EDITOR’S NOTE: WNLP received the message below from LPHS alum Daryl Oran of California, who saw WNLP’s new feature “It Was a Very Good Year.” Daryl’s memories will no doubt trigger nostalgic feelings in many readers — and also serve as a good reminder of what we should hold dear in our community. If you have a comment about a photo or the collective photos in “It Was A Very Good Year,” feel free to e-mail wnlp@whatsnewlaporte.com.

  I graduated from LaPorte High in 1966 and am currently living in California. Growing up in LaPorte was an experience that stayed well preserved in the time capsule of my memories.

   I recall the free and easy feeling of running in the warm summer rain in our bathing suits on the golf course (Elks) … no one golfed in the rain then. Or the infusion of smells you could always count on waking up to on the early morning of the 4th of July … freshly mowed grass and potato salad … the universal tasks of almost everyone that day. And who could ever forget the street dances as Lady Courthouse witnessed every move! In ‘those days’ we danced to live bands since disco recordings weren’t invented yet. The Civic Auditorium welcomed the Saturday night dances with such names as the Kingsmen (”LOUIE LOUIE”) , the Shondells, Neil Sedaka, The Rivieras (”California Sun”).

   There was never more relief from the heat to quench your thirst or check out all the new cool guys than to down a “frosted malt” at Smitty’s, the very ’50s, super-retro malt and hamburger joint next to the Roxy Theatre.

   We didn’t realize it then, but our senior prom was a class act for a little town. The evening began with elegance and we felt like kings and queens as we danced under the romantic props at the Civic … an “Evening In Paris” … then whisked away in limos to the red carpet at the LaPorte Theatre … then back again for a sit-down dinner and entertainment.

   No matter what went on — be it a hayride in the country, a tornado, an engagement, birth or passing, we were always on the same page — everyone tuned in to the local radio station.

   After almost 40 years of living in California, I can honestly say, LaPorte is still one of the best places to raise a family, retire to, and yes, even in these times, start a new business.

   Someone once said, “The greatest of all human needs is the need to connect.” The magic of LaPorte still lives on. The theatre is gone and some of our favorite people are, too, but the parade is still drawing new generations who feel that this is THEIR HOME and it feels right to be there.

   Maybe it is the town that time has forgotten … for all the right reasons.

– Daryl Oran