That the annual spectacle of processions, speeches and flying mortarboards could even occur this year gave local high school graduates, their families and teachers reason enough to celebrate.

“A lot of thought and effort has been put into making sure we can gather in these troubled times,” said Trey Thompson, valedictorian of the Libby High School Class of 2020, to open his remarks May 30.

Despite a then worsening pandemic, school officials in Libby and Troy pledged months ago to mark the occasion someway, somehow. As fear of the coronavirus ebbed in northwest Montana, administrators opted to hold traditional ceremonies, although altered to meet government restrictions on public gatherings.

In Libby, that meant a limited number of guests for each student. Onlookers gathered inside Ralph Tate Gym in small groups. Graduates, adorned in black gowns, sat spaced well apart from one another.

Outside, friends and relatives watched the ceremony on a Jumbotron from their perch atop pickup trucks or stretched out on the hoods of automobiles. Others fought the summer-like heat inside air-conditioned cars. Still more could watch from the comfort of their home as the event streamed live on the Internet.

Thompson credited the resiliency of the community — his community — with allowing the ceremony to go forward.

“This is what a strong community leads to,” he said inside the gymnasium.

In nearby Troy, graduates met under the open sky. As in Libby, pandemic restrictions applied and officials made the event viewable on YouTube. Ella Pierce, valedictorian of the Troy High School Class of 2020, said it was an event that none were soon to forget.

Graduating seniors had borne witness to fires, UFOs, political strife, locusts, global warming and, finally, a pandemic, she reminded her classmates.

“It’s been absolute insanity, but absolutely memorable,” she said. “This graduation will be absolutely iconic.”

Some things, though, never change and despite the unique circumstances, remarks hewed traditional. Pierce urged her classmates to break their gaze on the future and appreciate the present. Resist the trap of waiting until the moment is just right to go on an adventure or take a leap, she said.

A few hours earlier in Libby, Thompson credited the community, and his family and friends, with making him the person he was today.

“Personally, without my family, I would not be standing here in front of you,” he said.

Thompson asked his classmates to take out their mobile phones. Think of a mentor or relative, a teacher, an individual who affected the trajectory of their lives. Call them, he urged. Write them. Let them know.

Afterward, Superintendent Craig Barringer praised Principal Ruth Van Worth-Rogers and Assistant Principal Jim Germany for possessing “the fortitude” to plan for the event despite the closing of schools in the face of COVID-19.

“I believe it will be a ceremony the kids remember for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Despite the restrictions, Barringer said graduation went off successfully. Earlier this month, administrators earned pushback from the community when they announced the limitation on tickets per student.

“I think people were just genuinely happy we had a ceremony,” he said, pointing to the portion of Thompson’s speech addressing community spirit. “This ceremony shows the will and strength of our community.”

For Barringer, who is departing for a new position in Wyoming this month, the ceremony was his last in the community. Asked about the moment, Barringer grew quiet.

“Libby is a good place to be,” he said after a pause.

Outside, seniors hugged relatives and prepared to cruise the gut in sports utility vehicles and in the backs of pickup trucks. The semi-formal graduation procession, with fire engineers from the volunteer fire department serving as the vanguard, was greeted with banners, balloons and cheers from onlookers as it wound through downtown Libby.

Taking the podium just minutes later in Troy, Pierce aptly summed up the general sentiment in both communities.

“I’m here, you’re here, we’re all here — and that’s a pretty cool thing with everything we’ve got going on.”