About Our Times

            Our Times is the “newsletter” for the La Salle Peru Township High School Class of 1953.  Our high school abbreviates it’s name to “LP” after the two larger towns in the township in north central Illinois, situated along the banks of the gently flowing Illinois River.

            The Class of LP 1953 held reunions in October, 1963 (10th anniversary), and in October, 1973 (20th anniversary).  Those reunions were motivated to recognize typical milestones.  However, when it came time for a 25th reunion, another milestone, it seemed that interest was not there.  The lack of interest in high school days after 25 years is also typical - classmates have children graduating from high school, children getting married, children having children, wage earners are in mid-career, homemakers are burdened with it all.  High school class reunions are not a priority at the time.

            The class held a non-milestone reunion in October, 1989, 36 years after graduation.  There was a large turnout.  Interest in friends from high school, and elementary school (we came from about 15 different schools), was evident.  Everyone had a good time.  Old friends were rediscovered and found to be good friends....indeed, lifelong friends.  As the final night of this reunion was ending, a few of the class said to each other, “We have to keep this bond of friendship going.”  We decided to publish a newsletter which would be sent to all members of the class ..... those who started with us on September 1, 1949 and any who joined us during our four years of high school.

            Kaye (Harl) Arkins, who has always motivated class interest, agreed to be a reporter and keeper of address lists.  Astrid (Jensen) Berkson agreed to help ...she now distributes the newsletter.  Alan Berry agreed to write some stories and put the newsletter together for printing.  What we needed, was a name for the newsletter.  Joan (Lipka) Prather said she would work on that, and soon sent the name, Our Times.

            The name incorporates everything appropriate for a “newsletter.”.  World class newspapers use the word “Times” in their title ....it implies that they are current with local (like in New York Times) and world-wide news.... the newspaper is timely.  But, we did not want a geographic location identification, since we are now spread across the USA, and our reporting would not be timely in most respects.  We wanted to know about “US.”  So, Joan chose the word “Our” to be the modifier of the word “Times.”   The newsletter name indicates reporting items of interest to a specific group of people - the Class of LP-53, whether the items were current or historical.  Our Times would be about us, then and now; our friends, our families, our experiences, our high school and our teachers, our home towns .....whatever allows us to make a common connection, and call it ours.  

            The Class of LP-53 lived everything that now characterizes the 1950s.  We were the kids and places of  “Happy Days.”  Of course, LP-53 was not the only high school class who experienced those times.  But, we had the extra benefit of exceptional facilities (see pictures on the web site), and teachers.  We had drive-ins, with “curb service,” and streets and cars for “cruising.”  We had roller skating rinks that would be used for dances played by the big name dance bands.  We listened to the Lone Ranger, Amos ‘n Andy, Jack Benny, and One Man’s Family.  We were home at 5:00 PM on Sunday to listen to “The Shadow.”  We watched those first television shows in black and white on 9-inch screens, using rotating antennas to find the transmitting station.  We get high scores on those email quizzes about “Do you remember? ... Black Jack chewing gum, 45-Rpm records, milk delivered in glass bottles, ration books and stamps, polio and iron lungs.”  We experienced wonderful times, remembered in Our Times.

       We are thankful for our times.  We hope you enjoy reading about them and us.

-- Alan Berry, May 4th, 2004