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Janelle Sowers dons celebratory sunglasses before yesterday's Spring Grove Area High School commencement ceremony. (John Boal photo)
At 8:12 p.m. their caps flew through the air, the band began to play and Spring Grove Area High School's class of 2007 was deemed graduated.

With hundreds gathered, the crowd spilled out of the packed football bleachers and onto the grass at Spring Grove Area High School's graduation ceremony last night.

"Make today a day worth remembering," Kristen Wakeland, a graduate and student speaker, encouraged.

"We must tell our ,'Do you remember when?' stories," she said. "We will remember the support we have given each other."

Earlier, graduating senior Gillian Hersh used author E.E. Cummings as an example of uniqueness, urging her classmates to emulate that spirit as they pursue their own futures.

Academic honors were held high as principal Rosemary
Aldinger had each of the students graduating in the top 10 percent of the class stand as their names were read aloud. The teaching staff likewise was asked to stand, being thanked as a group.

The crowd cheered as the 282 graduates were announced. As the ceremony moved through the names, the sun began to set, bringing some relief from the sunny 85-degree day.

Spectator Cody French and friends were enjoying the graduation, though there wasn't room on the bleachers to sit down.

French said that through youth group and guitar he bonded with Paul Buck, one of the graduates. The group was celebrating the accomplishments of several of their friends.

-- Reach Christopher Drinkut at 854-1575 or

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news@yorkdispatch.com.
Spring Grove High School Class of 2007
Graduation held: June 7 at the school's football stadium
Number of graduates: 282
Valedictorian: Courtney Herman
Speakers: Gillian Hersh and Kristen Wakeland