I can barely believe it, but I have been graduated from Miamisburg High School for 31 years! I was part of the class of 1979. Nothing made that more clear to me then the Miamisburg Alumni Dinner we attended last week. Since my husband graduated the year ahead of me we both knew a lot of people at the dinner. His class was also celebrating a milestone in their lives, most were turning 50 sometime within the year of 2010. During the alumni weekend we also attended a “Happy 50th Birthday” party for the class.
It was a lot of fun catching up with people I knew from high school. Many of these people I hadn’t seen since graduation, and it was interesting to see how everyone had changed and what they were doing in life. The scariest part was realizing all of us, (not I since I never had the privilege of having kids,) were grandparents! The last time I saw many of these same “kids” they were talking about who they were going to prom with and what college they were planning to attend. Now we were talking about hot flashes, and grand babies, and retirement!
For myself, and it’s hard for people to believe now, but I was painfully shy in high school, a wallflower, and I enjoyed the look of surprise on faces when I told them my maiden name. I heard, “Wow, you’ve changed”, a dozen times. Reminiscing about the past was the bulk of the conversations at the parties we attended. During our era computers were the size of a room, gigantic 8 track tapes were all the rage, boom boxes were carried on shoulders with the dimensions of a small suitcase, and we tottered around on platform shoes while wearing jeans with such wide legs they were called elephant bottoms!
All the talk about the 1970s got me interested in reading up on the history of that time in my life. The book, “The 1970s: A Cultural History of the United States”, by Gail B. Stewart, helped jog my memory. One of the greatest things about the 70s was the music. During the 50s and 60s, Rock and Roll was introduced and flourished, but when the 70s came along the Roll was dropped and it was just called Rock. All different genres were developed; Heavy metal, Punk rock, and disco. I only have to hear, “How Deep is Your Love”, by the Bee Gees, and I am transported back to my teenage bedroom listening to 45 records on my humongous stereo.
Television saw great strides in controversial shows. All in the Family, with Archie Bunker, broke all kinds of boundaries. There were shows on racial issues, atheists, and women’s rights. Another ground breaker was, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was a single woman living on her own and managing without a man!
The 70s were filled with the tragedy at Kent State, resignation of President Nixon, Iran hostage crisis, women’s rights, and much more. Head over to your local library and check out a book with the historical happenings from your past. You might be surprised at how important your own era was.
