Graduation – 1966
Over 800 graduates plus family and friends at Dilboy Field – standing room only. The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits and The Supremes were all hits on WMEX AM Radio. The Senior Prom was held in the gym (now the school library) and it was packed with couples. Three Junior High Schools at that time – Western, Southern and Northeastern. The war in Vietnam was in full swing and if you were a male and about to turn 18 years old, the draft was the only thing on your mind – busloads of 18 year old Somerville kids were taken to South Boston for physicals and all-day exams and there was a good chance you would be off to Vietnam within months of graduating. Race riots were happening in Boston and Somerville and Charlestown had a strong rivalry. The cool place to be was Revere Beach (the amusement park) or in your hot GTO, Mustang or Barracuda racing on South Border Road or the Jerry Jingle Highway. Stoneham was the ‚Äúcountry‚Äù and where you might go with family or friends for a picnic on a Sunday afternoon.

Graduation – 1986
Over 500 graduates plus family and friends at Dilboy Field – standing room only. Prince, Huey Lewis & The News, Billy Joel and Madonna were all hits on WXKS FM Radio. The Senior Prom was held in the big ballroom at the Park Plaza in Boston and it was packed with couples. The Junior High Schools were gone by this time. Militarily we were mainly concerned with Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and there was no call up of reserves or a draft for that chucklehead, just a bunch of bombs in the right places. The cool place to hang was still Revere Beach, but the amusement park was long gone. Pre-1973 cars (note: pre-oil embargo) were the only ones with serious muscle, unless you were lucky enough to convince your parents to buy you a Grand National. Seemed like everyone in Somerville owned or rented in Falmouth that year for the summer.

Graduation – 2008
Over 300 graduates plus family and friends at Dilboy Field – standing room only. Rihanna, T-Pain, Timbaland and Miley Cyrus are played on WJMN and WXKS FM Radio. Nobody under 20 realizes we had Junior High Schools at one time. Iraq is pretty much on everyone’s mind these days. Political correctness has gone beyond where it should be for everything in life today. The cool place to be – is anywhere you won’t be shot or knifed to death – and sometimes Revere Beach (get there early unless you love sitting in traffic). Cars today are built much more efficiently and powerful than they ever were. The place to be in the summer is either The Cape or New Hampshire and in the winter it’s Florida.
The speeches at the commencement ceremony the other night were mercifully short, but every year since before 1966, they’ve all had the same basic theme – be thankful to your family for supporting you, be proud of the community you come from – and always hold your head high. Times change but some things stay the same. Thank God.