Web Page Last Updated:  Tuesday, 24 October 2006

Jack Theeler presented this poem at our Saturday evening class reunion program on 05 July 2003.  He dedicated the poem to the class of 63, and particularly those who have passed before us.  He said he did not give proper credit to Joyce Kilmer and Nancy Theeler, two real poets!

  ODE to '63

There certainly will never be

Another class like ’63.

A class, we think, that’s like no other…

To prove it…there’s quite a lot to cover.

This class…like others in the nation…

Started the baby boom generation.

Our birth year?  1945…

The miracle?  Most of us survived!

We numbered sixty…they dubbed us “small”.

We preceded the boom that changed it all.

In ’63, we turned eighteen…

Anxious to join the post-prep scene.

(What was our hurry to graduate?

We barely blinked…and we’re 58!)

Those were the days of oldies that rocked…

We loved the Big Bopper…we danced in our socks.

We listened to KOMA for some tunes

While JFK promised a man on the moon.

John Glenn was orbiting Earth that spring.

America was booming…entertainment was king.

The Peace Corps recruited volunteer teams…

And Martin Luther King said “I Have A Dream”.

The Beatles arrived…that fabulous four.

The Bay of Pigs threatened a nuclear war.

In middle America…we watched the unrest…

South Dakota was quiet, we have to confess.

And “meanwhile…back at the ranch” as they say…

We Sisseton seniors were well on our way…

We danced Chubby’s twist…we all did it right…

We twisted like crazy on homecoming night.

Gerald and Karen were princess and chief…

We finally were seniors…the top of the heap.

As SHS seniors, the end was in sight…

Our progress was noted by the weekly Hi Life.

We loved “West Side Story” and “Psycho” was hot.

Yes, we had television…and computers were not!

We lived without internet, e-mail and such…

And there were no cell phones to keep us in touch.

Our class play production was simply a blast…

A fine murder mystery put on by the cast.

No one pursued the big Broadway lights…

But gosh, we were good…We sold out both nights!

As basketball season started that year,

Our goals were lofty and perfectly clear.

A small “A” school, we planned our attack.

Like Dave and Goliath…a real mismatch.

Sioux Falls and Rapid were big schools we beat,

And ESD giants went down to defeat.

We dreamed the impossible dream…and hey!

We went undefeated in State Class “A”.

“Such a tiny town…” they whispered and laughed…

But we put Sisseton on the map.

As the ’63 class…we claim bragging rights…

With awesome memories of that championship night.

And if I get personal…I hope you don’t care…

I credit my dad for getting us there.

If he were alive, he’d sure disagree…

He’d give all the credit to the Class of ’63.

Our colors are red and black, it’s true…

But our priority?  Red, White and Blue.

We were all patriots right to the core…

Even when called by the local draft board.

None of us fled to escape the draft.

Everyone served if they were asked.

Called to duty, we didn’t think twice…

And classmate Jerry Aadland paid the ultimate price.

It’s great to be back here in Sisseton

To celebrate forty short years since then.

This is the place that wherever we roam…

We love to come back…This town is our home.

Forty years later…we’ve gone back in time…

Memories are treasures and sometimes they rhyme.

Poems are forgotten ’cuz fools read too fast…

But we’ll never forget our great ’63 class.