1960 Mansfield Senior graduates look back on being part of landmark study

MANSFIELD - Bonnie Farnsworth didn't see the big deal of Project Talent.

In 1960, the students at Mansfield Senior High School became part of the landmark study. Project Talent included more than 400,000 teenagers from all walks of life and presented a snapshot of a generation coming of age.

Farnsworth, from the class of 1960, was part of the study.

"I don't remember too much," she said. "I didn't realize it was that big at the time. It was just another battery of tests. We didn't realize it was something special."

Over two full days in the spring of 1960, Project Talent assessed the abilities, hopes and expectations of high school students from 1,353 schools across the country. The goal was to identify the strengths and interests of America's young people to ensure they would make the best use of their talents.

The study was developed by the American Institutes for Research and funded by the U.S. Office of Education.

Some 58 years since the original study launched, participants were sent a questionnaire and asked to take part in a follow-up study that focuses on memory and cognitive health.

The goal is to develop evidence-based policies to combat Alzheimer's disease. By 2050, studies predict the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's will more than triple, reaching 16 million.

"The Project Talent generation is very important in the history of this country," said Sudan Lapham, director of the study. "Now, they have the opportunity to help us address one of the most pressing public health issues facing our country, the skyrocketing rates of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia."

Bill Schroeder, another member of the class of 1960, said he has not noticed any hints of Alzheimer's.

He remembers the early questionnaires, noting he had plans to go to college initially. Instead, he sought employment in restaurants.

He recalls having 600 people in his graduating class, a big reason why Malabar High School was formed.

There were so many students, the school days were split in half. Some students went 7 a.m. to noon, while others went noon to 5 p.m..

Schroeder got the early slot.

"I could go to school and still get a decent part-time job," he said.

In early adulthood, Schroeder served as the district manager for L&K Restaurant, later handling the same role at Borden Burger.

"It was similar to McDonald's, but we had broasted chicken," he said of the second restaurant.

Schroeder eventually did go to college, in the 1980s, studying landscape design and construction.

He started his own business in Mansfield called Nature's Reflection. 

"Basically, I did the design on new homes, put in the natural landscape," Schroeder said.

In 1993, he and his wife Betty moved to Florida. Schroeder turned his business over to a "young guy."

"Whatever became of it, I never knew," he said.

Schroeder, who says he and his wife really like Florida, lives in Lake Placid. He went back to the restaurant business because he didn't want to deal with Florida's heat and humidity for his previous line of work.

At 77, he still works part-time at Home Depot. He and Betty, who were married in 1964, have four adult children.

Farnsworth, who says she did not receive the latest questionnaire from Project Talent, left Mansfield 55 years ago.

"It was a boom town back then," she said. "There were phenomenal employment opportunities." 

She studied psychology and English at Ohio University and horrified her loved ones when she announced she wanted to work in a women's prison.

"My parents and my then-fiance had an absolute fit that I wanted to work at Marysville," Farnsworth said. "I just curled their hair with that."

She instead became a high school teacher. Farnsworth made frequent moves because of husband David's job.

She lived in Berea, then New Jersey and spent time in Boston before her husband's work led them to southern Ohio.

Farnsworth said she spent about a decade as a homemaker, focusing on raising the couple's two young sons.

Since 1980, she and her husband have been in Florida, where she taught for 15 years. She and David live in St. Petersburg.

"We had a good time," Farnsworth said. "With his job, we were able to do a lot of traveling."

mcaudill@gannett.com

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Twitter: @MNJCaudill