"To quote the Grateful Dead from the song "Truckin'," 'what a long strange trip it's been' these last two months," Grade 7-12 Principal Brent Shaffer told the South Barber Class of 2020 graduates and audience at the outdoor commencement on Main Street in downtown Kiowa, Kansas, Monday, May 18.

The original date for commencement was May 9, however due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, such gatherings were not allowed. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly sent out an order the day before the May 9 graduation that it could not happen until May 18. With school closures since mid-March in an attempt to flatten th...