Moline class of 1959 shares special bond

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - On a Friday Night in Moline, Wharton Fieldhouse is packed and a group of friends are savoring a moment some 60 years in the making.

“Some of us new each other in high school, some of us didn’t, but we’ve all come together as we grew older” said Shari Hodson.

They say friends come and go

“We’ve actually been friends since well high school.”

But not with this group, the Moline High School Class of 1959

“We were the first senior class at the building, the current Moline high school building. We were the first senior class to graduate so we’ve always had that special bond” said Nancy Polios.

Through the years, that bond has only gotten stronger.

“In the last few years, we’ve been together a lot, we have lunch every Monday at Avenue of the Cities HyVee, and its always an open invitation for all of our classmates to join us when they can” said Polios.

Some of these classmates have been friends for nearly eight decades

“We’re 82 years old, we went to kindergarten together. We just have all gotten along, we do other things too, we have picnics and potlucks and retirement parties” said Hodson.

Tonight the party is back in the same building where they used to cheer on their Maroons in High School, a reunion to watch a Moline basketball game against Rock Island.

“It’s pretty exciting we love Wharton Fieldhouse” said Polios.

“And we have two of the first string players from the class of 59 sitting up here. Ray Hamilton and Tom Seitz” said Hodson.

“These guys are a quality team, from top to bottom, and they’ve got a lot of potential to go all the way in the State. That would be the creme de la creme” said Hamilton.

The Banners at Wharton Fieldhouse speak for themselves but one banner that’s yet to be hung is for a State Championship

“That would be the greatest because Moline’s never won a State, we got 2nd before but we’ve never won” said Seitz.

Take it from this group, seasons like this and friends like these may only come along once in a lifetime.

“It’s really hard to describe but it’s very very special” said Polios.

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