Once again we have a heated controversy concerning Tecumseh's graduation, so I've decided to do some research. I have every yearbook from 1962-1973, so tonight I'm sitting in the floor looking at graduation pictures. Here is what I've found:
1962--No picture in the yearbook; I think THS Auditorium
1963--THS Auditorium--This building was torn down many years ago.
1964--THS Auditorium
1965--THS Auditorium--I think I remember that they only got 2 tickets per graduate because my sister graduated that year, and only my parents went.
1966--Football Field--according to my brother-in-law, people fought this change that year.
1967--Football Field
1968--Football Field
1969--Football Field
1970--Football Field
1971--Football Field--if you have a chance to look at the pictures in the yearbook of that year, please do it. The wind was blowing so hard that microphones were covered with little socks, all of the girls were holding on to their hats, the archbearers were being blown away.
1972--Footbal field
1973--Pre-graduation pictures were at the football field; storm came in; graduation moved to gym about fifteen minutes before ceremony was supposed to start. I graduated that year and just got in the car and went from one place to the other; I can't imagine the nightmare the administration and staff experienced.
I have no accurate information for the years between 1974 and 1991.
1991--Raley--changed at the last minute because of rain.
1992-Raley--changed at the last minute because of rain.
1993--Raley--This class decided from the beginning of the year to hold graduation at Raley as the first choice. My son was a senior; I was a class sponsor, so I speak with authority.
1994--2010--Raley
My experiences with outdoor graduations have been awful. I've already reported what happened to my high school ceremony. I graduated from college at UCO in July. Let me just say that a heavy graduation robe coupled with required "stockings" for the girls made for a very hot afternoon. Jason graduated from OSU in early May, and we just about froze to death during the afternoon ceremony.
People have made several suggestions about Tecumseh locations for the graduation. There is no indoor facility in Tecumseh that is as large as Raley Chapel. I hate to put exact numbers because someone will jump on any inaccuracy, but I'm going to lowball the estimates for all venues. Raley holds 2200; the Alumni Building is maxed out at 1100 or 1200; the gym holds about 1000; Church of Christ will hold about 1200. I don't know about Evangelistic Center. Those are the only places I can think of.
I had three children graduate from Tecumseh at Raley Chapel. If you ask them where they graduated, they would answer Tecumseh.
I know that Lloyd Noble, the Cox Convention Center, Rose State are used by many schools for their ceremonies. I could look it up from the various school websites, but I don't really need to prove it to me, so if you want to, you can. I'll suggest Noble, Purcell, Little Axe, Putnam City West, Choctaw. I know there are others.
Our faculty has been accused of lobbying for Raley, and I am honestly offended by that. I've told students of my experiences, but let me assure you of one thing. If the class voted to have its graduation at the football field, I would support them 100%. I may not agree, but it is their graduation. I've thought for years that we are probably going to have to have one graduation at the field so that the community will see that an outdoor ceremony in May in Oklahoma is not ideal.
I can assure you of one thing--the administration, faculty, and staff of Tecumseh High School will do all we can to make graduation night special for the graduates. We will make whatever adjustments we have to make for the ceremony whereever it is. I really don't think we are off-base for wanting it to be in a place where we will have no surprises.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Minutes in heaven.
As most of you know if you have been following this blog, I've made many deposits in heaven in the last 20+ years. It started with my father-in-law in 1988,Mom in 1996, Phyllis in 2002, Daddy in 2003, Linda in 2005, and Jason in 2008. I didn't even include in that list Tony's two grandmothers, my grandparents, and various aunts and uncles in both Rider and Humphrey families who have passed away during that time. Therefore, I read everything I can read about heaven. I want to know where these loved ones are, what they are doing, what the place looks like, everything. Recently I read the book Heaven is for Real which started me thinking of Jason and the interraction he is experiencing with all those who went before him. I've always liked the idea that Jason is with my parents and his granddad, my sisters, and his grandmothers that he knew well. What the book did for me was to make me realize how far back the generations go, and to think of him with young and able-bodied great great grandparents is so much fun.
