To remember is to see as if it were yesterday and no time has elapsed. The place of our childhood displayed in plain view before us as a glimpse of the past. As if conjured up by Gremlins in some manner unknown. The mind displays memories in the form of clear stepping stones. Each stone represents something that we can’t seem to forget. A loved one, an experience, a street sign, or a nagging regret. Ross Parkway at night bathed in the soft golden glow of straining streetlights. Walgreens filled with young life, providing refuge night after night. The movie theater filled with young lovers holding hands in the dark. The Airport Drive Inn on Saturday night where steamy windows made their mark. Friday night football where the black and white warriors of PHS did battle under the lights. The excitement of assembling in the gym for pep rallies and other social delights. The long hot summers with occasional trips to Sandy Beach to cool off. Parents working long hours at Boeing and always anticipating the next layoff. The roar of planes’ engines continuing through the day and long into the night. Memories of Mom and Dad, a picnic, a trip to the grandparents farm, what a sight. The cool breeze of Fall as a prelude to the long Kansas Winter. The roaring clouds of spring giving rise to storms that sent all to the shelter. It’s all in plain view if you just stop to dream and remember. Lifelong friendships bound tightly by some unidentifiable power. A mixture of ethnicities that made for friends of many colors. Coexisting in a world filled with unsettling social tremors. A half a century has gone by and dear Planeview High School is long gone. But its presence prevails through the unswayable spirit of those who hang on. Yes, it will remain in plain view if we will all just refuse to forget. For Planeview is a memory cast in the stone of time with its destiny preset. So do your part noble Gremlins and join in the battle. Fifty more years of memories is our goal and for no less will we settle!!!
Planeview High School has been given the third floor of the USD 259 Museum in the old McCormick School building at 855 S Martinson and 1348 West McCormick.