One special graduation in 1902

LIMA - By today's standards, a mid-June graduation date is late. But in 1902, this day kicked-off the three-day celebration that would mark the Lima High School commencement. And when class members held their 50th reunion, their photo made the top-selling Life magazine.

Of course, nothing about the Lima High Class of 1902 was ordinary.

From the beginning, the 125 students that entered as freshmen held a very unique status: before graduating, they would relocate three times to finish their education.

Three weeks after beginning high school, a tornado leveled their East School building, which housed the high school, in September 1898. Classes were resumed in October of that year, but at the Lima Lutheran College, which would later become Horace Mann School. The following year, the Lima School Board leased one-half of a three story building at Main and High streets in downtown Lima, known as the Holland Building. It was there that the 58 remaining graduates finished their formal education.

And when the time came to cap off that accomplishment, Dr. Samuel Baxter offered his home, located on the northwest corner of Market and Charles streets, as the perfect place to celebrate.

Kicking off the three-day extravaganza was the prom on June 11, followed by the Class Day Exercises on June 12, both at the Baxter residence. The actual graduation on June 13 was held at Faurot Opera House.

The local newspaper described the elegant prom, which was hosted by the Class of 1903. It was open to all seniors, even those who "have dropped from the rank and file this year."

Once there, the Class of 1902 was treated like royalty, scattering "throughout the delightful rooms and over the beautiful grounds where everything possible for their pleasure had been arranged," the paper reported.

Further, it reported "a platform with a cover bordered by Japanese lanterns and decorated with the class colors and strung with the same illumination, had been erected on the lawn, and here all were in motion dancing through 20 regular dances, and several extras to the music of a full band which played the popular airs of the day. At the intermission, there was a raid made upon the refreshment tent where a buffet lunch wa provided, to which all did ample justice."

The crowd broke up at midnight, ready to gather the following day for their Class Day exercises at 2 p.m., again at Dr. and Mrs. Baxter's home.

At that event, the class offered a "Fairyland Waltz" chorus, a few addresses, a poem, the class will, and the class address. The following day, the class gathered at the Faurot Opera House for their diplomas, at which time Dr. Benjamin Terry of the University of Chicago addressed the group on "Cosmopolitanism and Patriotism."

For the next several years, many of the class members kept in contact with one another. In fact, members noted that theirs was the first alumni group to plan actual reunions, and actively keep in touch.

And when it came time for their 50th reunion, the membership pulled out all the stops. They were given the chance to again meet at the old Baxter residence, which by 1952 was owned by James Mackenzie, a member of the Class of 1902. The entire event was coordinated by Harry "Chic" Foltz, who was largely responsible for keeping classmates in touch.

As the 1952 newspaper acknowledged, "class members, most of them now in their late 60s, will come back to the old home town from every section of the United States to take part in the golden anniversary. Accompanying some of them will be their children and grandchildren. Several members of the class still live in or near Lima."

To honor their commencement 50 years prior, the members gathered on the lawn of the Mackenzie home in the same order they assumed at their graduation. The photo was shot, and within a month, that photo appeared in the popular Life magazine. How it got there is not known with certainty, but it's assumed that class historian Mary Longsworth Breese was involved.

After the photo ran, classmates enjoyed their moment in the spotlight. One former student, Edwin Gordon, wrote Foltz from London noting that a copy of the photo also appeared in the European edition of Life.

To honor Foltz for his hard work organizing the reunion, classmates gave him a monogrammed briefcase, and this poem of thanks: "Nobody but Harry could have done it/The Jubilee of 1952./Even if the other Harry (Truman) would have undertaken it,/It took "Chic" to see it through./So here's a real ‘Thank You, Harry,' from the Pals of 1902."

Although the group never again appeared in Life magazine, they continued meeting as long as was physically possible. As classmate Clarence Miller noted, "none of us are too young anymore, and no friends are like the friends you knew when you were young."