I went to my 55 year High School reunion this past Saturday 09/13/2025. I was mixed about going or not going. I decided to go, but my wife asked if it was okay if she didn’t go. It was alright by me, I wasn’t going to stay that long any way. The area I grew up in and the area I went to High School has really changed. This is the second reunion I have attended. The first one was a 10 year reunion shortly after I got married.
On arrival at the Allen house Pavilion, I noticed there wasn’t a large crowd. Well the majority of us are either 73, 74 or 75 years of age. It is a weekend and it was beginning around Noon.
I recognized 5 people. One man lived by me at the end of the block, where West 54th Place and Holland Drive met. Another, was a guy who I had classes with, during the years at the High School. 2 women, were those who I knew from classes. One was a “Brain” and the other
was just a class mate . The other man was the Organizer of these reunions, and was the Class
President. Except for a few people, most of the group lived in the general Arvada area. There are a large group people who have moved out of state. Then there were the deceased.
I was asked several times, if I knew where a certain person or family is. I answered the best I could. The main answer was “I don’t know, sorry”. I stayed there for about 45 minutes to an hour. I was asked by the guy who lived down the street, if I had been back to the neighborhood where we grew up. I said no. As I left the parking lot, I thought, it is only 15 minutes away,let’s check it out.
The Revelation:
No, not the last Book in the Bible, but the neighborhood. I drove to Independence Street and
58th Avenue. There were two small Shopping Centers at one time. They are still there but
have been rebuilt and look nothing like they were. The 7-Eleven which was at the base of Independence Hill is now a local business. The Presbyterian Church that was at the top of the Hill is not there. The building remains, but is called The Local Church, and also houses the
Prospect Academy. I remember when they were building it back in the mid-sixties. I topped the hill and turned left onto West 54th Place. They were right, it has changed. The manicured yards, that were there, are not there now. The house I grew up in was different the only
recognizable thing was the large evergreen tree in the front yard. It’s seen better days.
I took, Holland Drive to Ridge Road and back to Independence. The whole area looked out of place and not neatly kept. I took West Ridge Road to Kipling. OOPs, I forgot they built an overpass for the BNSF, Lite Rail, and West Ridge Road over Kipling.
So I drove past the row of Apartments and Condos to Miller Street. Where the new construction is now there was a one time, a home for the mentally challenged. It was called the Ridge Home for the Mentally Retarded. Now that name won’t fly today. I remember it had 6 or 8, 3 story square buildings that had metal slides coming down from the 2nd and 3rd stories. As a child I thought how cool is that, to slide down that to get outside. It was a fire escape. It also housed a small medical facility and therapy offices.
It was interesting, but saddening at the same time. Times change, things change, and we change.
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