(Submitted by Nancy Ehlinger Saathoff, June’s daughter)
Back in 1948, when June Sadler graduated, the graduation ceremony was held at night on the lighted football field behind the school. (The former Devine school is now the Devine VFW and the football field is now a housing area behind it.) June recalls in her own words:
“We had 37 graduates and wore heavy maroon robes which were kept by the school and reused each year. They set up a wooden stage on the field with a canvas top where we came up to get our diplomas and the people in the audience sat in the old wooden stands.
“I was only 15 years old when I graduated and was the Salutatorian of my class. I gave a speech at graduation, which my teacher, Mrs. Whitfield, had helped me prepare.
“We later went on our Senior Trip to Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon where we went down in the canyon on mules! My mule’s name was Dot and she kept trying to bite my feet. The walkway down in the canyon was narrow, but I don’t remember ever being scared. I think being scared grows on you as you age and worry about your kids!
“Later that year I attended Draughon’s Business College where I earned my diploma before attending Texas A & I in Kingsville. In 1950 I married Arthur Ehlinger, also a Devine graduate, and raised our four children, who are all Devine High School graduates.”