It is 1947, and the first "instamatic" camera, the Polaroid Land Camera, is introduced. Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in US major league baseball, and Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to break the sound barrier. The average cost of a new house is $6,600, and the average cost of a gallon of gas is 15 cents.
It was also in 1947 that a new Young Life group was started at Shelby High School. This group, Cleveland County Young Life (CCYL) would go on to become the longest continuously running Young Life club in the country.
Founded a few years earlier in Gainsville, TX, Young Life was an organization focused on creating relationships and making connections with young people in order to build community and introduce those young people to the love of Jesus Christ.
At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, Cleveland County Young Life members past and present will gather at the Student Activities Center at Cleveland Community College to celebrate the CCYL's 70th anniversary.
"We plan to have a dinner, videos, lots of pictures and newspaper articles from through the years and with stories from students," says Chad Sakada, area director for Young Life. "And most importantly, we will have laughter. Because Young Life has always been about having fun and sharing laughter."
Long-time volunteers Ron Austell, Dave Ellis and Dr. Lee Gilliatt will all be honored at the dinner.
And while the club is looking back at 70 years, members are also excited about what is currently going on in Young Life in Cleveland County. There are now five groups that meet across the area. Three are high school groups that meet at Shelby, Crest and Burns high schools, and two are middle school groups, called WyldLife, that meet at Shelby and Crest middle schools. All together, around 250-300 county students per week are involved in some sort of Young Life activity.
Young Life holds two meetings per week at each school. The first is called "Club" and consists of songs, skits and games along with a 10-15 minute Bible lesson.
"The second meeting each week is called 'Campaigners' and consists of a group of Christian believers who spend time studying the scriptures," says Sakada. "These groups work to determine how they can grow as a community and how they can share their faith with others in their school."
Camp is also a part of the Young Life activities with week-long trips planned for the summer and weekend trips scheduled in the fall.
But more than any of the activities, the focus of Young Life remains on relationships, Sakada says.
"When a caring adult steps into a teen's world - right where they are - and shares that Jesus loves us just as we are, you don't have to clean up or be perfect," says Sakada. "That's what Young Life is all about, and that hasn't changed in 70 years."
Sakada encourages alumni or anyone else who is interested to attend the anniversary celebration. To RSVP email cleveco.yl@gmail.com.
For more information about Young Life or about the anniversary celebration, visit the group's website at
www.clevelandcounty.younglife.org or find them on Facebook by searching for "Cleveland County Young Life."

By April Hoyle Shauf

Special to Community First Media