Auburn HS class of 1954 gathers for reunion.

Byline: Ellie Oleson

AUBURN - When popular Auburn Junior High School science teacher and department head James L. Courville died in a scuba-diving accident off Cape Cod in June 1979, the town mourned.

To his students, he was the teacher who helped organize the Auburn Junior High School Arboretum, now known as the Auburn Middle School Arboretum.

To the classmates who graduated with him in the Auburn High School class of 1954, Jim Courville was a friend and an outstanding athlete. At graduation, he received the Yurasha Plaque and Roll of Honor as the "outstanding athlete of the year."

Mr. Courville was remembered at the 55th anniversary reunion of his class on Sept. 12, according to Ann Maria Hastings Peterson, event organizer.

"At the reunion, we had 28 of the original 93 in our class, plus their guests. We also had a memorial set up for all 21 members of our class that we have lost," Mrs. Peterson said.

She said classmate Laura Mary Gotschall's husband, the Rev. Stewart Brush, said a prayer for those lost.

One classmate remembered was Mrs. Peterson's husband, Ronald C. Peterson, who died in 2007.

The couple first started dating after starring together in "Annie Get Your Gun," the 1954 senior class "play," which Mrs. Peterson said was Auburn High School's first musical production. Mrs. Peterson played Annie Oakley, and Mr. Peterson played Frank Butler.

"We hadn't dated before the play," Mrs. Peterson said. After the play, the couple became sweethearts. They were married 51 years and had four children.

Mr. Peterson, an Army veteran, owned Jewell Uniforms Inc., Twin City Cleaners Inc. and Twin City Too Coin-Operated Laundry in Dudley, where he served on the Board of Health.

"It was a good class. We had a lot of interesting members," Mrs. Peterson said.

Classmate George Hammond became a lawyer in Sturbridge, and Robert E. Lowe of Houston became a successful businessman and actor. He will be appearing in "The Sunshine Boys" on stage in Houston this fall.

Classmate Loretta Mae Auren Henry of Worcester trains service dogs, and was accompanied to the reunion by her service dog, Mandy Mae.

Classmate Joseph C. Luks, a retired Auburn highway surveyor, attended the reunion with his friend, Mary A. Skorvanek of Auburn. The couple toured the new Auburn High School with about a dozen classmates and spouses after the reunion at the Colonial Club in Webster.

"I have a lot of fond memories of the old school, but there is no comparison to the new school. I'm impressed. The new gym is absolutely beautiful," Mr. Luks said.

He remembers his favorite teacher, Donald W. Goodnow, who was also principal in 1954. "He was a nice man. I also liked our class adviser, Mrs. (Dorothy R.) Mulry, who taught languages."

Class member Russell W. Stockwell, a computer engineer from Orleans, said he was thrilled to be back in Auburn. "I'm ready to go back to school. This place is gorgeous!"

He has memories of Robert E. Place, former science teacher and assistant principal, though the memories were not always good. "I was always in trouble with Mr. Place," Mr Stockwell said.

Today, he uses the energy that once got him into trouble to work on houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Perhaps the best-known member of the class of 1954 is Ronald E. Prouty, who was an outstanding athlete at AHS, where he is in the Athletic Hall of Fame. He spent nearly half a century in Auburn High School, first as a student and then as an English teacher and department chairman, interim superintendent of schools, and member of the School Committee and School Building Committee. He also served on the town's Conservation Commission, Planning Board and Public Library Board of Trustees.

"We were so impressed and so pleasantly surprised when we saw, in big letters over the door of the new school library, the `Ronald E. Prouty Media Center.' What an honor for one of our classmates!" Mrs. Peterson said.

"We have a lot of memories of 1954. It was an exciting time in Auburn. There was a lot going on."

She said the next reunion, in two years, is already being planned, and may be held in the 18th-century home of classmate Richard Rice Long in Newport, R.I.

Highlights of 1954

President Dwight D. Eisenhower added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, and a young singer named Elvis Presley recorded his first demo record.

Newsman Edward R. Murrow castigated right wing Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who was discredited for his Communist witch hunt, and the U.S. detonated the world's first hydrogen bomb.

Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy appeared on "Meet the Press" for the first time, and cartoon movie producer Walt Disney broke ground in California for a new amusement park to be called Disneyland.

Baseball rookie Hank Aaron hit his first major league home run, Red Sox star Ted Williams dominated games, but former Yankee star Joe DiMaggio got the most press when he married actress Marilyn Monroe.

In the East, hurricanes Carol, Edna and Hazel battered the coast and killed hundreds.

In Auburn, Public Health Nurse Sarah C. Roach reported children with communicable diseases: 159 with chicken pox, 209 with measles, 127 with mumps, 11 with polio, 35 with scarlet fever and 66 with whooping cough.

The Auburn Board of Public Welfare said the "continuing trend of greater state control over all welfare activities" was proving costly. The board was particularly concerned by the state's "so-called medical plan that requires authorization in writing before anyone may call a doctor or have a prescription filled."

John E. Riley was town clerk; John F. Gilbert, Paul O'Noack and G. Henry Utter were selectmen; and Albert Ellsworth Prouty was moderator.

The entire Auburn High School basketball season in 1953-1954 was played as away games while a new gymnasium was added to the old Auburn High School building.

School Committee Chairman Robert E. Braman reported in 1954 that the new additions to the high school increased the capacity of the school from 400 to 1,000 students. The committee also reported, "We shall have to reopen the old West Auburn School to take care of the fifth grades, which are to be transferred from the Mary D. Stone School."

For the first time in decades, double sessions were eliminated in town and minimum starting pay for a new teacher rose to $3,100 per year.

Superintendent of Schools John H. Gotschall thanked project architect Franklyn R. Williams, who donated $1,000 for a grand piano for the AHS auditorium.

Town meeting voted unanimously on April 28, 1954, to appropriate $350,000 to put an addition onto the Mary D. Stone School.

Rebecca Colokathis, director of girls' physical education, reported that girls would be required to wear "blouses, shorts, socks and tennis shoes for physical education classes" and would be required to shower after class. Miss Colokathis taught at AHS from 1953 to 2004.

Police Chief William P. Cronin reported there were 103 arrests, including 36 for drunkenness and three for "desertion of the Army or Navy," and 209 tickets were issued for "violations of auto laws."

Chief Cronin pointed out the need for a town ambulance, noting there had been "29 injured persons transferred in the cruiser to the hospital."

ART: PHOTOS

PHOTOG: ELLIE OLESON

CUTLINE: (1) Members of the AHS class of 1954, from left, Beverly T. LaBrie, Ronald E. Prouty, Robert Lowe, Ann M. Peterson, Roy W. Faneuff, Marlene S. Holdridge, Russell Stockwell, Roberta J. Cormier, Carolym M. Salmonson, and front, Loretta M. Henry and her service dog, Mandy Mae. (2) Auburn High School class of 1954 member Ronald E. Prouty looks at his picture in the AHS Athletic Hall of Fame outside the new high school's gymnasium.