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Milton High's Class of 2009 looks back with laughter

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Milton Graduation 2009

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MILTON — Sunday's gorgeous weather turned out to be a mixed blessing for Milton High School students.

While their parents and siblings enjoyed the sunshine on the football field in sleeveless shirts, shorts and skirts, the students sweltered under their robes during the graduation ceremony.

"Is it me, or is it hot here?" yelled Dan Box as he and his 224 classmates waited to walk onto the field.

The men had it worse than the women because they were wearing black robes in contrast to the women's red robes. The fact caused a bit of grumbling among the ranks.

Fashion sense

That wasn't the only fashion difference between the sexes. While most of the young women wore high-heeled shoes, with some flats and fancy flip-flops thrown in, many of the young men sported tennis shoes at the bottoms of their robes.

"I figure we should just dress extra casual for graduation," Box said. "Why would we want to get dressed up?"

"Because it's nice," chided Amanda Beebe.

No way was a bad ankle going to ruin Hannah Hunn's ensemble. After she injured herself playing volleyball at a graduation party Saturday night, her mom decorated her crutch with red and black ribbon and red and white carnations. It blended perfectly in the sea of graduates.

Child's play

Many of the graduates were spotted tucking rattles, teething rings and diapers under their robes before the ceremony. Joree Cisneros explained:

"We always hand stuff to the principal as we walk past," she said.

Three days prior, Principal Jeremy Bilhorn's wife, Anna, gave birth to their third son, so the students decided to combine the graduation with a baby shower.

But that wasn't the original plan. Students Joel Dempsey and Riley Bailey spent weeks collecting red cafeteria trays and stowing them above a ceiling in the school. They almost had enough when the trays were discovered by a fire official as the school was being rewired, Dempsey said.

Dempsey posed for a photo with Bilhorn and a red tray after the ceremony.

'Sense of community'

The ceremony was a special one for Bilhorn: his first as principal after 11 years as a teacher and coach in Milton. He enjoyed presiding over the ceremony for students he taught in past years, he said.

"On coming to Milton, one thing that struck me is how many generations have come to this school," he said after the ceremony. "I wanted to press that sense of community on the students and encourage them to give back."

'Ready with a smile'

It also was special for Paula Hoehn. The German exchange student said farewell to the seniors after spending the year in Milton.

When she first planned to come to the United States, she dreamed of living in New York or California, she said.

"I remember thinking, 'Wisconsin, where is that?'" she said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

She learned that it didn't matter where she studied as long as the community welcomed her. She complimented Americans' "unique sense of optimism."

"One thing I learned was that Americans are always ready with a smile," she said.

Political humor

Class speaker Stephen Kernien kept things politically balanced by quoting from the current and most recent president.

He cited George W. Bush's famous quip to 2001 graduates of Yale University, his alma mater: "To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say, 'Well done.' And to the C students, I say, 'You, too, can be president of the United States.'"

He then quoted Barack Obama: "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change we seek."