Graduation totals varied in Division Avenue High's early years; class size grew because GI's returning from World War II started families

Maria DiGiovanni, class of 1960, and her GI father in 1945 or 1946 in Coney Island. He had just returned from Germany. Her Baby-Boom kid brother Charles graduated from Division in 1967.

Click on photo to enlarge

The term "Baby Boom" most often refers to the dramatic post World War II population explosion (1946–1964). It had a big impact on the student population at our high school. No new houses were built in Levittown in the 1960s, so the number of students at DAHS was not inflated as a result.

CLASS SIZE (based on the number of senior photos in that year's DAHS yearbook)

1960

205 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1941 or 1942, in most cases.

1961

192 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1942 or 1943.

1962

206 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1943 or 1944.

1963

190 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1944 or 1945.

Note: War ended in second half of 1945 and most GI's mustered out late that year and early 1946.

1964

273 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1945 or 1946.

Note: Leap from 1963 to 1964 as well as 1964 to 1965. GI's returning from World War II made up for lost time so more babies were born. Many marriages were put off until the war ended. The result was larger graduating class sizes 17 or so years later.

1965

352 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1946 or 1947.

1966

360 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1947 or 1948.

Note: Largest class size in our survey of 1960-68 graduating classes.

1967

308 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1948 or 1949.

1968

286 graduates

Would have been conceived in 1949 or 1950.

Note: Toni Crescenzo Gelfer commented, "Looks like GI's slowed down by 1949."

Data contributors, with their graduation year:

Russ Green 1960

Marilyn Monsrud Frese 1963

Lynn Smith Dos Santos 1965

Bob Arthur 1966

Toni Crescenzo Gelfer 1968