Letter to the editor: PHS grads celebrate lifelong friendships

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Lifelong girlfriends from the PHS Class of 1967 include Deborah (Gilbertson) Payton, Christy (Boyens) Dolan, Helen (Roush) McLean, Julie (Conway) Boyles, Cheryl (Roush) Matravers, Linda (Seeley) Reis, Kathy (Gardner) Anderson, Deborah (Bell) Dolan, Dianna (Sorber) Murphy, Mary Lou (Daniels) Harris, Bette (Conard) Bower and Linda (Timeon) Knosby.

To the editor:

In September of this year, several women who grew up together in Perry met to celebrate and relive portions of their small-town life. Twelve former cheerleaders, basketball players and above all — cherished friends held a Happy 70th Birthday slumber party.

These women from the Perry High School Class of 1967 gathered from Texas, Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa to commemorate their landmark birthday.

This isn’t the first time this group of friends has gotten together. In fact, they have been coming from near and far for 20 years to return to their youth, at least in spirit.

Each year is somewhat the same. They reminisce for hours, giving little time to sleep. They play and replay videos of proms and basketball tournaments and an eighth grade slumber party. They laugh and they cry. They hug and they remember.

Within minutes of saying hello, the walls begin to rattle with their laughter. Over the years, they have shared memories of college, marriage, children and children’s weddings, grandchildren, and they have shared tears as they remember their mothers, fathers and spouses who have died.

As always within minutes of saying hello, it is time to say good-bye. They promise to keep in touch, to meet again next year. They will never forget these special friendships that blossomed in their small Iowa town of Perry. Locations change, but friendships like these endure a lifetime. They keep in touch. They are part of their stories.

As an unknown author rightly said, “Some people are so special that once they enter your life, it becomes richer and more wonderful than you ever thought it could be.”

Deborah Dolan
West Des Moines

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