1971 Graduation night Corbett High School

This was the real beginning. That night. I remember the seniors, all 48 or so of them, lined up at the front of the gymnasium. The ceremony was over. They formed a receiving line, everyone knew everyone. I went through the line myself. I knew all the Seniors, at least by name.
Though I attended a private all girls school downtown,having gone to grade school with this group of kids, I knew them all. One of them, Mike Dryer, interested me that night. We’d been working at a local tourist attraction, the Multnomah Falls Lodge Restaurant, all winter and now with school out we were each going to live on site. The lodge provided housing for its employees, Mike and I independently were taking advantage of it for the summer. Mike considered himself a free agent now that he’d graduated, he moved all his possessions out of his parents home, forever. And he changed his name back to Grover, shedding everything that had to do with his stepfather. I, on the other hand, was going to be a senior and was staying at the Falls (because I very much wanted to) for my parents’ convenience. They worked in the opposite direction and the restaurant was 13 miles from home and there were not enough cars in the family for me to use one everyday. (yippee!) Mike was my ride the very next morning to work and my summer party!