Photo Credit: CoolestCoast.com
There are few more iconic events in Manitowoc than Lincoln High School’s graduation ceremony.
It is arguably the most important event of the school year, as not only is it a significant milestone for the graduates, but this year is the 101st Lincoln High School graduation.
In 1934, the school held its first outdoor graduation ceremony, due to its unusually large class.
Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, the informal and colorful ceremony brought joy to the community, and the long-standing tradition of outdoor graduations at Lincoln High School has been celebrated for its beauty and spirit.
But as Associate Principal Lainey Longmire explains, with a unique outdoor graduation comes lots of planning.
“We start preparing for graduation in about February, when we start with the senior class meetings that go over what students need to do to make sure that they’re eligible for graduation,” she revealed. “And then we start to prepare what our historic Lincoln High School graduation ceremony looks like. It’s a little bit different than just picking up your cap and gown and walking across the stage.”
Principal Micah Hoffman also noted that, while graduation in general is always an important moment for a community, the legacy of the Lincoln graduation ceremony is something to be celebrated.
“This has been happening for over 100 years,” he said. “Anything that happens for 100 years consecutively should probably be celebrated.”
Hoffman said at Lincoln, graduation is a week-long event.
“The whole week has that energy is everybody’s getting excited for this. It’s a pretty big event,” he noted. “It just feels good to watch. A culmination of a ton of hard work by our students.”
Longmire and fellow Associate Principal Cody Neilson both voiced their excitement for Friday’s main event, especially Neilson, as this will be his first time experiencing the magic.
He told SeehaferNews.com, “Not being from Manitowoc and seeing something that’s been going on for 100 years and now being able to be part of that for the first time is going to be pretty exciting.”
The 101st Manitowoc Lincoln graduation ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 13th, and a ticket is needed to attend.
You can only acquire one by it being given to you by a graduate, however, you can hear the entire ceremony on 980 WCUB and CubRadio.com starting at 1:00 p.m.
If there is rain, the ceremony will be moved to 10:00 Saturday morning.
