I want to begin by saying to the ones who did not attend our 40th reunion that you missed one heck of a good time. We had many new attendees this year and the one thing that the committee is proud of is everyone there said "let's do it again in 5 years and not wait 10!" That says something for the great food, location, and just plain good time we all had. It was casual and fun. Friday night we met at the bar downstairs in the Holiday Inn. Quite a few showed up and it was crazy. There was so much laughing and crying. We talked of classmates lost, family members gone and the good things, new grandkids, weddings and new relationships in our lives. We closed the place down and made them throw us out.
Saturday night was great. John Trayser brought his hit laden I-Pod to give background music that was just right. Torg gave his blessing once again and we were all glad that he was home in the States after his tour in Iraq. We had a great buffet dinner before settling into the comfort of the Flossmoor CC and reliving some great memories. There was so much laughing in these 2 days my cheeks literally hurt Sunday morning. Marsha Treptow was our treasurer and I swear she looks like she just graduated high school; Suzi Putnam had everyone laughing as she told Dana Cole what a crush she had on him in High School; thanks to John Trayser urging everyone to "come out of the closet with those crushes and feel the love". Paul Schlisman was there with some interesting tales of his photography; Torg with his lessons in life and his adventures as a Chaplain in the USAF; Terry Fremer provided some wonderful photographs he had blown up of us from grade school and up. Who the heck did our hair??? Kathy Burke never seemed to stop flitting from one spot to another and Toby Barthoff was the diplomat and conversation starter all night. Jim Klema, John Kletnick and Tom King seemed to be rehashing those High School pranks; Cathy Wilkes found an old prom date in John Hoffman-did I say cute couple?, Walt Stemmler had some of us enthralled with his job title - can you believe he writes a U.S. Circuit Court Judge's decisions? Ruthi Vance did the memory boxes and they turned out awesome-so many pictures of us from those wonderful PF days.... I could go on and on but I think you all get the drift of what was going on. It was truly one of the best reunions I have attended. They seem to be getting better and better with age.
The picnic was low key, Wanda and Terry did a great job with the food and drinks. The weather cleared after a scary rainy morning and had a good turnout. Everyone left for flights, the highway and back to families.
The plan is to do it again in 5 years. Those that have not been involved in the planning of our get togethers should join in the next one. It has been the most rewarding experience for me and the others. A chance to "stay in touch". And speaking of "staying in touch," join in the fun on your chat room. Let those charged electrons carry on our Reunion 40 through the ethernet until Reunion 45 rolls around...and roll around it will, much sooner than we think!
Stay safe until 2013....and if you find a classmate...email us right here so we can update for the next time.
Peace and Love,
Nancy Groth and the rest of the committee
Your "Reunion 40" Committee: Nancy Groth, Marsha Johnston (Treptow), Toby Sandler (Barthoff), Kathy Ecob (Burke), Vic Needham, Terry Fremer, and Wood Mason, Ruth Hadsell (Vance) Pat Thomas (Rich), Peggy Babb (Phelps), Cathy Wilkes, Demetra (Wanda) Glovier, John Trayser and Don Schoenbein
