Hey Dave,
I just wanted to thank you again for all your hard work in pulling off a
great reunion in Roanoke. You, Pat Green, Gudrun Clem, Rusty Ralston and
all the others did a great job. Please pass on my thanks to the others.
Say hi to Nancy for me. None of these would happen without your tireless
effort and dedication. I'm really looking forward to the next one, no
matter where it is. When Roger and I got back from Roanoke, there
was an email waiting from Kris Frye '67 in Florida. We got to talking
back and forth about past reunions
and she sent me this group picture we had taken. It was the first time I'd
ever seen it. It was in Crystal City, just outside DC, in 1975. It
wasn't very organized, mostly spread
by word of mouth among people in the DC area. I think one of the
alumni worked at a radio station and somehow got it on the air. It was
only for one day and was a pretty small affair by today's standards.
Rusty, Bruce Stohlman and I thought you might want to put in on the web
site. I'll send you a separate email with picture and list attached.
Looking forward to more photos from Roanoke. Take care, C-ya.
Warmest regards, Armin Glore '67
The photo of the 1975 reunion group is shown below, along with a list of the attendees. I will find a better place on the website for it, but so you can enjoy it now, I'll just plop it here. I've left it full-sized so you can see all the faces better. You'll have to scroll around to see them all.
After
returning home from the OHS 2006 reunion in Roanoke, I tried to explain
to my friends at home, the feelings that materialized within me
then, and at all the others I had attended since 1985.
My present
friends always have an answer when the big question about where
they are from comes up. We don't.
My present
friends can contact their high school friends at any time, by running
into them at the grocery store, or by calling them in the same city.
We can't.
My
childhood friends have reunions in cities in which we never lived.
The classmates stay in the same hotel and enjoy each others' company all
weekend. We revel in each others' company so much that the other folks
registered in the hotel want to join our group. (That happened
many times at the Hotel Roanoke.) We look forward to the next
reunion because we enjoy our past, and cannot wait to talk about the
present and future with all of our long-term friends again. We have a
bond set many years ago, that thrives in the stories of yesterday,
today, and tomorrow. A bond that encompasses all who ever were a
part of this experience; whatever year that was.
I'm glad I
have my background instead of the boring one I envied during my early
years. This is yet another example of how we should be grateful
for what we have.
I feel
sorry for anyone who could not join us in Roanoke. We missed you,
but had fun anyway! 2008 will be even better!
Thanks to
Dave and the "real" workers who put the 2006 reunion on for
us! We do appreciate it.
Fran
Gilchrist Sidbury (1961)
I think Kathy Davis was not mentioned during the moment of silence, so
here's to Kathy.
While waiting at the airport for the shuttle, I met Joe Knee. He
turned out to be a nice guy who smiles a lot, a good quality. He
said that night, that he had not been to a reunion before, didn't know
what to wear or what he would do, so he brought some books to read.
I told him it didn't matter what he wore, and that he would
probably have a good time. About forty minutes later I met
him in the bar lounge. He had his book, but that was the last time
he carried it. At the Saturday dance, he made an interesting
observation. He said to me, "There are no crazy people
here". I thought that called for a bit of an
explanation, so I asked him if he had not yet met Marilyn
Newhoff and Judy January. No No No girls, you know I'm half
kidding. Anyway, I said Joe, what do you mean? This is
basically what he said. "I work for the city of Seattle and I
deal with all kinds of people. I can usually tell what someone is
going to do before they know what they are going to do. No one
here is trying to prove anything to anyone. No one is trying to
make a statement, or outshine anyone. You folks are here because
you truly like each other and you just enjoy being together. Simple
as that is, it is simultaneously profound, because the truly like each
other part goes much deeper than can be easily understood by a lot of
people. As for me, I enjoyed myself a lot.
Steve Kehoe 1959 - 1962 (Class of 62)
Hi everyone,
It was a great reunion and very nice to meet all of you. I have to
admit, I didn't remember anyone, but that really didn't matter. I felt
like I made some new friends. Army "brats" are the nicest
people.
Thank you, Dave, for all of your efforts, you have done a fantastic job
of keeping everyone together. And Candy, thank you for saving me a seat
at dinner even though I pooped out. Also Chuck, I love the brats pin. It
was great to have at least a couple of people there from 1968 so it was
nice to meet you Bobbie. And George and I enjoyed having Mac and
his wife at our dinner table.
I understand there were requests for ideas on where to hold the next
reunion. I was thinking of two locations. Chatanooga, Tn. has a fun
hotel called the Chatanooga Choo Choo. It is actually several old
train cars. Kind of fun. And, New Orleans is a fun idea. The French
Quarter is fine...no Katrina damage. Both of these places are about 3
hours from me but I could help.
So, hope all of you continue to stay healthy and sane (??). Especially
Chuck (Ralston)....the rest of your year better improve. I'll be
thinking of you.
Jodi (Hambach) McBride (Class of 68)
Dear Margaret (Marge Shea, Class of 65),
It was great to see you, looking very much as you
did back in Orléans. Unfortunately, we were unable to get the
time together that I would've liked - which means we will have to get
together again, soon. We had a very good time and can honestly
say, "it is one of the best for us, including the 1990 one in Orléans".
You kids know how to throw a party! Doris Reid Chula
(faculty)