The Class of 1969 at the High School of Music and Art experienced a senior year unlike any before or since. The school year began in the chaos of a teachers' strike, and ended at our graduation in Carnegie Hall, as we sped into uncertain futures. At the helm was the youngest principal to ever take over a New York City high school, Richard A. Klein. Mr. Klein died on June 27, 2024, at the age of 94. We interviewed him less than 3 weeks before his death, and he remembered us well.