The LaPoints lived at 21 Pine St., and we lived at 5 Pine when we moved into town from the farm in Ray Brook. Her brother Ed and I became best friends and graduated in the same class from high school in 1948.

Gary LaPoint — Margaret’s nephew, Ed’s son — sent me a note back in April, from which I excerpt:

“Margaret turned 97 on April 14 and this year would be her 80th high school reunion. We were wondering how many from her class are still around. Aunt Margaret still reads the Enterprise faithfully every day. She has lived in an assisted-living facility for the past four years near us in Syracuse. [Margaret still owns the house at 21 Pine St.]

“She recently mentioned she would like to have a lunch with her remaining classmates if something could be organized but with this (COVID-19) epidemic going on it might be difficult in the near future but maybe later this summer …”

So here we go. If any relatives of that 1940 class of 110 seniors, listed here, knows of relatives who might still be around, please let me know — my email address and phone number are at the top of the column — or call Gary at 315-427-6391.

The 1940 seniors I carefully selected for this column have many relatives in this area, so I’m hoping someone can make a connection. The yearbook pictures came from the chief of my Research Bureau, Michele Tucker, curator of the Adirondack Room at the Saranac Lake Free Library.

Gary, a professor at Syracuse University, owns a home on Moody Pond, as does his first cousin, the beautiful and talented Tammy Lalande.

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A tough year for 2020 grads

Three cheers to all the high school teachers and principals in the Tri-Lakes for organizing the many unique celebrations for the Class of 2020 … and the drive-through parties for the younger kids.

My only connection to the Class of 2020 is my grandnephew Riley (Littlefield) Gillis, son of Lisa and Rob Gillis of Tupper Lake. He received so many graduation awards he had to put them all in his backpack … and my mother told me 10,000 times not to exaggerate.

Riley is the kind of guy we all wanted to be. He and two of his pals, Bryce Richards and Jack Skiff, all top skiers, jumped into a macho pickup truck during the Christmas holidays for a little R&R and drove nonstop to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

He is a great golfer, tall and handsome, and wait, there’s more … he is an Eagle Scout, along with these guys: Presidents Kennedy, Bush (G.W.), Ford, Coolidge and Taft.

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A graduation aside from 1948

The valedictorian, Hilda Castellon, and salutatorian, Barbara Maple, of our 1944 graduating class from the eighth grade at St. Bernard’s School each held the same honors when we graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1948, now the elementary school on Petrova Avenue.