12 | JULY 11 • 2024
J
N
O
n July 27, the Mumford High
School classes of 1964 and 1965
will gather at the Somerset Inn
in Troy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of
their graduation.
Back in the day, the school was well
known and easily identified by its powder
blue brick exterior. As a matter of fact,
“Sweet, Sweet, Powder Blue” was part of a
popular school cheer.
The original building was torn down in
2012, replaced with an updated facility at the
same 17525 Wyoming address just south of
Curtis in Northwest Detroit.
Gone is the blue facade, but the memories
will be fully intact and shared at the reunion,
and no one will be more excited than Myles
and Linda (Borger) Lash. The couple were
high school sweethearts, and they’ll be
traveling from their home in Bethesda,
Maryland, to be a part of the festivities.
“We’re really looking forward to reac-
quainting with friends we haven’t seen in
years,
” said Myles of the upcoming reunion,
“and to reminisce about the old days and
our time as teenagers growing up in Detroit.
”
The Lashes are both retired.
Myles enjoyed a career as a highly
respected hospital administra-
tor and consultant, receiving his
master’s degree in 1970 from
the University of Michigan’s Hospital
Administration Program at the School of
Public Health. No doubt his being the trea-
surer of his Mumford class in 1964 paved
the way for his success.
Linda is a proud former captain of the
Mumford Mustang cheerleading squad. She
went on to enjoy a duo career in education,
first as a speech therapist and later as a pre-
school teacher.
Unfortunately, Linda’s cheerleading career
was short-lived in college. “I spent my fresh-
man year at the University of Michigan, and
there was a flyer that came around about
cheerleading tryouts. So, I mustered up all
my courage and got into my dance uni-
form, went to the tryouts only to find out
that Michigan had an all-male cheerleading
squad.
“Back in 1964, there were no female
cheerleaders. I was very disappointed, but
I just turned around and went back to my
dorm.
”
Myles, who was affectionally called
“Mickey” in his youth, said, “I enthusiasti-
cally recall my Mumford days although not
too much about the academics. I struggled
in typing and remember vividly crawling out
of the classroom of Mr. Jaaksi’s physics class.
”
I’m not sure if Myles still has any of his
old high school textbooks, but he will be
bringing a new book with him upon his July
return to Michigan. Lash recently published
a historical novel, Imminent Peril, that tells
the story of Michigan’s Fifth Calvary during
the Civil War. More on that later.
TAMARACK AND TYING THE KNOT
Myles and Linda Lash have literally been
inseparable since their high school days. The
two would go on to finish their undergrad-
uate degrees at Wayne State University, and
continued on page 14
OUR COMMUNITY
Myles and Linda Lash are returning to
Michigan for Mumford High 60th reunion.
ALAN MUSKOVITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Lashes were
Tamarack trip
chaperones, just days
after their wedding.
Linda,
cheerleading
captain,
at top of
pyramid
Myles was class
treasurer
The original
Mumford High