50 Years After: Moore High School Class of 1974 Finally Holds Graduation Ceremony.

By Caroline Ameh

After enduring a 50-year wait, the long-delayed graduation ceremony for the class of 1974 at Moore High School in Oklahoma finally took place on Monday.

The event, which was abruptly canceled due to a tornado warning half a century ago, saw around 200 graduates don their blue caps and gowns to celebrate their academic achievements.

Back in May 1974, as dark skies loomed over the football stadium where the graduation was to take place, a tornado warning forced students and attendees to seek shelter urgently.

The ceremony was cut short, leaving the class of 500 without their moment of recognition. Despite discussions over the years about rescheduling the event, it never came to fruition until now.

Mike Wilson, a local sports announcer and key figure in organizing the belated ceremony, described the scene from 50 years ago as students were soaked by rain while seeking refuge under bleachers or driving away for safety.

The following day, due to a scheduled school trip, the ceremony could not be rescheduled, and graduates were instructed to collect their diplomas without fanfare.

Moore High School Principal Rachel Stark, herself a graduate of 1988, expressed her satisfaction in helping arrange the overdue ceremony, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the class’s contribution to the community even after so many years.

The event, held on a sunny and warm day with a slight chance of storms, featured poignant moments, including family members of deceased class members walking across the stage on their behalf.

Class President Bob Baker delivered a modified version of his speech from 1974, while valedictorians Phyllis Clark and Lloyd White also addressed the gathering, according to graduate Sterling Crim.

The ceremony follows another delayed graduation event held for students whose commencement was affected by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the resilience and determination of graduates to mark significant milestones in their lives despite the passage of time and unforeseen circumstances.

While no tornado touched down on that fateful day in 1974, Moore has since faced the devastation of other deadly storms, including a tornado in 1999 that claimed 36 lives and another in 2013 outside Moore, which left 91 people dead.