EPHRATA — This year’s class of graduates includes 277 students at Ephrata High School. In 1954, that number was only 66 or so, said Gary Osborn, a representative for the class. 

The 1954 Tigers have kept in touch over the years with regular reunions in various places, he said. At one particular reunion in Kenai, Alaska, the classmates started talking about what they’d do for their 50th class reunion.

“We said, a flagpole. A plaque. Some kind of dedication, and then one of the classmates, Dick Dowds and Dan (McCue) came up with the idea of, ‘What if we do a scholarship,’” Osborn said. 

Each class member contributed $500 to the scholarship and a class member’s father added a grant of $10,000 to the mix. The class decided should be awarded on something more than simply which students had the highest GPA in the class. Instead, he said, a committee was formed that looked at prospective awardees’ participation in the community through extracurriculars and other activities. The student also had to have the intention of attending a four-year college or university. For years, the class managed the scholarship themselves, but in time, they turned to the Columbia Basin Foundation for aid in selecting scholarship recipients. 

This year’s awardee of the Ephrata Class of 1954’s scholarship is Emily Pugh who received $1,000 for her education. 

Learning was important to the class of ‘54. Members had a variety of careers before they retired, and multiple classmates served in the military or married military members. Alma maters included Washington State University, Gonzaga, Central Washington University, the University of Washington and others. The degrees earned there led to careers as dentists, accountants and teachers — among others. 

Considering one classmate, Werner Neumann, started his professional life selling Soap Lake mud — he traveled from Soap Lake to Ephrata for high school because Soap Lake didn’t have a high school at the time.

“If you’ve never covered yourself in Soap Lake mud, you haven’t lived,” he said. 

Class members reflected on the changes they’d seen since graduating from EHS. The green school buildings and campuses they went to school in are now either replaced or used in ways outside of education. The high school building they went to is now a gym and arts center and looking in the classrooms at the newly-renovated campuses offers a bit of culture shock. 

“I went to (one of the open houses) and I went into a classroom and I couldn’t believe what it was like, and I don’t think I could have functioned in it,” Gaye Scheib said.

Columbia Basin Foundation Executive Director Corinne Isaak said the scholarship was part of almost $64,000 awarded to Ephrata High students during a Wednesday awards ceremony. 

It’s a busy year for the Foundation, Isaak said. 

“We will award $215,000 to 183 recipients from our 73 scholarship funds,” Isaak said. 

The classmates had a bit of advice for the upcoming generation. They encouraged classmates to stay in touch and enjoy ongoing friendships, stay in touch with their parents and keep pushing to make the lives they want.

“High school isn’t the place to stop,” Dan McCue said. “Keep going.” 

R. Hans "Rob" Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com.