The Reunion Planning Committee consists of Jackie Locke, Mark Davis, Brian Morey, Wendy Morrison Kempland, Gail Johnson Mannila, Sandy MacGregor Hakkaranian, Maureen Locke, Joyce Cournoyer Dresser and Thomas Dresser, photographer. [Absent when photo was taken: Janice Dwelly Helle.]
On a 50th high school reunion
This past fall I realized our high school graduation occurred fifty years ago this spring.
I never took much stock in reunions. I went. I socialized, but didn’t really connect with my classmates. However, at our thirtieth reunion, in 1995, I gained a whole new respect for the reunion experience.
That’s when I re-connected with Joyce, and my life has not been the same since. We were married in 1998, and have shared the highs and lows, the joys and woes as a couple, enjoying our children and celebrating grandchildren. It’s been a great run.
Now I’m OK with reunions.
Every year a high school class has a fiftieth reunion. It happens all across the country. It’s nice for those in the class, but the rest of the world carries on. Yet a 50th reunion is a big deal. It’s a rite of passage. It warrants a photo in the paper. It deserves notice. It is part of our past and the doorway to our future. It’s a step in a new direction, from middle age to senior citizen. It’s worthy of respect.
Our class is not the only one out there. We’re part of a cohort of hundreds of thousands of students who graduated in 1965, the pig in the snake, the baby-boomer bulge. Our class had about 400 students. To track down all those classmates, we use the internet through Facebook and Classmates. And the post office still delivers. Our email address is 65wrhs@gmail.com.
We’re designing a virtual yearbook website to capture our class. Another site tracks our reunion guest list. One of us observed that in thirty years all of us will be gone. We have a limited time to do our thing, to appreciate our past. And many classmates are no longer with us. More than fifty have passed. That’s the most sobering part of this project.
The most gratifying aspect is the personal contact with classmates. We’re old enough, mature enough, to establish a bond with those we knew, all those years ago. This reunion has ignited a camaraderie with classmates, a sense of togetherness which unites us. I never felt as close to my high school classmates as I do now. And our reunion is still seven months away.
Who ever thought a 50th reunion could be such fun!
Thomas Dresser
February 8, 2015
I never took much stock in reunions. I went. I socialized, but didn’t really connect with my classmates. However, at our thirtieth reunion, in 1995, I gained a whole new respect for the reunion experience.
That’s when I re-connected with Joyce, and my life has not been the same since. We were married in 1998, and have shared the highs and lows, the joys and woes as a couple, enjoying our children and celebrating grandchildren. It’s been a great run.
Now I’m OK with reunions.
Every year a high school class has a fiftieth reunion. It happens all across the country. It’s nice for those in the class, but the rest of the world carries on. Yet a 50th reunion is a big deal. It’s a rite of passage. It warrants a photo in the paper. It deserves notice. It is part of our past and the doorway to our future. It’s a step in a new direction, from middle age to senior citizen. It’s worthy of respect.
Our class is not the only one out there. We’re part of a cohort of hundreds of thousands of students who graduated in 1965, the pig in the snake, the baby-boomer bulge. Our class had about 400 students. To track down all those classmates, we use the internet through Facebook and Classmates. And the post office still delivers. Our email address is 65wrhs@gmail.com.
We’re designing a virtual yearbook website to capture our class. Another site tracks our reunion guest list. One of us observed that in thirty years all of us will be gone. We have a limited time to do our thing, to appreciate our past. And many classmates are no longer with us. More than fifty have passed. That’s the most sobering part of this project.
The most gratifying aspect is the personal contact with classmates. We’re old enough, mature enough, to establish a bond with those we knew, all those years ago. This reunion has ignited a camaraderie with classmates, a sense of togetherness which unites us. I never felt as close to my high school classmates as I do now. And our reunion is still seven months away.
Who ever thought a 50th reunion could be such fun!
Thomas Dresser
February 8, 2015
Answer: We know at least a dozen marriages between classmates in our class.
