Our traditions are what has kept the alumni association alive for more than 110 years. Wherever you live . . . wherever you are . . . on Memorial Day weekend, you know your classmates are gathering in Osawatomie.

Down through the years, some of our traditions have gone by the wayside. One of the highlights of the annual reunion was the initiation of new members. It was discontinued, and the parade was reduced to one or two floats.

It is the tradition of the senior class pictures hanging in the high school hallways.

The heavy old frames with thick glass are falling apart. The backings have separated and dirt has accumulated on the pictures. Many of the individual photos are loose and falling down inside the frames. When one becomes too unstable to hang, it is taken down and stored on a shelf in a storeroom.

When it is time to paint the walls, the custodians must remove these pictures a section at a time to complete their tasks. The delicate nature of the frames makes their job very difficult.

During the depression and World War II years (the late 30's and early 40's) there were no yearbooks produced. The photos hanging on the walls are the ONLY record of these graduates!

If we do not act soon, the school will have no other choice - the pictures will have to go.

We will remove each picture one at a time, remove the heavy frame and glass, clean the photos and make sure they are secured, and reframe them with light-weight frames with plexiglass. There are also four years (31-37-38-40) when the names were omitted. This would be our opportunity to add the individual names for those classes.