Egads! I know it's been a while but really? Twenty years?
I dug out my "Said & Done" yearbook which I personally took a lot of (bad, blurry, washed out) photos for, to see if I could get in the mood to design our 20 Year Reunion Save-the-Date card. Not sure if the planning committee will use this particular one or not, but since I spent the better part of today listening to Milli Vanilli and trying to remember what pop culture references were big in 1990, I thought it was worth a blog down memory lane.
Lots of changes have come to my city since I left. Muskegon had once been a gorgeous, prosperous lumber town complete with opera houses and amazing architecture and commerce. In the 70s, city planners decided main street was anti-progress and tore it down to build a sad and ugly mall. In junior high I'd go there to play video games and to buy cassette tapes. Later I worked two summer jobs at the mall, one at a clothing store that sold a lot of bandanas and acid washed jeans and another selling imported goods from Guatemala. I remember I ate a lot of mozzeralla cheese sticks for lunch.
Lace and Big hair, 1987 - Ninth grade, Bunker JH.
I actually had a pretty good time at High School (junior high - no!). While I was still super shy, I met some amazing people and I'm happy to say am still in contact with a lot them thanks to Facebook.
My grandmother, uncle and mother all went to Muskegon High School and in my senior year we were the Class A State Football Champs. Famous alumni from MSHS were Harry Morgan aka Colonel Potter from MASH and that kooky TV Evangalist, Jim Baker.
Still today, Muskegon High is known for it's amazing band and football team. I went to a lot of games of all types to take photos for the yearbook and documenting Big Red ferver and young teenage angst. I somehow got voted to be on the prom court, but I had no date. Sad! And here we all are, twenty years later. Going back to my old town to see the new changes. City planners have torn down the mall in the last few years and are building main street back. It will never be the same of course, but it will still be good to see and reminisce. I will for sure be stopping by McDonald's Candies to get some seafoam, visiting the house my grandpa built on Ada Ave, and cruising the ovals whilst blasting Violent Femmes.
BEFORE: In it's hey day
AFTER - check out the bank in the middle and top photo. Half in half out. Nothing says progress like the color brown.
TODAY! It's back outside.
Photos by Eridony