High school searches for its oldest living alum
By Baylee Martin
Click here for updates on this story
LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster is searching for its oldest living alum as part of a celebration of nearly a century of history.
Sandi Mauer, program manager at the Lancaster Education Foundation, shared that the search began when Harold Shartle Jr. reached out.
“A couple months ago, Mr. Harold Shartle Jr. called the office, and he said, ‘You know, I think I might be one of the oldest alumni from McCaskey,'” Mauer said. She then delved into a McCaskey yearbook from 83 years ago in 1942 to find Shartle’s student photo. Shartle, now 101 years old, still lives in Lancaster and plays golf often.
Mauer noted that another person of the same age as Shartle reached out once they released a newsletter call for the oldest living McCaskey alum. Jeanne Creswell is also 101 years old and graduated in 1942.
Among the alumni from the class of 1938, which was the school’s first graduating class, is Olympic gold medalist Barney Ewell.
Mauer expressed the possibility of finding alumni around 106 years old, saying, “The longevity is just something I can’t even imagine. And to hear their stories of days when they were back in school is just really, really interesting.”
The school plans to honor these distinguished alumni at a banquet in October.
The original library at McCaskey High School remains a testament to its history, with student newspapers from throughout the 20th century and panoramic photos of graduating classes.
Mauer shared a humorous anecdote about the panoramic photos, saying, “Rumor has it that one person would be on the one end, run all the way back behind everyone else, and then hop to the other end and be in the picture twice.”
Mauer said finding the oldest living McCaskey High School grad would be the epitome of McCaskey pride.
“There is nothing like McCaskey pride. They are all over the country, and they connect, and you can’t replicate what the graduates of McCaskey feel for this building,” she said.
The school invites anyone who believes they might be the oldest living McCaskey alum to send an email to the alumni association’s Kathy Arnold at kathylarnold@sdlancaster.org for a chance to be honored at this year’s banquet.
More information can be found at McCaskeyAlumni.org.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.