Reunion Warm-Up
In an effort to focus attention on the upcoming 55-year reunion of Warren Harding HS, Warren, Ohio, Class of 1948, Jean Totten and Ralph Capito and spouses gathered classmates who live in Arizona. They set a time and centrally located place for a pre-reunion get-to-know-one-another social.
Here five former classmates and spouses, Ann Thompson Yerkes, Jean Totten Rice, Ruth Young Norling, Vera Capito, Richard Norling, enjoy an evening at the Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa. Members flew and drove some Arizona distances to join in.
“It was just like an old hometown gathering. I enjoyed them all and I hope they all had a good time,” organizers said.
Submitted by Bill Williams, Norfolk VA
General Myers Reports to Oldest Friends
Recently retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers spoke at his Shawnee Mission (Kansas) North High School Class of 1965 reunion. These were friends he’s known since kindergarten.
The chairman used the opportunity to report about the state of the military and progress in the war on terror. Myers said everyone can do something to strengthen America, pointing to teachers, “who are the most important people we have in this country.”
Myers told classmates he hopes we can keep our resolve, because if we don’t, the life our children and grandchildren are going to have will be much different than how we grew up.
From an American Forces Press Service press release.
Student Protesters Plan Reunion
The Black student protest at the University of Minnesota in 1969 culminated in the occupation of the central administration building, Morrill Hall. The protest led to the establishment of the Department of Afro-American/African Studies, the MLK support program for students of color, hiring Black faculty and an increase of students of color on the campus.
The 1969 Morrill Hall Reunion Committee and the Coalition for the History of African American Contributions to the University of Minnesota are planning a two-day celebration April 2006 with workshops, panel discussions and discussion of the state of the freedom struggle today.
Organizers are trying to locate people who participated in the protest. Contact Rose Freeman-Massey, 3874 North 42nd Street, Milwaukee WI 53216; 414-873-7712.
From an article by Chris Nisan in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, South Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Entertainment Industry Alumni Meet
Notre Dame alumni who work in the entertainment industry returned from Hollywood and other world media centers for the Film, Television and Theatre (FTT) Alumni Reunion. An Alumni Film Fest featured five short films created by Notre Dame graduates, and a screening of The Late Shift by Bill Carter, now television writer for The New York Times.
Students got a chance to meet and talk to alumni to learn firsthand how the industry operates. There were panels and workshops about a variety of topics, including program development, ethics in broadcast journalism, writing, producing and editing. Theater workshops included panels about acting, producing and the societal role of theater.
Tales by FTT alumni of hard work, failure and success demonstrated possibilities open to graduates in the entertainment industry. The reunion was also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of graduates.
From a story by Brian Doxtader in Observer Online, Indiana.
Elementary School Classmates Celebrate
The 1966 graduating class of PS 173 in Fresh Meadows, Queens, New York, celebrated its 40-year reunion early with about 75 of the original 190 classmates from all over the US. Word spread rapidly when Debra Davidson, a PS173 alumna, started to plan. Many who had not spoken since elementary school bonded through a website with a flurry of bios, e-mails and phone calls.
“Remembering back to PS 173, John F. Kennedy was elected President, and two years later the principal announced he was assassinated. We watched John Glenn orbit the earth, the World’s Fair of 1964-1965 was within three miles of school, Malcolm X was murdered and Alice Crimmins might have murdered her own children. The Beatles appeared in the US for the first time in 1964. Overall, these days were happy, carefree and full of bonds the reunion re-cemented.
A memory page sadly recalls nine no longer with us. It is like having lost close family. Some former classmates were not located. But no one gave up the hope the rest would be found. Contact Debra Davidson at [email protected].
