(My friend Whitney took this photo of Katie with her daughter, Ava. So sweet!)
We met at our old stomping grounds on Saturday at noon for a school tour. Families were invited to come and see the school, which honestly didn't seem very much like it used to. There had been a LOT of remodeling. When I was in school the main building housed the "mixing area" ~ which was the major Senior hangout outside of the cafeteria. It was a large area lined by the Senior lockers where the "bomb" (inlaid tile) was proudly displayed in the middle of the floor with benches surrounding it. Rumors flew down to the Jr. high of Freshman being forced to wash the bomb if you stepped on it. Nervous 9th graders knew better and I remember anxiously eying it myself when I first started school. It was High School lore that spanned years of students...gone. We were more than a little dismayed over this. Apparently "the bomb" is in safekeeping until it is determined where it will be displayed. This did not go over well. We were all suddenly transported back to being 18 and this news was just not okay. :)
There were additional changes like a "credit union" that was actually run by the students. The cafeteria was expanded and classrooms added in lieu of the "mixing area" to accommodate the growing school. (Again, so wrong...class should have just been held on the bomb!)
Our gym is fantastic. I spent many, many hours there....cheering at games and attending cheer practice for 3 years.
Olympic Gold medalist, Hope Solo was a Bomber.
We toured the classrooms and it was fun to see the kids sitting at the desks. I loved school and I have to say, walking through the classrooms did make me miss the world of academia. I could very easily go back and pursue another degree if I didn't feel like I wanted to put that time into my family instead. Sometimes I wish I could live two lives and do both.
Some high schoolers did face painting for the kids. They loved it. Even my kids are "proud of the cloud!" :)
After we left these rooms we were walking out of Mac Hall (Remember "Mac Hall" RHS grads?) and Andrew saw a Roly Poly in the hall way. He asked, "Mama, can I go get it?" (We had already passed). I told him yes, but to hurry. I turned to watch as he ran back, bent down and then stood up with his face dissolving into tears. And if you have heard Andrew cry...well, I just thought, "Oh dear..." The child wails tragically...and wail he did over his devastation from the death of a bug. I hugged him and he cried and cried as we walked and the wife of a fellow graduate (whom I didn't know very well) looked at Andrew and said, "I don't blame you, I don't want to go on this stupid tour either." He stopped and looked at her in shock ~ because "stupid" is not allowed in our house (just because we really don't want that applied to people and so it's just easier to disallow it in general) and here a grown up was saying it to him. Basically like the equivalent to profanity to Andrew and it momentarily snapped him out of it. Kids are kids even when you are at your high school reunion!
So, to explain why my High School was called "The Bombers" and had the highly controversial mushroom cloud as it's symbol....(Mom or anyone else in the know, please correct any of the details that I get wrong, because I am not researching this and purely going off my memory, which is definitely not always the most reliable.) The "Hanford Area" where many people in Richland are employed originally started during WWII. It was where they processed the plutonium for potential atomic bombs in WWII. (Giving us our mushroom cloud symbol). It was top secret and most of the workers didn't even know what the project was that they were working on for the government. It really is such fascinating history ~ with people coming from different parts of the country to do the work and many of the women and men (including married ones) were separated and slept in different dormitories. (I imagine this was the economical housing ~ There were also many small houses built during that time that are still in Richland). During that time, the workers gave a day's worth of their pay to buy a Bomber plane that flew in the war. That Bomber was named "A Day's Pay" and it is depicted on the gym wall ~ Hence, our name, "The Bombers." That being said, the mushroom cloud was a very controversial symbol and there were letters that would pop up from time to time in the "Tri City Herald" about how it was inappropriate. I wonder if people still fight it or if it has been put to rest....anyway, the term "Proud of the Cloud" was born as a result.
Signs like this certainly did not exist when I was in school.
Or this. I can only imagine all of the people bent over their phones in this area of the school, running into each other left and right. While I do love my iphone, I honestly wish they just weren't allowed during school hours. I feel like it just provides a distraction for the kids.
We posed outside the gym. Again, we were the last ones at the function!
We were feeling very high school in this photo. :)
I went back to Mom's house after this and put photos on facebook for friends who were not at the reunion. There were people who really wanted to come, but just couldn't and it was fun "seeing" them on facebook sending their greetings and commenting on photos. I have to say, it gave me a new perspective on facebook and it was really fun. It provided a "virtual" reunion, so to speak. Then we got ready and headed out for the dinner...which was where the fun REALLY started!
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