Updated, Sept. 30
On Martha’s Vineyard in 1960, Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never” topped the charts on transistor radios. A young man named John F. Kennedy announced he’d run for president. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” was scaring the daylights out of moviegoers at the Capawock Theater. The Steamship Authority famously began a wildcat strike that spring, and Ted Williams was playing his last season with the Red Sox.
And that year, the first class of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School would graduate and make history as the first all-Island class to get their diplomas together.
But even though that big day was threescore years ago, the alums of the class of 1960 gathered on Saturday night to celebrate a momentous occasion, and were ready for a good party.
The celebration was for their 60th, which was originally planned for 2020 but was interrupted by the pandemic.
With about a third of the class represented — some coming to the reunion from as far away as Virginia, with many still living on the Island — one thing was clear: The close sense of camaraderie had not dissipated over the decades. There was plenty of hugging, laughter, and reminiscing during the group’s first stop, a meal at the M.V. Chowder Co. in Oak Bluffs.
Before their senior year in 1960, there had been some nerves that came with joining a regional school. Students had been going to their own respective high schools in Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown, and each school came with its own strong cliques.
But in the perspective of the alumni gathering on Saturday, the outcome was positive. In one instance, students who used to be rivals on the basketball court when the schools played each other soon discovered that they actually got along.
Donna Berube Gazaille is a case in point: “For three years, I used to play basketball against Catherine Amaral. She intimidated me so much. I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh. When I get to the high school, she won’t speak to me,’” Gazaille said. “Then we ended up playing basketball on the same team, which was fun. We got along really well, considering we were rivals the year before. It was amazing that we all came together. It was so compatible.”
Amaral, now Catherine Amaral Deese, recalls her initial feeling about attending a regional high school. “I had wanted to stay in Oak Bluffs and graduate from our little town, because I liked it,” Amaral said. “But the people made me change my mind.”
There was also some trepidation in the community about a regional high school.
“When the school was first built, most of our parents were not in favor,” Ann Bassett said. “And we certainly weren’t. We felt, ‘I’m not going to that school!’ It was challenging, with six towns having incredibly different characters.”
“I met people I had never seen in my entire life who had been born and brought up here at the same time I was, and we were in the same grade,” Bassett continued. “I didn’t know half the kids in the class. We got to be good friends. It really worked against all odds, but we did it.”
Alumni remembered that there was trepidation on behalf of the administration as well. A couple of memories at the event that kept being mentioned were how the school had not allowed them to take the traditional class trip to Washington, D.C., or put on the senior class play. As Pam Kurth explained, “They thought we were going to riot in the hallways because we all came from different towns.”
“They didn’t realize we were buddies,” Elsie Kingsbury added. “There weren’t enough of us to fight. It wasn’t even close. We had such a good time together. It was just really special for all of us. And what they didn’t know was that the Vineyard Haven girls liked to date the Oak Bluffs boys, and the Edgartown boys liked the Vineyard Haven girls.”
“We had a great time,” Kingsbury said. “In the winter, everybody left, and the ferry didn’t always run. We went ice skating at night, built a fire, and had marshmallows. We’d have a dance at the Boy’s Club in Edgartown. There was a Catholic Youth Organization, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts, the 4-H club, and bowling.”
Danny Hastings noted, “I have a lot of wonderful memories of growing up on the Vineyard. We’d ride our bicycles and hang out at the Flying Horses. We had our little boats, and our cars were convertibles. It was a great youth growing up here at the time.”
“We took care of each other,” added Kingsbury. “And everybody knew you, so if you thought you wouldn’t get in trouble, they would say, ‘I know who you are.’ But we had fun.”
Comparing then to now, she continued, “Last night, we had a little get-together. We were with each other for two hours, and not one cell phone went off, and no one texted. We just chatted and had a wonderful time. That’s how old we are. If you want to know about the ’60s, we talked to each other!”
Fueled by good conversation and a feast, the group moved to the Portuguese-American Club, which was decorated with class memorabilia and yearbook photographs. Folks danced the night away to music by the Serendipity band, ate homemade cake, and … continued reminiscing about the class of 1960.
