School DAZZLING!

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Saying good-bye to THE VIRDEN CLASS OF 1929

The last day of the Virden Community High School class of 1929. I seriously doubt that any of the people shown the past few days are still alive. If they are, they're around 98 years old. So it's always possible. I hope they had good lives.

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I don't know why looking at faces of long ago high school students is fascinating. It goes beyond just seeing the fashions of the period. I guess it's the wondering about their lives. They were just about to head out on their own. Did they screw up their lives as badly as so many of us do? Were they happy at the end of their lives? Were their lives cut short? They reflect back all the joy and fears we all go through. I guess it's because we see ourselves in them.

More from the VIRDEN CLASS OF 1929

One of the things I'm also loving are the names. I especially love yesterdays De Wayne Radford. Or how about today's Linden Lorton?

And need I say it...click on any image to see it larger.

VIRDEN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL 1929

Last year I did two posts about Virden, Illinois. Recently I've heard from a few residents of the town who enjoyed seeing the old photos. You can see the old posts at Small Town USA and Virden Redux.

This evening I was sorting through some of the folders in my vernacular photography collection and came across a class picture from Virden High School in 1929. Over the next few days I'll post pieces of the whole so that the faces are large enough for people to see without having to click through to a larger size. I thought just maybe somebody would see one of their relatives. If nothing else, it's fun looking at the hairstyles and fashions from 1929.

I will eventually post the complete photo. As far as I know this is the last photo I have that has any connection to Virden.

As usual, you can click on any of the images below to see them larger at Flickr.