2012 will be the 65th anniversary of Redwood Falls High School graduation in 1947. 2011 is the 60th anniversary of Hamline University graduation in 1951.
The Hamline graduation anniversary looms large since I am on a committee to design how the event will happen. The committee is to figure out what might interest people and even attract them to attend.
What might interest people who graduated 60 years ago and went off to do whatever has happened since 1951? Telling stories has values but does not rate high because we are primarily interested in our own stories and get bored by others. Comparing wonderful accomplishments over the years (real or imagined) only makes people either depressed or homicidal. Pretending to be interested in people who one does not even recognize looks like work without any pay. Giving awards to those who have given the most money to the school leads to class warfare.
The passage of time presents a major challenge to any institution that wants to generate continuing loyalty among constituents. Relationships and interests that prevailed at graduation have changed beyond recognition. Suspicion of what the school wants from this event comes with the territory.
A 65th graduation anniversary is even more of a stretch. By this time many have gone on and health problems of body and mind come with the territory. So is there any value in a gathering at either the 60th or 65th marking point ?
The Jeffers Petroglyps teach me that any artifact, living or inanimate, carries on information that can be accessed and can provide the curious mind with hints regarding the future. Graduation anniversaries are an artifact that may be the occasion for creative growth for at least one person. I am in favor of the anniversary as long as there are living representatives of the group being recognized. Institutions benefit from reminders of their human history.
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