The Reunion Weekend was wonderful. Everyone that attended had fun and we will do it again- sooner though, rather than later. Four reunion participants took the pictures below and hopefully the images will give you something of the flavor of the event, stir old memories and perhaps inspire new- or renewed- relationships. Who knows what the future holds? I am looking forward to it.
Friday night was an open party for anyone and everyone. It was great fun with lots of food and drink. The star of the event- though there were many beautiful women present- was a 400 photo, continuously running slide show that was projected on an 8x8' screen in the dark end of the room. It brought back many memories and had classmates shouting out the names of the fleeting images. That slide show is available on YouTube, but it is broken down into six separate movies because of the length. I'll tell you more about that later.
Here is what the party spot looked like. I suspect future reunions will be here.
and then folks started showing up.
Paul Ritter, the sleuth that tracked all the classmates down, and Tom Grant.
Steve Hurst and Jasper Giardina...
Peg Poniewaz and Mike Brennan...
George Kippenberger (Class of '63), Bridget, Mike Heitert's sister, and Tom again.
I drink to you all!
Mary Weisenhorn, Jean Koeppen and Mary's Mom...
Bernie and Barb Hummel arrived and I say it every time I see them, they look better than ever! I'll expand on that. ALL the women of the class of '62 have aged beautifully.
Just to prove my point Joanie Gorman- on the screen in 8th grade- looks as great now as 50 years ago. (It is true Joanie.)
Joanie today. That is Karen St. John on the right and Wayne Fischer in the distance.
Bernie, Jeanne, and Lynn Widmann.
Mary, Mike Yates (aka "Ahab") and Mary's Mom.
Peg and Mary.
George and Karen St.John.
Jasper- and Karen getting' another squeeze!
OK so here is Karen GIVIN' a squeeze to Mary Ellen Peters. Mary Ellen is one vibrant woman. I wish I saw more of her.
There was a lot of squeezin' going on. What are reunions for? Here are Mike and Mary. (I am going to get some squeezes in later.)
That was all Friday night and I would estimate there were 35 people at the party. Saturday morning at 9 was the set up at St. Gabes for the Saturday night "official" reunion. The reunion group and a few others met and we had fun setting up. Everything concerned with this reunion was fun.
Here I was talking to Principal Ann Davis about our schedule. Ann has been at the helm of St. Gabes for 20 years. For me, visiting the principal's office was not the same as in the years of Sister Tereseen.
The set up begins...
Linda Moxley and Maureen O"Brien were the flower girls and we set up the room under Bernie Hummel's direction.
The set up only took an hour or so and a few of us went for a walk around and through Francis Park to spark old memories. I told you I would get a few squeezes. Here with Linda...
and then a squeeze I waited fifty years for with Mary.
I'll tell you this, I am not going to wait that long again.
We are going to have more frequent reunions- and squeezes- in the future. I have a place for the event and we can make it a potluck. We will do it. As long as I am predicting the future, I will bemoan the recent past and kick myself for not taking any movies of the reunion events. My apologies. Next time. Promise.
Below are many pics from the reunion and I will note who is pictured if I have yet to do it. And I apologize for any photos that are perhaps not particularly flattering, but that is the nature of a group photo.
Joe Gresnick and Mike Heitert...
Ed Ferder and wife, Tina.
Mike DeRienzo, snoozing Bob Dunn and Charlie Bennett.
Jim Crowe and Nancy Vander Pluym...
Carol Heaman and Jean Koeppen...
Loretta Hartnett and Nancy Gyrog.
Linda, Toni Rallo, Joe, Peg, Mo, Kathy Kornfeld, Mike, Mary Ellen Peters and Mary Buehler.
Surely you recognize Judge Tim Wilson. It was great to see Ann Repetto once again and that is Tim's wife, Carol, on the right.
Maureen and Kathy...
Kathy Maher and her husband, Marty, with Paul Ritter and Ann Paulter.
Kathy Maher, pictured here with Karen, sent me the next eleven photos and either she or husband, Marty, has a good eye and perfect exposure.
Nancy, Denise and Ann Repetto. Ann always takes a good picture.
Ann, Nancy and Ann.
Karen and Mary Peters.
Ann Paulter and Mary Ulrich.
Donni Belloni and Wayne Fischer with JoAnn Kohr.
Paul Ritter with a woman on each arm.
Nicole Gibbs, Barb Hummel and Lynn Widmann.
Don, Nancy and Carol Heaman.
Joe and Denise Boland.
A shot of the general goings-on...
We did stop the reunion action for a group photo and I had to take a photo of all the photographers. Charles Fremont, who attended with Mary Gibbs and is on the chair, took the group photo you will see at the end of this page. Thank you Charles.
Watch it Mary. I don't know if I would trust those guys.
Toni and Linda with Bob Winkler and his wife, Joyce, Tim Wilson and Carol.
Tim and Joe
Here is a nice photo of Barb Hummel who is a prime mover of this reunion. Thank you Barb. We will be asking you to do it again. That is Charles Fremont, the photographer on the chair, behind her.
