Brighton's 'Golden Graduates' to Take Stage Saturday

Walking across the commencement stage and receiving your high school diploma is usually a once-in-a-lifetime event, but thanks to a unique tradition at , many graduates will be repeating that special moment this Saturday—50 years later.

Members of Brighton's Class of 1961 will join their younger counterparts at the Class of 2011's commencement ceremony, which will take place at 10 a.m. at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.

Each year, the high school honors its 50-year graduates with commemorative "golden diplomas" and a special portion of the ceremony.

"It really links the past with the present," said Lorraine Haas (maiden name Wegrzyn), a 1961 alum and an Alumni Association board member. "We sit on the floor with the current graduates, who are kind enough to share their special day with us, and it gives us both a sense of where we're going and where we've been."

Brighton Area Schools Superintendent Greg Gray agrees.

"The current graduates find it interesting to see the 50-year graduates and think about where they will be 50 years from now," Gray said.

According to Marieanna Bair, another Alumni Association member who celebrated her "Golden Graduation" in 1996, the tradition has been around since 1986.

Bair, who said she has "been fortunate enough to attend" all the commencement ceremonies since 1986, said the golden grads get more out of the ceremony than a piece of paper.

"It's been a great charge for me to see these youngsters year after year and realize that our future is in good hands," Bair said.

The entire weekend will serve as a special reunion for the class of 1961, which has 29 of the original 91 graduates participating.

"There will be people there that I see regularly and people I haven't seen since graduation day," Haas said. "It's very unique and very special. It will bring back a lot of memories."