SHS GRADUATION 90 years ago; 7th in series.
Sister Martha Marie “Anne” Kelly, Class of 1936
Vitals:
Sister Martha Marie “Anne” Kelly
Birth: 22 Jun 1920
Death: 10 Jun 1994 (aged 73)
Burial: Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
One of four Kelly children that lived on Hiddink St., Sayville. At a relatively young age she was Mother Superior of a Dominican convent in Schenectady, NY, then sent to Cuba before her assignment back in PA.
Her brother John became a priest, focusing his mission in Africa. There were many Sayville fundraisers furthering that mission that another sister spearheaded (John was a Seton Hall graduate).
Yearbook remarks:
“She’d make a hit in the ‘talkies.’”
Activities: Journalism, Dramatic Club, Basketball, Varsity Soccer, Baseball, Volley-ball, Girls’ Sport Club, Property Manager for Senior Play
Today we remember Anna Kelly, a member of the Sayville High School Class of 1936. Her yearbook line, “She’d make a hit in the ‘talkies,’” captures the era perfectly and suggests a student with presence, personality, and perhaps a flair for performance.
Anna was active in Journalism, Dramatic Club, Basketball, Varsity Soccer, Baseball, Volley-ball, Girls’ Sport Club, and served as Property Manager for Senior Play. Her many activities reflect a student deeply involved in both athletics and the creative life of the school.
2026 graduation is fast approaching. 90 years ago in 1936, our Sayville High School graduates would have felt the unique pull between a quiet, coastal upbringing and the massive shifts occurring just a few miles west in New York City. While the island was still largely defined by its sprawling estates, and potato farms, the completion of the Grand Central Parkway just a few years prior was rapidly turning the region into the world’s first true “suburbia.”
Walking across the stage in June of 1936, a graduate wasn’t just stepping into adulthood; they were stepping into a world caught between a painful past and an uncertain future. The Great Depression had been the backdrop of their entire adolescence, and while the “New Deal” offered a glimmer of hope, the struggle for steady work was likely the first thing on every graduate’s mind. For many, the dream wasn’t a corner office, but simply a reliable paycheck and the chance to help their families finally move past the hardships of the early 30s.
Yet, despite the economic weight, the culture of 1936 was vibrant and pulsing with a new kind of energy. In their free time, these graduates were listening to the rise of Swing music; Benny Goodman was the “King of Swing,” and the upbeat, rebellious rhythm of big bands provided a much-needed escape from daily life.
They were talking about Jesse Owens, whose legendary performance at the Berlin Olympics that summer was a point of immense pride and a defiance of rising tensions in Europe. At the cinema, they might have caught Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, a film that perfectly captured their own anxieties about a rapidly industrializing world.
As they looked toward the horizon, the news was a mix of domestic recovery and international unease. They watched as Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned for a second term, promising continued relief, while across the Atlantic, the headlines spoke of the escalating Spanish Civil War and the growing shadow of conflict in Europe. For a 1936 graduate, life was a balancing act: finding joy in the local dance hall or a Saturday matinee, while keeping a wary eye on a world that felt like it was changing faster than ever before.