The little boy in the book visits heaven and gets to spend time with a grandfather that died before the boy was born. When he is back here, he is able to point out "Pop" from a picture of when Pop was a young man. When his dad showed him a picture of Pop as an old man, the boy says, "Dad, people don't wear glasses in heaven." There are no old people in heaven. I love, love, love this idea.
My mom's brothers and sisters were a group of the most loving, fun, happy Christian people I've ever known, but most of them suffered from physical ailments here on this earth. I can only imagine the laughter these people share in heaven when they don't have any pain or illness. After the stories they told about picking cotton, I wanted to pick cotton. They made it sound fun, but I've seen those movies; I've read the books. There was nothing fun about the experience unless you had my Uncle Earl to make it fun. I wonder if they are getting to pick cotton, but it is not hot, the cotton is not heavy, their hands aren't being destroyed.
I was reading the end of another book this week about how we would live if we only had thirty days to live. It sounds morbid, but it really isn't. It just makes us realize that we spend time like we have all the time in the world, but if we knew how long we had, we would be more intentional in the way we waste our resources. The end of that book has a story of a woman who has been told that she is dying. Her husband has their minister come to pray with her, and she teaches him a lesson that he passed on. The Bible says that With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is a day. The woman reminds the minister of this truth and then says. I've done the math. If my husband lives here for forty years after I'm gone, it will only be about an hour in heaven, so I'll just have to wait an hour.
My heart soared at this news. Jason has spent minutes in heaven. Our grief has gone on for two years and six months, but he hasn't even been there long enough to see the place and all the people who went there before him. If we use her math, my mom was only there about twenty minutes before Jason joined her. That explains so much to me. I always think of the people in heaven waiting for us to join them like we wait for a baby to be born. Expectantly. Hopefully. Joyfully. Their time is so much different from ours. One thing that has bothered me is thinking of Jason being cheated out of a long life because he love life. For some reason I'm not bothered about that now.
The little boy in the book visits heaven and gets to spend time with a grandfather that died before the boy was born. When he is back here, he is able to point out "Pop" from a picture of when Pop was a young man. When his dad showed him a picture of Pop as an old man, the boy says, "Dad, people don't wear glasses in heaven." There are no old people in heaven. I love, love, love this idea.
My mom's brothers and sisters were a group of the most loving, fun, happy Christian people I've ever known, but most of them suffered from physical ailments here on this earth. I can only imagine the laughter these people share in heaven when they don't have any pain or illness. After the stories they told about picking cotton, I wanted to pick cotton. They made it sound fun, but I've seen those movies; I've read the books. There was nothing fun about the experience unless you had my Uncle Earl to make it fun. I wonder if they are getting to pick cotton, but it is not hot, the cotton is not heavy, their hands aren't being destroyed.
I was reading the end of another book this week about how we would live if we only had thirty days to live. It sounds morbid, but it really isn't. It just makes us realize that we spend time like we have all the time in the world, but if we knew how long we had, we would be more intentional in the way we waste our resources. The end of that book has a story of a woman who has been told that she is dying. Her husband has their minister come to pray with her, and she teaches him a lesson that he passed on. The Bible says that With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is a day. The woman reminds the minister of this truth and then says. I've done the math. If my husband lives here for forty years after I'm gone, it will only be about an hour in heaven, so I'll just have to wait an hour.
My heart soared at this news. Jason has spent minutes in heaven. Our grief has gone on for two years and six months, but he hasn't even been there long enough to see the place and all the people who went there before him. If we use her math, my mom was only there about twenty minutes before Jason joined her. That explains so much to me. I always think of the people in heaven waiting for us to join them like we wait for a baby to be born. Expectantly. Hopefully. Joyfully. Their time is so much different from ours. One thing that has bothered me is thinking of Jason being cheated out of a long life because he love life. For some reason I'm not bothered about that now.
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