Six decades later, Ward and his classmates have come to realize how momentous that day was — and how much life and high school have changed since. There were plenty of reflections to go around at the 60th reunion, where more than two dozen Newport Harbor alumni gathered at the sea base to have lunch and catch up with old friends.
So what was high school like in Newport Beach 60 years ago? The Daily Pilot asked a number of members of the class of 1947 to share their recollections:
DRESS CODE
“There was a dress code for the girls. They had to wear dark blue or black skirts with a white dickey blouse or a sweater. The boys wore whatever they wanted to, usually a T-shirt and Levis.”
Joe Jackson
78, Costa Mesa
CAFETERIA FOOD
“I think lunch was 35 cents. It was a lot of starch — potatoes, a lot of macaroni and cheese. Everything was rationed, so people had to go out and fight for the good produce.”
Roy Ward
78, Newport Beach
THE HOME FRONT
“We were more concerned about the Pacific war. It seemed more close to us. When a Japanese submarine washed up on the shore at Newport Beach, it caught everybody’s attention.”
Walter Spicer
77, Napa
“Back in the ’40s, it seems there was more overall patriotism. Everyone seemed headed in the same direction. Maybe there was more that we didn’t see on the surface.”
Bob Robins
78, Newport Beach
ENTERTAINMENT
“The Lido was brand new back then. There was a theater in Santa Ana, but no one had the gas to go up there.”
Sally Towle Boyd
78, Santa Ana
“Sports were our main entertainment, I think, and house parties. We had a lot of dances. Some of the local yacht clubs would lend us places to have our dances.”
VIrginia Crane Easton
78, Newport Beach
SMALL-TOWN FEEL
