On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

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My 40th high school reunion is this year (even though I haven’t heard any information about it yet). 40 years!  I was 17 on May 18th 1971, and excited about graduating from Somerville High School that June. I wrote the Class Day song back then, although I can’t recall one word of it. All I cared about was getting out of high school and turning 18, two months later in July. A simpler time you say? A cheaper time for sure. Gas was 40 cents a gallon and you could buy a new house for around  $25,000. In 1971 I paid $100.00 for a 1965 Rambler American, with a 3 speed on the column. That car lasted me two and a half years! Richard Nixon was president, Frank Sargent was the governor, and S Lester Ralph was the mayor of Somerville.

On May 18th 1971, the number one song on the Billboard top 100 was Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando and Dawn. We were watching The Odd Couple and The Partridge Family on TV. Steak was $1.19 a pound and a package of Alka-Seltzer cost 39 cents. 1971 was when Dirty Harry, The French Connection, and A Clockwork Orange were at the movies.

My friend George was tearing up the streets around Y-NOT variety on Willow Avenue in his 1967 GTO. Tim was hanging in Harvard Square, wearing bell bottoms, headbands, and “granny” glasses, fighting the establishment while many Somerville kids were fighting for their country in Viet Nam. Some gave the ultimate sacrifice and we hold their memories sacred. I think of the friends I lost everyday.

A friend tells me that the Amazing Sensations lip sync band was at Johnny D’s in 1971, but I thought it was a few years later. Somerfest was up and running with local bands performing at block parties on the streets of the ‘Ville.

The J Geils Band played a concert at Somerville High School in 1971 with local DJ Bud Ballou as the host.

We were hanging around at Perry Park, the basketball court at Dilboy Field, and the old Foster schoolyard before it became the Winter Hill Community School.

There were also the walkouts at the high school. My class paved the way for the current fashion trends. Our jeans weren’t hanging off our butts because we weren’t allowed to wear jeans. We didn’t even call them jeans. We had to organize massive walkouts and demonstrations in an attempt to make school administrators change the dress code. It worked! The girls could wear pants instead of just skirts all the time, and the boys didn’t have to wear button-collared shirts and dress pants anymore. We were finally allowed to wear “dungarees!”

Kids played four corners in schoolyards. Today they play it on computers. We didn’t have cell phones back then and somehow we were still able to keep in touch with our friends. There were plenty of phone booths around and as long as we kept a few dimes in our pockets we were good to go.

One of our favorite pass times back then was “scooping.” Scooping was when me and a couple of my friends would go out trying to pick up girls. We would walk down to Rindge Avenue in Cambridge, or hit the Cambridge Common and try to meet girls. There were more misses than hits on our scooping adventures. It became easier when we got cars.

It was a time when Somerville High School’s Class of 1971 was looking toward the future with excitement, optimism, and relief. Some of us went to college, some went right to work, and some married young. I have friends I graduated with who have grandkids older than my youngest son. I have several pals who have already retired. I have a couple of friends who have been married for 35 years! And then there’s me. Still working, still raising kids, still scrimping, but still very grateful. I just can’t believe 40 years went by so fast. If anyone knows how to slow down time, I wish they would let me know.

Porchfest is coming! Don’t miss the band STAINLESS, featuring the Del Ponte boys, and the band The Van Buren Boys (featuring the Del Ponte Dad!). Also playing is The Wayback Machine with Phil Lorenzo. Saturday around 4 pm on Hall Avenue (off College Ave).