Graduates said goodbye to Platte Canyon High School on Saturday in a ceremony that recalled heaps of good times but didn’t forget past tragedies.
Fellow student Emily Keyes was killed at the school last fall, and as the 104 grads looked forward and shared their quirky memories of Bailey, Keyes was on their mind.
“We grew stronger, closer and braver,” said Cherese Smith, the school’s senior class president.
Duane Morrison, a 53-year- old drifter, took Emily Keyes and six other girls hostage Sept. 27.
When a SWAT team stormed the classroom, Morrison shot Keyes, then himself.
Instead of falling apart, the tight-knit town emerged stronger, said Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, the ceremony’s commencement speaker.
“I’ve never been more proud of a group of young adults in my life,” he said.
Bailey has no movie theaters, few restaurants and not much in the way of recreational fun for high school students. But that never stopped them from having a great time, senior Matt Farson said.
He remembers sneaking onto the middle school principal’s ranch with his buddy and tipping over cows.
“You just get some leverage – and boom,” the 18-year-old quipped, insisting the animals weren’t hurt. “There was nothing else to do. Growing up in the mountains and doing things like Tom Sawyer is awesome.”
For Smith, it’s the little things she’ll remember about life in Bailey. Gobbling Otter Pops at recess. Playing volleyball with Keyes. And the time she and her buddies thought supergluing their hands together was a good idea.
“We got sent to the principal,” she said of the sticky situation.
She’s going to Metropolitan State College of Denver but she said she’ll be back often to visit friends and family.
Toddlers danced and tumbled on the school’s football field Saturday morning as officials rattled off the names of graduates.
Cars from U.S. 285 – which runs adjacent to the school – occasionally blared their horns as they whizzed by.
Most graduates plan to leave Bailey for college or work in other towns.
Jamie Clark will be studying forensic medicine at Metro State. Nicole King plans to enlist in the Navy.
Michael Wismar wants to head to California while taking online classes.
The 18-year-old had advice for Bailey students who aren’t graduating yet.
“Cherish it while you’re here. Places like this don’t come up every 3 or 4 miles,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and all of it was great.”
Staff writer Vimal Patel can be reached at 303-954-1638 or vpatel@denverpost.com.
