Chaney alumni can relate to Beatles song
By Lissa Bell
youngstown
For the Chaney High School Class of 1964, time is everything.
The majority in the class of ’64 are now 64 years old, which means they were born in 1946, and they just celebrated their 46th-year class reunion.
Myron and Kathi Thomas of Canfield, who hadn’t been to a class reunion since their 10th, were among those who attended the reunion on Aug. 14 at A La Cart Catering.
They met during their junior year at Chaney and married in 1968, one year before he graduated from Youngstown State University with a degree in engineering.
The best part of attending this reunion, said Myron, is that you get to discover people. “You find out that these are some really neat people who share a common history,” he said.
Those were the days, Kathi said, when pizza was 10 cents at the pizza shop at the corner of Mahoning and Hazelwood avenues.
“Everything was new and prosperous,” said Myron. “You could leave school and get a job in the mills, or anywhere else for that matter.”
Kathi remembered the area hangouts such as Chaney Drugs, which had a candy counter and a soda fountain; Gran Lanes; Schenley Pool; Idora Park; the West Side Drive-in; and the Schenley Theater.
“You could stay and watch movies all day for 10 cents,” said Kathi.
It was one of the first years that Chaney had a successful football team,” said Myron.
John DiGiacomo, who traveled from Fort Collins, Colo., to attend the reunion, smiled as the class sang along with The Beatles song “When I’m 64.”
After graduation, DiGiacomo went to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, which is now closed. He later resettled in Fort Collins, where he owns and runs Action Tree Service.
“I’m looking forward to retiring,” he said.
Although he hasn’t attended a reunion since the 20th, he explained that he does come back to the area as often as possible to visit family.
“Wow … 1964 was a long time ago … long before ‘we the people’ lost control of our federal government,” he said. “At that time, teachers were still allowed to slap you when you were out of line, and when you went home, your parents were allowed to slap you again.”
Two years ago, the Thomases attended a tour of the remodeled Chaney school.
“There’s a reflection room,” said Kathi. This is where unruly children go to gain control of themselves and to reflect on their actions.
“There is a two-story library with computers and technology, and the cafeteria looks like a bistro,” she said, “… but there are bars across the restroom doors.”
Thomas expressed her concern over the merging of rival schools. She explained that when they merged students from Wilson, Rayen, East and South, they didn’t consider the long rivalry. “They didn’t think that through,” she said.
According to Myron the environment was safer, less controlled, and their world was not limited. “We were held responsible for our own actions,” he said.
“It was a time of party-line phones and record hops,” said Kathi. “We had a lot of free time … time to do things and just be a kid.”