1931

To historians 50 years or more down the road I leave the task of singling out classmates who have or will have made contributions to society which will be noted in future authoritative encyclopedia. I can, however, list the following fields of endeavors from which selection can be made.

More than 200 classmates served in the armed forces in WWII, and a few in the Korean War. In spite of our having an average age of 31 on Pearl Harbor Day, more than 20 of these classmates served in combat units, one being killed in action, and many others receiving Purple Hearts and combat decorations. Thirty of our 53 lawyers, 31 of our 43 M.D.s, our two dentists, and one clergyman are included in that 200-phis figure.

Then there were those who served in positions essential to the war effort: instruction in military subjects; production of materials and equipment; search for important, scarce materials (rubber, uranium, timber, etc.); construction of components of The Bomb; allocation of equipment, materials and manpower, farming, and merchant marine.

In peacetime there were bankers; executives in many kinds of businesses; salesmen; those lawyers, M.D.s, and dentists and that man of the cloth; insurers; teachers; architects; mayors; members of the military; publishers; inventors (patent holders); sponsors of the fine arts and music; members of the news media and of the ad game; government employees; green grocers; painters; engineers; brokers; entrepreneurs; chemists; realtors; promoters; and one each towboat skipper, crackerjack baseball player, excoriator, baking sanitarian, funeral director, philatelist, concrete producer, illustrator, librarian, and composer of music. Among the foregoing there were many who brought consolation, relief from suffering, happiness, and promise of a better future to countless members of our society.

Last but not least are the many classmates who raised families despite adversities of many kinds, who looked after strangers in abject conditions, and who became principal care givers to loved ones in their final days.

4211 Coplay Creek Road, Schnecksville, PA 18078