Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Faces, the early Sixties in Murray, Iowa...........Week 30

Ronald James Burgus, 1941- , my brother who lives in Mesa, Arizona was a 60's kind of guy.  I want to share the high school faces of Murray, Iowa today, starting really back in 1957 going to my brother's class in 1959, their Junior year. They all will be graduating the next year in May of 1960.

Because it is my older brother's class, I kept an eye on all of them and watched them while I was growing up.  My brother is in the top row and a first cousin of mine, Gerald Brown, is on the right of the second row.  Of all my cousins, I feel he was the one who inherited the facial features of my Grandpa Leroy Brown.




Last names names of of few would be Brown, Edwards, Files, Creese, Bustad, Dinham, Bettis, Crittenden, Mathis, Gonseth, Dugger, Jones, Hughs, and Mills.

First names at the time were like Ray, Tim, Merril, Gerald, Barbara, Arlene, Tom, Karen, Linda, Nancy, and Carolee.

Of the history of these members of the  class of 1960, I don't know now so much about them.  I know of three of them that are not alive. One of them is still a close friend to my brother, Ray Files, and the one on the bottom right corner lives in a town near here.

Did you notice the influence of Elvis Presley on this class or maybe James Dean? The three sponsors are all gone now, as the one on the far top left was Mr. Kirby, who actually returned and retired in Murray, Iowa.


A bonus set of pictures are the one here of my brother Rex Thomas Burgus, 1942- , and this could be a photo of him in '58 or '59. He was a sports buff all four years in high school and you can tell that from his tan.  Below was his high school sweetheart. Janet Dugger.

This is a picture of Janet in her homecoming escort dress her freshmen year in high school.  The dress style was typical for quite a few more years into the middle sixties.  Janet did become Rex's wife for 25 years, and they had 3 children while living in California.  They are the statistics of divorce of some high school sweethearts even though some are still very much married today.  Both are still in California today living separate lives. Rex remarried and has two high school girls yet today.

My brother Ron married the year out of his 3 year stint in the service to Julieann Liggitt and they have three grown children today with two grandchildren. He still owns a printing business in Mesa and his one son helps to run it.
Please join in the journey by checking out others on their posts of Sepia Saturday by clicking here.

12 comments:

Nancy said...

I am always amazed at how much more mature high school juniors and seniors of the '50s and early '60s looked compared to high schoolers today. Great post. It's always fun to look at old school photos. Thanks.

tony said...

Yes, I agree With Nancy.It's not just the Fashion....They Look so Mature in a way you dont see today as much.Great Photos Of The Period.

Christine H. said...

I was thinking exactly the same thing.,These look like adults. I really get a kick out of the hair styles and the boys collars.

Leah said...

great photos. And of course I had to enlarge the last one to look at the details on the dress!

DougVernX said...

The student in the lower right hand corner has the "Fonz" look. Love those 50's styles. Thanks for sharing!

North County Film Club said...

I would have had a crush on your brother, Ronald, although I was two years older. That's just the hairdo I always fell for in those days. And his is impeccable!

Unknown said...

Wow, that class photo really says late 50's, doesn't it. Interesting & enjoyable post!

neetzy said...

I do love that hair. Now that is a look that can come back. I think one of the reasons high school students looked so mature was because they had to dress nice. I was not allowed to wear slacks in school until Junior High School. The dress code stated that girls could only wear them if they were part of a pant suit. I got in trouble for wearing my mom's dress pants with a top that didn't cover my "hips".

Unknown said...

PS I like the way you have set up a separate blog for the Sepias....something else I will do someday, when I have the time :)

Unknown said...

What a dandy handsome dude your brother is, I think more James Dean than Elvis. The hair wave predominant on most of those boys. A great trip back to the blast of the past. Gorgeous dress wonder what color it was? Ditto to the othr comments on mature looking, much more serious back then...

Alan Burnett said...

A terrific post Larry. That Elvis/James Dean look I remember so well and I recall how my own brother would spend ages getting that hair wave just right. Great memories. Thanks

Far Side of Fifty said...

Oh these are great photos.. Far Guy and I enjoyed them very much..the hair styles and the turned up collars, the girls even turned up their collars, that was something I had not realized.. my goodness your brothers were handsome! :)