Graduation in Colorado

Another Grandson graduates from high school

Thanks to the good graces of Dean Ingmire I was able to take off in the midst of test week to attend the graduation of our grandson Nicolas Ryan Paddock in Grand Junction Colorado. Nick would graduate from the same high school I attended, just fifty years later.

The old Central High School was an adobe brick building that sat on North Avenue across the street from Coopers Conoco Station. Jerry Cooper, son of the owner, graduated from high school with me. Central High School had walls that were three feet thick due to the adobe bricks that were used and a gymnasium that resembled the surf rather than a place to play ball. All of our games were played at Grand Junction High School's gym which was much newer and nicer than ours. That building is gone. The school Nick attended was built in 1959 and has been in use ever since. Our own children, including Nick's father, Tad, attended either East Junior High and/or Grand Junction High School because that was the district we were in. My nieces and nephews attended Central.

The trip to Colorado began Monday morning, May 12. The trip was uneventful except for a downpour from Eagle to Grand Junction. We didn't see much except downpour and other traffic. Once you leave Vail Colorado you are in the midst of busy work traffic going home, so we spent our time dodging people anxious to get home.

Near Ellsworth Kansas we saw the new wind generator farm going in. At this time there are 50 erected with an additional 99 to be in operation by November. If there is anything that Kansas has plenty of, it is wind. It is definitely a renewable resource and non polluting. The farm stretches for several miles and adds a nice touch to the scenery.

We enjoyed being with our family in Grand Junction. We got better acquainted with the girls that are involved with our grandsons. Actually we are expecting our first great-grandchild, a little girl, in September. Everyone is excited about the future arrival. Vicki came down from Alaska and it was good to see her again since she has been gone now for a year.

The baccalaureate service was well done. An evangelical youth minister, a middle-aged woman was the speaker and she did not hesitate to present the gospel to the graduating class. Graduation was long and cold at the football stadium, but it was very good. Nick graduated 9^th in a class of 346 and received the superintendent's scholarship which was given to eight others.

Our trip home on Thursday greeted us with snow as we exited the Johnson Tunnel (next to the Eisenhower Tunnel). We drove in the snow all the way to Denver. At the top of Floyd's Hill, just a few miles out of Denver we saw a small herd of deer followed by around 200 elk alongside the road. Later in the day we saw antelope in western Kansas. We also saw Mountain Sheep outside of Georgetown.

We have reached the age when it is hard to leave home. We have pets and we hate to leave them. I always thought it was odd to hear people say they couldn't go anywhere because of their pets. Now I understand. We do have good people who care for the zoo while we are gone, but it is almost like leaving children behind.