Twenty years after Kenny graduated from Prescott High School, his son, Douglas Sumner Botkin, graduated from Corning High School.
This mother, son, father picture of the three of us was taken at our house on Tuck Corner at Doug's reception after graduation. I think we'd all had more than a couple glasses of champagne. Kenny had on Doug's mortar board. I don't know why Doug & I had on cowboy hats except to be silly.
We had moved back to Corning at the beginning of Doug's junior year. It wasn't an easy time for him to be changing schools. He couldn't wait to get out of Corning and graduated mid-term in January. He moved to Perry with his Dad & family and started the Building Trades course at DMACC, but came back for the commencement excercises.
Doug's graduation was the first time Corning had combined Baccalaureate and Commencement exercises into the same day. Eighty seniors graduated on Sunday, May 18. Dolph Pulliam, Des Moines Channel 8 sports reporter and former Drake basketball star was the speaker. Rain forced the ceremony from the high school football field into the Armory.
When I look at this picture, I'm reminded that a month after it was taken, Kenny died. A year later, Doug became a father and I had met and started dating Bud. None of those things were even imagined that day.
I don't remember if we were aware of Mt. St. Helens erupting that morning. If so, it didn't make much of an impression on us. Maybe because the extent of the destruction wasn't known until later. More likely I was too focused on what was going on in my life - my first-born was leaving the nest and going out on his own.
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