A half century later, Class of 1950 looks to the future

by Jason Dietrich

When they walked across the stage, girls wore gloves, boys wore suits and Elvis hadn't sung "Blue Suede Shoes." Students weren't assigned laptop computers and nobody wore sunglasses to graduation.

The Redondo Union class of 1950 gathered last weekend to catch up with old friends, flip through faded news clippings and peek at 50-year old yearbooks. At the two-day event, memories hung as thick as a wool varsity sweater.

George Mayor brought the letter sweater he earned by competing on the track team fifty years ago. The heavy burgundy sweater cost about $26 back in 1950.

"I remember you had to save all year to get one. It was about a month's wages," Mayor said.

As the class of 1950 looks back on how the world has changed since mid-century, one thing stands out.

"Email. Email has changed everything. We've found people through their email addresses that we haven't been able to find for 40 years," Don Cody, co-chair of the reunion committee.

Back when the class of 1950 was going to Redondo Union, the school and the Beach Cities were much smaller. There was no local hospital and all the teenagers in Hermosa, Manhattan, Redondo and Palos Verdes went to Redondo Union. Mira Costa high school wouldn't open its doors until the fall of 1950 to admit it's first class of freshmen.

At the half-century mark, Redondo Union's campus was almost all west of Francisca Street.

"The only thing that's the same is the first row of buildings," said Mary Marshall Harper, a longtime teacher at Lincoln School in Redondo Beach and a member of the Class of 1950.

Redondo Union was already an old school in 1950. It celebrates its 95th anniversary this August. As a tribute to its long history, Redondo Union annually honors 50-year graduates at commencement. This year, two of the class of 1950 had grandchildren who graduated exactly a half-century later. Ernie Donlou and Mary Boyd attended their grandchildren's graduation as both 50-year guests of honor and proud grandparents.

Notably absent from the reunion was legendary journalism teacher Helen Sinsabaugh, who died last month. Sinsabaugh taught journalism at Redondo Union from 1937 to 1969. She was to have been the only faculty member who had taught the class of 1950 to attend the reunion.ER