Wondering where all those years go

It has often been said that the older you get, the quicker time passes. In my experience, I have found this to be true.

Life has been a whirlwind lately.

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Boulder City Review. And, in just a few short weeks, I will mark my one-year anniversary as editor.

I remember that week five years ago when the Boulder City News closed its doors and the Review opened. It was crazy, scrambling to find an editor and staff, while creating a flag/logo and look for the paper in just a few days.

I had done some redesign work on a sister paper, and adapting these styles for the Boulder City Review was easy. At the time, I didn’t even consider the possibility that I would one day be editor and at the helm of the paper.

It seems like just yesterday that this happened. Sure, my kids are older and I have spotted a few gray hairs, but I don’t know where the time went.

I can only imagine how the past 50 or 60 years have flown by for graduates of Boulder City High School. Judging by the stories they shared with me Friday night during the annual reunion for those who have graduated 50 or more years ago, it seems as if time barely blinked since they walked the hallowed halls of their beloved high school.

The very informal group is open to anyone who graduated from Boulder City High at least 50 years ago. They have a reunion every October where they swap stories, share a few laughs and drinks, and renew their friendships.

Their lives have taken many paths. Some have stayed in Boulder City, some have moved just over the hill and a few have ventured out of state. But no matter where they live or what they have done with their lives, one thing remains constant: a love for Boulder City and the people who call — or have called — it home.

“It’s just magical — an ideal place to grow up,” Jim Widner from the class of 1958 told me. “Everyone had two parents. We walked to school and walked home for lunch.”

“It’s just a beautiful, unique city to be raised in,” agreed Diane Nelson Earl, also from the class of 1958. “We were so blessed. We all knew each other, our teachers, our neighbors.”

Because the graduating classes were so small, and everything in town was so close together, there was less distinction between the classes and friendships spanned the years, said Richard Roper, who graduated in 1957.

They became so close that they can practically tell each other’s stories and life histories.

That closeness also extended to the school’s football field, he said. Growing up, neighborhood boys would get together to play so by the time they got to high school they already had a solid foundation for their coach to build on.

“Nobody could beat us,” he said.

Fred Holland, a member of the class of 1943 and one of the oldest people attending, said he wouldn’t miss the reunion “for all the world.”

A resident of Boulder City for most of his life, Holland said he is happy to be a part of the community. He felt so strongly about his experiences here that he persuaded his granddaughter to move her family from Reno so she could raise her children in the city.

The alumni also do some casual fundraising with prize drawings, with proceeds benefiting BCHS. Just recently, for example, they donated $2,000 to purchase a new sound system for the school.

Roy Atkin from the class of 1956, said the group’s seed money was a scholarship fund started in 1956. Today, however, BCHS seniors have ample opportunities to obtain scholarships, so about eight years ago the group decided to stop giving scholarships and use the money for things the school needs.

Members of the current student council were on hand at the reunion to thank the group and help with check in and a raffle.

And though they still have a few years to go until they are eligible to join the group, the soon-to-be graduates saw how good friends and special memories can melt away time.