Doing the halt step

Photographer

Groll, Donald

Date

• June 13, 1945

Summary

• Captioned "Doing the Halt Step" on the back, this 3½"x 2½" snapshot shows the beginning of 1945 outdoor graduation exercises at Lincoln High School in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Wearing long dresses and marching in rows of four, graduating senior girls descend steps into the "bowl" west of the school, as several junior class "flower girls" with baskets of flowers stand alongside. At the far left behind the tree, other girls march down a parallel staircase as some of the graduating boys wait in line above. Uniformed members of the school band can be seen at the base of the slope, and the western facade of the high school is visible in the background. With the country still at war, forty-eight boys from the class of 1945 had already left for service in the armed forces before graduation. Three returned to participate in this ceremony, while mothers and sisters accepted diplomas for the others.