher required each
student to present a book report to the class once a
month, a task dreaded by students such as myself who
quietly sat in the back of the class hoping not to be noticed.
Stepping off the 400 building’s deck I noticed the 200
building had at some time been removed. I wondered why
and when.

Nearing the 300 building I could see many windows either
broken or boarded up. Mid-building on the south side I
glanced into Mr. Matheson’s Chemistry classroom, still
filled with student work stations, and on the building’s north
side was my old math class and the home economics
classroom, still featuring the small kitchen type counters.

From there I went to the gym building. On the foyer wall
hung posters from years past. I could easily imagine
students proudly stapling news of their event to the
corkboard. Around the corner I stood in the student pavilion
noting the surrounding benches were still in fine shape.
Many a student sat here for a rest or to quickly complete
a homework assignment prior to heading for class.

A few feet further west lay the art/shop building, all
boarded up. Norm Clark’s auto shop building just to the
north has been expanded and lies behind a high, barbed
wire fence. Before leaving I visited the cafeteria. Though
it’s exterior is somewhat beaten inside furnishings
indicate recent use.

At the Normandy Park Cove I was greeted by ’73 classmate
Paula. Checked in and name tag on my shirt I began to
mingle, talking with people from classes ’71, ’72, and ’73,
many people I hadn’t seen in years. I marveled at the sense
that everyone was on a level playing field. Gone were the
groups, the jocks (self-made studs as my daughter calls
them), the long haired cool people, the pretty people, the
astute students, and those who didn’t fit into any group.
We were all the same, some gray, some not, some bald,
some not. A few aged more gracefully than others. We
were all in our 50’s and 60’s with one thing in common: A
great high school with great teachers.

We need to remember and appreciate Glacier High
School and it’s teachers. Teachers who, often patiently,
took a bunch of young kids and honed them into educated
young adults, ready for the work-a-day world.
A number of those teachers attended our reunion, Bernie
Johnston, Phil Matheson, Fred Minahan, Jan Hall, others.

A few other teachers had said they would attend bur did
not. Perhaps we can shame them into attending next time.
We students also need to remember and appreciate each
other. As we made friends with some and disagreed with
others each of us formed an opinion of who he or she might
turn out to be. Would I want to be like him or her? Possibly.
Or would I wish to be more like him? Not likely. The three
years between junior high school and graduation held many
more influences than we may realize. Parents, Teachers,
Pastors, they were always there for us. Don’t, however,
forget the fellow people in your student body. Glacier High
School had many great students, and yes, as with any school,
a few who were not so great.

Glacier High School produced business owners, postmen,
teachers, a race car driver (myself), moms and dads, and many
others who contributed greatly to our generation and a few that followed. Teachers and students should always be proud of that. As I drove home to the isolation of living on the coast that evening I felt so proud and happy I could not cease smiling.