By Susan Carroll
Review Writer
It has been 70 years since the Lake Orion class of 1947 walked across the stage for their high school graduation commencement.
Ten members of the graduating class, now in their mid-eighties, gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall in Lake Orion to celebrate that 70-year milestone.
Last December, high school
buddies Cecil Ryckman and Jim Fowler started working on the reunion.
“You wouldn’t believe how much time it took to us to put this together, some things fell apart and some things changed, but some of us still got here,” said Cecil.
The classmates enjoyed some “good ‘ole reminiscing about things that happened back in the day and chewing the fat about days gone by,” replied Cecil with a grin.
They remembered their times of high school basketball, baseball, track and golf as if it were yesterday. They bragged of their families, where life had taken them and their careers.
Graduating in 1947 were 56 students; 22 are still alive and live around the country.
After the reunion, for more conversation and a photo opportunity, some of the classmates went to the home of June Smith, a 1949 Lake Orion graduate and Cecil Rykman’s sister-in-law.