Class of 2026 revisits history on Senior Walk Through

The signs on the road didn’t change. But for one morning, Mill Road and Linden Avenue became Memory Lane for Red Hook High School’s Class of 2026.
The soon-to-be graduates enjoyed the annual Senior Walk Through Tuesday morning, a chance to parade through their former school buildings to the delight of cheering elementary and secondary students and faculty members.
The group left the high school aboard four buses behind an escort provided by Red Hook police, and the Red Hook, Clermont, Milan and Tivoli fire departments. Scattered around Routes 199 and 9 along the bus route were pockets of well-wishers – many dressed in red or school shirts, holding signs and balloons, cheering on the buses as they passed on their way to Mill Road Elementary School.
Just like many of them did for the first time roughly a dozen years ago – though there was significantly more music on Monday – the students got off the buses and entered Mill Road through the PK-2 entrance. Behind the school they found elementary students lining the Paul Menz pathway – all dressed in bright colors for their own field day – who cheered the seniors on and offered high-fives.
At Linden Avenue Middle School group likewise received a warm reception from faculty and students as they walked the hallways. The seniors also picked up a special gift on their way out the door that elicited a wide range of emotion – the letters each student wrote while in the sixth grade to be opened by their older selves upon graduation.
Finally, the Class of 2026 reached the Town of Red Hook pool, where they enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with food, refreshments and games, along with several staff members who dropped by to visit.
Take a look at the entire day here.