“He was a terrific coach,” Page said of Ross.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ross said Page’s stuttering was “just overwhelming,” and he was impressed by the “sheer guts” it took Page to enter the Optimist oratory contest.
Page remembered that story, and many more childhood memories, during his 21-minute commencement address Tuesday night at Princeton Pike Church of God before 336 Middletown graduates. He was introduced by MHS Principal Carmela Cotter who said Page was a member of the school’s distinguished alumni fraternity.
“Go Middies. Go Middies,” said Page, who encouraged the audience to cheer. “I love the sound of that.”
He talked about growing up in Middletown when Friday nights were filled with “cruising” up and down Main Street between Frisch’s and Country Kitchen.
“It was a full life,” Page said with a smile.
When he graduated in 1965 — “not 1865,” he said — he was a member of the school’s newspaper staff. His adviser, Mary Kindle wrote in the back of his Optimist yearbook: “Remember me when you win the Pulitzer.”
Which is exactly what he did 24 years later as a member of the Chicago Tribune. Before his speech, Page stopped at Mount Pleasant Retirement Village in Monroe and visited with Kindle, now 99. He said Kindle was a teacher who “cared about the students.”
Page said he hopes to celebrate Kindle’s 100th birthday next year when he returns to Middletown for his 50th class reunion. He said after watching the “Wizard of Oz,” he never understood Dorothy’s fascination with Kansas, but now, he said: “There is no place like home.”
Wearing a black suit accented with a purple tie, Page offered the Class of 2014 five pieces of advice.
He told them their commencement wasn’t the end, but “the first day of the rest of your life.”
Page wants them to set “big goals” that will “become your aspirations.”
There is no room for “self doubt,” he said, because there already are enough naysayers.
He encouraged the students to give back to their community, and he read part of Martin Luther King’s speech, “Where Do We Go From Here?”
Earlier, when talking about overcoming stuttering, Page said he was successful because he was prepared to meet the challenge.
“That’s the Middie way,” he said.
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