Class Reunion Stories - 2

A class class stays in touch
by Dorinne Richardson

When Hobart (Indiana) High School Class of 1958 celebrated our 25th class reunion, it was apparent to the committee that classmates were beginning to lose interest. By the time of our 30th reunion, it was pretty obvious that, unless something was done to increase interest, our reunions would become a thing of the past.

Our class was always tightly knit and we prided ourselves on that fact, wrongly believing that time could never cause a rift in our bond. Death and divorce took their toll. Jobs, climate, health and the need for change caused people to move to all parts of the country and a few to other parts of the world. Lives do, after all, change. Those of us left behind in Hobart wondered what happened to that age-old promise to never lose touch with our classmates. At eighteen, it’s difficult to imagine things will not always be the same.

The Sunday morning breakfast after our 30th reunion was even more poorly attended. Someone offered the notion that we needed to communicate during the five years between reunions if we were going to get ourselves back on the road to real reunion. Ideas were tossed around and we finally decided to publish a semi-annual newsletter. A hat was passed to collect money for printing and mailing.

One classmate had pretty good computer skills, another had a fairly complete list of names and addresses and I had some writing ability. What was left was to gather information and write it to be interesting, informative and fun. I began taking notes that morning. Daily, I scoured local newspapers for items of interest and scanned obituary columns. I asked everyone I saw where they’d traveled, what they’d been doing, where they were working, what their children and grandchildren were up to, who’d retired, changed jobs or received accolades for prominence in their chosen field. And of primary importance, who had contact or addresses for “missing” classmates?  I took notes on scrap paper, napkins, paper bags, gum wrappers, matchbook covers and the backs of my hands. No detail was too insignificant. It became a full-time job and I loved every minute of it. As word spread, classmates called in their news tidbits. They sent newspaper clippings from all over the country. I kept a file folder to store information for my first newsletter.

Six months later, our first class newsletter appeared. It was a smashing success! Following the newsy part, I listed classmates for whom we had no current addresses.

I got many calls and notes thanking me and offering information. People love seeing their names in print and reading about others they know or used to know. I also received many donations to help with future mailings. They were small at first, $5 here, $10 there. But as time passed and the newsletter became more popular, donations poured in. It was not uncommon to open a letter and find a check for $20, $50 or even $100. Recently I received a check for $300. The newsletter is self-perpetuating and sustaining.

Attendance at our 35th reunion was up considerably. At our 40th, a time when many classes find their reunions growing smaller, ours was growing. We located classmates who had not been heard from in years, who--because of the semi-annual newsletter--found themselves back in the fold and anxious to reunite with people they’d not seen, some since we graduated in 1958.

Communication is not a difficult task, just one many people don’t take time for. All it takes is imagination and determination.  Whether you are planning a family, class or military reunion, you can do it, and the preparation can be as much fun as the event. Try your hand at it. You’ll find communication is the backbone to piquing interest in all get-togethers.

Now the Hobart High School Class of 1958 is looking forward to our 45th reunion. We are expecting a big group brought together by a modest two-pages printed in essay form that has grown to six pages in a three-column format.

Dorinne Richardson is a wife, mother and grandmother living in Hobart, Indiana. She is a freelance writer with articles published in many magazines, including Lutheran Women, Bereavement and Once Upon a Time. She publishes a semi-annual newsletter for her high school class of 1958 and has been actively involved in planning class reunions.

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The Galesburg, Illinois, High School Class of ’60 turned 60 (at least most of us) in 2002. At the last reunion someone suggested that the Class of ’60 Cruisin’ at 60 would be a neat idea.

One of the classmates is a travel agent and organized a trip. In October nearly 100 classmates, spouses and some family sailed for a week on Enchantment of the Seas in the Eastern Carribean. It was fun and there are many stories and many pictures from this adventure. It was so rewarding that another cruise is being planned for October 2004 in the Western Carribean when more classmates are expected to join in the fun.

Reported by Sandie Cameron Murphy, GHS Class of ’60, Princeville IL.

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by N. Jean Green

Because Walnut Street Orthopaedic School was for the disabled, it made us a close-knit group, almost family, while we were students. As I grew older, I craved the friendship of fellow students. I made luncheon plans for two of us to meet. When I phoned to confirm our plans, I was stunned to learn that my classmate had died.

I phoned Arselia (Block) Ensign, one of our teachers, to brainstorm reunion ideas. In time, Darrell Sweet, a fellow student, and his wife, Pat, helped make up our reunion committee. Important early planning evolved around transportation, barrier-free building access and acceptable foods for those with difficult hand coordination.

Newsletter invitations with maps were mailed to those for whom we had addresses. Word-of-mouth along with an ad in the Lansing (MI) State Journal roused some interest. So did an internet search and searches through Lansing Eastern and Sexton High School yearbooks for graduates (because Walnut School was not a high school).

Our first reunion was held at the barrier-free Deerpath Apartments Clubhouse in East Lansing. The second year we met at The PIAM Centre of St. Johns, where we were introduced to the business Arselia and Al Ensign had built to help disabled people live independently. We were landlord for a day in the model home that demonstrated materials that help disabled live independently in their own homes.

Our third reunion was at our old school building, where we ate in the same dining room as when we were kids. We took a tour through classrooms, but the physical therapy room was gone, as was the rest room where we were forced to be quiet on cots and heated blankets on school afternoons.

The Deerpath Clubhouse is now where all reunions are held. A full-size kitchen is conveniently separated by a bar from the adjoining all-purpose room with overstuffed couches and dining tables with cushioned chairs. A cozy fireplace makes the room homey. The all-purpose room requires a security deposit.

Entertainment has included chat-sessions, an adult show-and-tell and a speaker sharing Rotarian History. The Rotarians were a vital helping hand to students at Walnut. A warm invitation is extended to any Walnut student to join us for upcoming reunions, held the third Saturday of each September. Contact Jean Green, gls1@tir.com.

About the author
Green began freelance writing in the early 1990s and currently freelances through her East Lansing, Michigan, home. She’s been published in The Mature Michiganian, The Messenger and Mere Oaks Newsletter.

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