On a bus tour of Pittsburgh to kick off last weekend's Upper St. Clair High School Golden Anniversary Reunion, alumnus Tom Montgomery -- who has not visited Downtown in 20 years -- said he was amazed by Heinz Field, PNC Park and the Rivers Casino.
"I was really taken back by how much the Point has changed," said Mr. Montgomery, who now lives in Texas.
Still, he said his most memorable moment during last week's celebration for USC's classes of 1960 and 1961 is of a mother wanting to meet alumnus Robert Glenn to thank him for the talk he gave to performing arts students at the high school.
As part of reunion weekend, Mr. Glenn -- a musician who wrote the lyrics for the high school's alma mater -- spoke during an assembly Friday on the importance of loving the music you play.
A parent sought out Mr. Glenn at Friday night's home football game to thank him for the talk. She said her daughter found the talk so inspiring that she came home and rewrote her college application essay.
"The students were as welcoming a group as I have ever encountered," said Mr. Glenn, now of Gaithersburg, Md.
A commemorative verse he wrote for the anniversary is scheduled to be adopted by the school board on Monday as part of the alma mater.
"Our graduates bring lifetime experiences in different fields of study and careers. It helps our students to clarify career choices and identify possible areas of interest," superintendent Patrick O'Toole said.
The three-day event drew 97 alumni from two classes: The Class of 1960, which had 74 graduates, and the Class of 1961, which had 105 graduates.
They were combined for one reunion as they were the only two classes to graduate from the auditorium of the then-Fort Couch School, which housed kindergarten through grade 12 at that time. As such, it was Upper St. Clair's first high school.
Prior to the 1960-61 classes, the district paid tuition for grades 10 through 12 to attend Mt. Lebanon, Bridgeville and Bethel Park high schools.
As USC graduates were awarded diplomas from those schools, the classes of 1960 and 1961 are considered the first two Upper St. Clair High School graduating classes.
The present high school building did not open until the 1962-63 school year.
The reunion began on Thursday with the city tour, luncheon and dinner dance. Friday was Student-Alumni Day, featuring morning seminars such as "How Science, Language, Literature, and History are Inseparable," by alumnus George Davis.
Dr. Davis, Regents Professor emeritus in geosciences and provost emeritus at the University of Arizona, discussed a Greek excavation he is working on that combines mythology, archaeology and geology.
"It really tied in with what we're learning about ancient Greece in world history," said sophomore Dani DeGrave, 15.
"It was a cool experience to hear his stories," she said.
The "then-and-now" theme of the afternoon assemblies featured circa-1960 photographs and music combined with a history of the school.
"So many traditions are still the same," said alumna and former English teacher Karen Dengler Thompson of the black-and-white school colors (with a splash of red subsequently added); panther mascot; and the St. Clarion student newspaper and the Clairvoyant yearbook names. All can be traced back to the first graduating classes.
"We had contests for these things," said Ms. Dengler, of Peters.
Mementos from alumni and students were loaded into a time capsule to be buried at Fort Couch Middle School in 2011. The collection includes a newspaper account of Pittsburgh Pirates player Bill Mazeroski's home run to win the 1960 World Series, and DVDs of the Steelers and Penguins championships.
For reunion committee chairwoman Diane Sutton Tracy, of Savannah, Ga., an assembly highlight was when keynote speaker Dr. Davis told future alumni they will "carry the torch" when they address the school's 100th graduation class in 50 years.
"At the end, we were all standing and exchanging high-fives with the students," Ms. Tracy said.
The reunion concluded with recognition of the classes at the football game and a Saturday morning bus tour of the alumni's former homes, followed by a picnic at the Alpine Hunting and Fishing Club in Bridgeville.
For Ms. Tracy, the best aspect of the event was acknowledgement of the individual each has become through personal journeys over the past half-century.
"I enjoyed that the old insecurities of teenage years were gone, and we could embrace each other as we are today," she said.
First Published: September 30, 2010, 1:45 p.m.