After going their separate ways, two Muskegon, Michigan high school sweethearts have reconnected after more than seven decades apart, thanks to the power of social media.
Bill Hassinger, 90, and 92-year-old Joanne Blakkan have picked up their friendship again after 73 years, according to WOOD-TV.
Both Hassinger and Blakkan grew up in Muskegon and met on the school bus in the 1940s.
Hassinger told the news outlet that dating an older woman had its advantages. Blakkan was graduated two years before he did.
“I wasn’t old enough to have a driver’s license, so I didn’t have a car. That’s what attracted me to her… she had a car,” he told WOOD.
“That and I was a majorette in high school. I think he was attracted to that,” Blakkan said, laughing.
“He took me to my senior prom, then I went off to Michigan State, and he was still back in high school, so we kind of each went our separate ways from then on,” she explained.
Following high school, Hassinger got married and three months later was drafted to serve in the Korean War, according to WOOD. After serving in the U.S. Army, he joined the Michigan State Police and retired
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