Community Spirit
By Jim Hunt for the News and Journal
It is often said that schools can define a community and give it life, long after the
students depart. I had the opportunity to attend the Shinnston High School Reunion
recently and it was an event to remember. Although I did not attend Shinnston High
School, my wife is a graduate, and we enjoyed an outdoor get-together on Friday and a
dinner/dance on Saturday. Each class set up a tent in the parking lot of Lincoln High
School and the hundred-plus crowd took advantage of a food truck and music, as
people talked with friends or just sat and enjoyed the sounds of bygone years.
Shinnston High School is long gone, replaced by Lincoln High School and the last
graduate walked out the door over forty-six years ago. This has not stopped a dedicated
group of graduates from hosting a reunion every four years. As an outside observer of
this unique community event, I was taken by the loyalty and affection of the graduates
and how they travel hundreds of miles to reconnect and relive their high school days.
There is also a clear love of the Shinnston community, and graduates were strolling the
streets of downtown Shinnston and seeing the displays that welcomed the visitors to
town.
With consolidations and reduced birthrates, community schools like Shinnston High
School may well go the way of the “Happy Days” television series, where the school
was the center of the community’s social life. The glare of the lights at the football field
on Friday nights, was a place for first dates and family bonding. I heard stories of the
Shinnston Dairy Queen from several of the attendees and some of the ladies even
remembered the girls from Lumberport cruising up to Shinnston to check out the local
boys. The local high school produced a great number of teachers, business owners,
craftsmen and coal miners, making their impacts locally, nationally and internationally.
At the Saturday dinner/dance, I got to talk to former Shinnston mayor, Rodney Strait and
he described the reunion as a great thing for the community. He related that the link with
the City of Shinnston and its former namesake high school is still strong and continues
to bring real value to the city. The dinner was held at the Best Western in Bridgeport and
drew well over a hundred attendees. The Deejay was playing a wide mix of music and
several of the graying graduates hit the dance floor with a vim and vigor that brought
back memories of sock hops in the gymnasium.
Sadly, this was the last Shinnston High School reunion and as the evening ended, there
were tears and hugs for this longtime tradition. The committee chair, Debbie Malone
and her team of volunteers deserve a great deal of thanks for their leadership and hard
work to put on an amazing event.