Mike Brennan and I once saw these two, Mary Gibbs and Kathy Kornfeld, sun bathing in Mary's backyard in TWO PIECE SUITS on chaise lounges! You have heard the phrase, "Burned into your memory"? Well, that vision was hot enough, believe me. Now when I think of it....
That memory is still hot- as they still are.
Ed Ferder and Nancy. Ever seen better-looking platinum hair? (Yours looks good too, Ed.)
I know these two are good friends. I have taken similar pictures of them in the past
I don't see enough of these guys. Fortunately I do see Don Bellon quite often. Still, not often enough.
Three beauties. I never dreamt 60-year-old women could be so attractive. Bernie, Mary and Ann.
I hate to keep repeating myself. (Mary, Joan and Mary Francis Ulrich.)
Ok, I am going to repeat myself. I saw these three standing together near the end of the reunion and being a classical figurative sculptor, my immediate thought was how I would love to have these three pose for me so I could sculpt a "Three Graces" piece. A three graces piece is something I will do one day. What are the chances of those girls posing for me? I would drop every other project cold. If one would say "Yes" the other two might just. Whatda say girls?
We were fortunate that Ann Davis, the principal, opened the school for the class of '62 for 45 minutes so we could roam the school to recall and clarify old memories. Not much of the old school is visible. Nearly every surface and room has been overhauled. All I recognized was the terrazzo halls...
and iron railings.
When Principal Davis wanted to close up the school, we could not find Mike Yates and Mike Heitert. We searched and where did we find them? In one of their old favorite haunts:
The halls of Gabes were filled with "Marys". Remember this one? This Mary is the perpetual hall monitor. She watched over us fifty years ago- ever present at the front door.
The open tour was great fun...
we are just a bit more dependent on those railings.
Back to the main event...
What are they looking at?
Me! We did have a break in the middle of the event for a few announcements, the projection of a video Ken English sent from Florida. How I wish Ken could have made it! At the end of this page, there will be links to a number of Ken's St Gabes videos and other videos as well from the event. One other announcement that I made was the reading of a poem I had a fellow write just for the occasion.
Three hours before the reunion began, I was walking Manchester Avenue and in the middle of Grovefest. The street is packed, and I had not seen so much counter-culture since the days when I lived three blocks from the intersection of Haight and Ashbury Streets in San Francisco. So I am weaving through the crowds and there is a break in the crowd on my right and what do I see but:
To make a long story short, I meet him, he asks if I need a poem, I say yes, he asks the subject and I say "reunions". My wife, Kathy, says, "Oh, he is thinking reunion because he has his 50th grade school reunion in three hours." He says he will write me a poem and I say I have to leave in fifteen minutes. His reply: "I'll put you at the head of the queue." Fifteen minutes later, this is in my hand...
and four hours later, I am reading it at the reunion. That is indeed, "fresh poetry". And it is beautiful, honest sentiment.
One more thing as long as I am off on tangents. I had a number of classmates approach me with a hesitant and questioning look in their eyes and ask something like, "How are you doing?" Initially I said, "Ya, everything's great"- and I still get a quizzical look?? After the third time, I asked, "Why do ask?" Lo an behold, since I was requested by Stevie O'Brien to forward to all of you, her email about her health dilemma, everyone thought her health situation was mine. It is not. But everyone said they were praying for me! I said, "Don't stop!" (For me or for Stevie.)
Ok, the break is over, the slide show and music are back. Here are Mike and Kathy again. Just so you know, Kathy's life has revolved around dance and theater and still does as her daughter is following in the dancing footsteps of Mom. I wish I had seen Kathy dancing, but I never did. I bet it was a joy to dance WITH her.
A couple of couples shots...
JoAnn Kohr and Wayne Fischer. Wayne and I were neighbors and close friends for years. Wayne is a dentist and from what I heard he is a major sports memorabilia collector.
Jean Berberich, a class behind us?- and Joetta, Charlie Bennett's wife.
Mike deserves a closer look. Now is that a character? Who else? Mike Yates! Love you Mike.
Another close up.
Once again, I am thinking "three graces".
Nancy and Bill Zipf. Do you, like me, remember Bill as being a prodigious drawer of horses? Well, his life is still heavily involved with horses. He is, I believe, a retired St. Louis policeman.
That is Jack Leonard in the red on the right.
Now is this "aging gracefully?" A nice group shot of some of the Class of '62 women. Everyone a treasure. (Excuse me if I seem obsessed with the women of our class. It is just that I feel like I did when I was in 8th grade!!!)
I'll even say the same about these guys. Maybe I would drop the "gracefully".
Naw, I wouldn't.
This is how Mike reacted when I asked him if the reunion was fun?
This is what you missed if you didn't attend, but take heart, we will do it again.
Nick Hogan!
Jim Crowe!
Toni...
and another shot of Jack Leonard with Steve Hurst, Jim and Mary Weisenhorn.
Bernie in black...
and pushing the broom at the end. The end. Sad.
However, there will be another reunion in the relative near future. We will all gather for another shot like this. Looking back over this web page, the only two classmates that were not previously pictured are Diane Petralia who is between Maureen and Mary and Jim Stange who is in the top row in front of the white screen. This picture is a downloadable and printable class photo. Right click and send it to the printer.
