In May 1976, the United States was knee deep in its Bicentennial celebration. On the radio, “Silly Love Songs,” the theme song for the television show “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Shannon” were among the top hits.
“All in the Family,” “Laverne & Shirley” and “The Six Million Dollar Man” were popular TV shows while on the big screen, “All the President’s Men” dominated. Incumbent Gerald Ford was leading challenger Ronald Reagan in Republican presidential primaries while Jimmy Carter was the Democratic frontrunner.
Mailing a letter took 13 cents. A loaf of bread cost 30 cents, a gallon of milk $1.65, and a gallon of gas was only 59 cents.
But for the 38 Cleveland seniors that year, 36 who went through the graduation ceremony, May meant the end of a high school career. Half a century later, on May 16, nineteen of them got together for a 50-year reunion at the Cleveland Sons of the American Legion building.
Attending the class reunion were, from L-R, front row: Mary Jo (McCabe) Baatz, Jan Shelton, Peggy (Sohm) Nimps, Pam (Kletschka) Gersemehl, Doug Voit and Andy Queen. Second row: Joan (Tonneson) Tesdahl, Karen (Lyons) Krenik, Tim Schleeve, Jill (Ferguson) Garzke, Beth (Rapp) Soderlund and Terry (Hankins) Wau. Back row Lori (Corrow) Nimps, Scott Schmidt, Cindy (McCabe) Meyer, Steve Rohlfing, Jeff Block, Tom Schleeve, Mark Meyer and, in the photo below, Robert Thomas.
Other members of the class of 1976 were Linda Blaido (deceased), Guy Curtis, Ronda Davis, Ron Doran, Cindy Ely, Diane Ely, Deb Erickson, John Harmon, Ted Kamatchus, Mary Jo Keinz, Dennis Leighton (deceased), Cindy Poll, Lori Ponwith, Mike Rohlfing, Jeanine Schmidt, Kelly Smith, Lou Ann Thomas, and Dale Zimmerman (deceased).
Kletschka was homecoming queen while Schmidt was king. King candidates were Rohlfing and Block while queen candidates were Corrow and Rapp.
Head coach Glen O’Connor’s football team won its first two games, 8-0 over Morristown and 8-6 over Henderson but lost the remainder of its nine games. Block made the All-Conference team. Kamatchus was MVP. Mike Harrington’s boys basketball team went 13-22. Schleeve made All-Conference and was the team’s MVP. Ken Schmidt’s baseball team, back after not playing the year before, managed just one win.
In its first-ever season, Nancy Hanson’s volleyball team was 1-8. Ponwith was chosen as an All-Conference player and the team’s MVP. Only in their second year, Hanson’s basketball “Clipperettes” swept the Valley Conference for 14-0 regular season record. They beat Le Center in the first round of the districts before falling 41-35 to Le Sueur. Shelton and McCabe were All-Conference players. McCabe was team MVP.
The class play, “Raising a Riot,” was about a British naval commander who has to take care of his three young children while his wife is away.
The prom banquet was held at Gustavus. The group “Small Change,” played music for the grand march. After, couples went roller-skating in Le Sueur.
Steve Rohlfing on the baritone saxophone was the “Best Bandsman.” Ponwith won the DAR Citizenship award and the science award. Ferguson was the “Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow.”
Robert Thomas. (photos courtesy of Lynell Rohlfing)
