Seven classmates gathered on June 25 at Lynnwood’s Heritage Park to enjoy a potluck picnic, fond memories and a special birthday.
These seven friends, who graduated from Edmonds High School in 1943, also attended W.A. Irwin Grade School, also known as Alderwood Manor School. They decided to assemble with their spouses because all of them are turning 80 years old this year.
Herald Wilcox, 80, of Edmonds enjoyed reliving memories of kickball, berry picking and Sunday picnics.
“It was great,” said Wilcox, a retired General Electric business manager. “We did things together.”
Two other classmates were unable to attend: Irene Birt Sjblom of Everett, a former registered nurse, and Elbert Thomson of Everett, a retired airline employee.
Lynnwood has changed significantly in 80 years. The farming community known as Alderwood Manor included primarily a post office, grocery store, school, church and a Masonic Temple. Most families lived on two-acre farms, grew crops and raised their own cattle, pigs and chickens.
“When we were young, you didn’t have many neighbors (because) you lived so far apart,” said Jean (Hill) Holte, a retired post office worker. “You had to go out to Highway 99 for a tavern.”
Jack Hackett of Edmonds noted they grew up during the Depression. Kids picked berries for spending money and everyone wore hand-me-down clothes.
“It was really hard to get a dime and it would buy you a lot,” Hackett said. “You could buy a chocolate sundae or a movie (ticket) for 10 cents.”
Mary (Thompson) Taht of Marysville, who worked at the Edmonds Senior Center, remembers the Interurban trolley, which ran between Seattle and Everett. The trolley can be seen at Heritage Park. In town, most people walked for miles to get to work, home or school, she said.
The Wilcox family, including Harold Wilcox, also left its mark. They moved to Alderwood Manor in 1925, along Alderwood Manor Road, now 196th Street SW, on Scriber Lake. They later moved to a house near the Wilcox Park, which bears their name.
Wilcox, a veteran, wore his commemorative WWII cap proudly. Everyone in his generation volunteered or were drafted into military service the day after graduation. Wilcox served as a quarter master second class on the USS Sargent Bay, an aircraft carrier, in the Western Pacific Ocean.
“We were fortunate that we were able to stay out of harm’s way,” Wilcox said.
Today, the friends still live in Washington, but they rarely get together. Scotty McClenny, 81, a retired minister who lives just outside of Spokane, traveled the farthest for the gathering.
Of the 88 people who graduated from Edmonds High School in 1943, they know of at least one who died in the war. About 20 others, however, were never accounted for.
Lynnwood, which incorporated in 1959, grew and overshadowed Alderwood Manor. All that remains of the Alderwood Manor School brick school house, which would have been near the Lynnwood Convention Center, is a picture at Heritage Park.
“It was a lot of fun playing in this school,” Jack Thompson of Carbonado, Wash., a retired school superintendent, said.
Kent Echelbarger of Federal Way, a retired methodist minister, suggested they say a prayer before lunch. They clasped hands and bowed their heads.
“For all the years you have given us and for all of the memories you have given to us, we thank you,” he said. “Amen.”
“Amen,” they said.
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