The largest and most diverse graduating class in the city of Cincinnati in 1966 returned last Saturday to celebrate its heritage and memories.

        Many of its members drove by the arching bridge, slopes and tower that give a special beauty to Withrow High School in Hyde Park. They shared the memory of that graduating day June 14, 1966, that was almost spoiled by a rainstorm.

        But they remembered when the storm threat was over, a rainbow appeared in the sky and 732 students marched across the red brick bridge into the auditorium.

        “My most lasting memory is that of the rainbow over the tower on graduation day,” wrote Robert Bonner in the reunion program.

        As they gathered at the 20th Century Ballroom in Oakley for a reunion, they recalled that their graduating class was about 50 percent white and 50 percent black.

        Among those attending the 35th class reunion were 81 blacks and 50 whites. They laughed, joked, embraced, danced and shared memories as they glanced at each other's midsections. Everybody looked good to each other; at least, that's what they said.

        “We represented a special kind of diversity,” said Danise Shepard Johnson, a member of the class. “The neighborhood around Withrow was changing from white to black and at that time the school was about evenly mixed.”

        But beyond the racial mixture, they clung to a special bond: the Minstrels talent show; Sounds of Withrow and Pony Chorus; Duck Creek Frisch's; the Friday lunchroom of hot rolls, macaroni and cheese, and fish.

        Most of them at the reunion got a little teary-eyed when they talked about that graduation day.

        “A rainbow of mixed colors hung high in the sky as if sending a message to a racially mixed group of students on the last time they would all be together,” Mrs. Johnson said.

        George H. Greene, a photographer in North Avondale, was awarded the Best of Show Rosette in the hobbies and crafts division at the Hamilton County Fair for a wall hanging, consisting of 20 photos of the Big Pig Gig last year.

        The photos were transferred to cloth and quilted on a dark green cloth.

        Mr. Greene probably had more fun with the pig fest than anybody else. He put together a collage of photos he took of the pigs around the city and displayed them at nursing homes.

        “I think the residents there should be able to share this part of the city's heritage,” Mr. Greene said.

        Ike Ervin, owner of the King of Clubs nightclub in Walnut Hills and Ike's Barbecue in Evanston, will give a party to celebrate anything or anybody. Over the years, Mr. Ervin has given parties for postal workers, bus drivers, police officers, teachers, reporters, construction workers and anybody's birthday he knows about.

        “I think a party puts people at ease and allows them to enjoy themselves better,” he said.

        Mr. Ervin has embarked on a new career now. He has created his own barbecue sauce, and he likes to test it on anybody who gets close to him. “Here, try this original and then take a whiff of this spicy,” he says.

        Now, everybody is looking for an invitation to a barbecue sauce party.

        Congratulations Martha Milton on your 78th birthday party last weekend. And how about those barbecue ribs, your daughter, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh, whipped up? Yummy.

        Allen Howard's column runs Saturdays. Call: 768-8362. Mail: The Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.

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