Graduation ceremony finally happens, 50 years later
- Published
Fifty years after a tornado warning led to the abrupt cancellation of a high school graduation for students in Moore, Oklahoma, the class of 1974 has finally walked across stage to receive diplomas.
On Saturday, the graduates got their moment to wear blue caps and gowns and celebrate the academic achievements of their youth.
The event 50 years ago was never rescheduled, and for years the class of 500 pupils had discussed the idea of holding a formal graduation ceremony for themselves.
"Our grandchildren are gonna see us graduate,鈥 one man eagerly told newspaper ahead of the event.
On 23 May, 1974, the high school seniors had just taken their seats in a football stadium under darkening skies when a school administrator came to the microphone to advise people to urgently seek shelter.
鈥淢aybe one song, maybe one speech, and then the superintendent gets up and says you graduated, you鈥檙e done,鈥 Mike Wilson, a local sports announcer who helped lead the effort to reschedule the event, told TV station KOCO-TV.
Rains soaked the students in their formal attire as they hid under bleachers and drove away from the school to find safety.
A school trip planned for the following day meant that the event couldn't be moved, and graduates were instead told to unceremoniously pick up their diplomas from the gymnasium before the school year ended.
Moore High School Principal Rachel Stark, a 1988 graduate, told The Oklahoman that she was glad to have helped arrange for the belated ceremony.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very unique,鈥 Ms Stark said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never heard of it before. They鈥檙e still a part of our community... so we鈥檙e gonna do it for them.鈥
On Saturday, around 200 graduates formally recieved their diplomas. The weather was sunny and warm, with only a slight chance of storms.
Family members of 1974 class members who had died were encouraged to walk across the stage on behalf of the late graduates.
'Just took 50 years' one graduate's cap reads
Class President Bob Baker gave a modified version of the speech he had planned for a half-century ago, and the two valedictorians, Phyllis Clark and Lloyd White, also spoke, graduate Sterling Crim told the 大象传媒.
The event took place after the school hosted a belated ceremony for another students whose own commencement events were delayed, those who graduated at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the New York Times.
鈥淭he older you get, you just look back and think you鈥檝e missed out on something,鈥 Mr Wilson told the newspaper.
No tornado ever touched down in Moore that day, but the city has been hit by other deadly storms.
In 1999, a tornado with winds over 300mph struck Moore, killing 36 people.
Another tornado outside Moore in 2013 left 91 people dead.