May 31, 1945 (Thursday)

45 GRADUATES, PAUL K BEING ONE OF THEM

Planted a few flower seeds

before the rain.

Raining again to-day.

Winds from the east.

Did usual routine

of work around the

house also did the

ironing.

Henry and I and Lucille

attended Commencement

Exercises at Caledonia

High School to-night.

45 graduates, Paul K

being one of them. A

very nice program. Graduates

wore caps and gowns.

Very good speaker, subject "You have got to have it to get it." Mr. and Mrs. Boughner attended too.

---

Paul K Johnson senior photo (1945)

Paul K Johnson, the graduate, is Henry and Edna's grandson. He is my uncle. Brother to my father.

On June 1, 1945, the day he graduated from high school, Paul was just 16.

On June 28, 1945 a couple of weeks after graduating, Paul would celebrate his 17th birthday. Edna notes in her journal for that day that Paul rode with Hank on Hank's motorcycle to Grand Rapids.

Celebrating his graduation was probably bittersweet for Paul and his family. A few months earlier, in November of 1944, Paul's mom had taken off. It would be more than 40 years before Paul and my father would see their mother again.

Read the post about their mom leaving here : https://www.ednasjournal.com/post/march-11-1945-sunday

Paul in his letter sweater (baseball glove behind his back) with his brother Dick.

Edna's displeasure in her daughter-in-laws decision to run off and desert her children occasionally creeps into her journal entires. On this day, Edna's notes that "Mr. and Mrs. Boughner attended" the graduation. The Boughners are Paul's other grandparents—the parents of Rosy, who skipped out with another man and left her children behind.

I wonder if the formality Edna uses in referring to them as "Mr." and "Mrs." is out of respect—proper etiquette of the times—or perhaps a silent nod of disapproval for their daughter's decision to abandon her family.

Either way, Edna enjoyed the commencement address and seemed quite pleased and proud to see her grandson in his cap and gown.

On June 28, 1946, a little more than a year after his his high school graduation, Paul would celebrate his 18th birthday by registering for the draft. Not long after, Paul would serve in the United States Army, spending about two years in Japan during the Occupation.

Paul K Johnson (left) in his Army uniform