Joyce Cournoyer and Bill Jones and then Tom Dresser
Laurie Duvarney and Marty Hamilton
Judy Ham and Buddy Perry
Pam Johnson and Earle Rugg
Maureen Maher and Jack Locke
Linda Muir and Albert Genest
Kathy O’Brien and Bobby Packard
Anita Rengo and John Byron
Jane Sherwin and Wayne Greenslit
Nancy Theirrien and Gerry Burbank
Bonnie Thorell and Charlie Schmohl
Ilona Tucker and Paul Blavackas
Jody Williams and David White
Joyce Cournoyer and Bill Jones and then Tom Dresser
Laurie Duvarney and Marty Hamilton
Judy Ham and Buddy Perry
Pam Johnson and Earle Rugg
Maureen Maher and Jack Locke
Linda Muir and Albert Genest
Kathy O’Brien and Bobby Packard
Anita Rengo and John Byron
Jane Sherwin and Wayne Greenslit
Nancy Theirrien and Gerry Burbank
Bonnie Thorell and Charlie Schmohl
Ilona Tucker and Paul Blavackas
Jody Williams and David White
Our reunion planning committee
One Saturday afternoon, November 22, 2014, we got a few classmates together to discuss plans for our 50th high school reunion. Now we're off and running. It's great to connect after all these years. Hopefully we'll be able to connect with a good number of our classmates. And we trust many of them will choose to attend the functions we have planned for September 2015.
For more information, check out Classmates.com with Reunion for WRHS65 or our Facebook page, Wrhs65.
Our second reunion planning meeting was held on Saturday January 10, 2015.
We met at Val's Restaurant to check out the dining options and prices for our September rendezvous.
Details of the menu choices and prices will be sent along in future emails.
We checked up on how many classmates we have email addresses for. [By January 10, we had 84 contacts. With a notice in both The Holden Landmark and the Worcester Telegram, we should get a lot more names.]
Our third planning meeting was held at the home of Jack and Maureen Locke, in Holden on March 7, 2015.
We reviewed issues from a suggested charge for the reunion to additional activities to offer.
We are pleased with the number of contacts we have made with our classmates.
We appreciate the support and assistance of our many classmates!
The added benefit of this effort is that we're having a great time putting it together!
We held our fourth meeting at the home of Janice Dwelly, in Princeton, on May 9.
The house is lovely, the view is gorgeous, and the goodies were delightful.
What a fun time!
We have tracked down all but about 34 classmates.
We have narrowed our choices on buffet options.
We will send out a mailing of our plans.
We are all excited about this event!
For more information, check out Classmates.com with Reunion for WRHS65 or our Facebook page, Wrhs65.
Our second reunion planning meeting was held on Saturday January 10, 2015.
We met at Val's Restaurant to check out the dining options and prices for our September rendezvous.
Details of the menu choices and prices will be sent along in future emails.
We checked up on how many classmates we have email addresses for. [By January 10, we had 84 contacts. With a notice in both The Holden Landmark and the Worcester Telegram, we should get a lot more names.]
Our third planning meeting was held at the home of Jack and Maureen Locke, in Holden on March 7, 2015.
We reviewed issues from a suggested charge for the reunion to additional activities to offer.
We are pleased with the number of contacts we have made with our classmates.
We appreciate the support and assistance of our many classmates!
The added benefit of this effort is that we're having a great time putting it together!
We held our fourth meeting at the home of Janice Dwelly, in Princeton, on May 9.
The house is lovely, the view is gorgeous, and the goodies were delightful.
What a fun time!
We have tracked down all but about 34 classmates.
We have narrowed our choices on buffet options.
We will send out a mailing of our plans.
We are all excited about this event!
Once again the Reunion Planning Committee enjoyed a good time, chatting about the past, planning the future and enjoying each other's company.
Reunion Planning Committee: left to right - Mark Davis, Sandy MacGregor Hakkarinien, Wendy Morrison Kempland, Tom Dresser, Gail Johnson Mannila, Brian Morey, Jack and Maureen Maher Locke and Janice Dwelly Helle. Photographer : Joyce Cournoyer Dresser
Did you know that the class of 1965 was the largest class at Wachusett during the 1960s?
Head count, based on yearbooks.
1963 - 280
1964 - 320
1965 - 402
1966 - 376
1967 - 360
Guess how many students are in the senior class of Wachusett this year?
Can you name everyone on the Reunion Planning Committee who is in this photo?
We met at Val's Restaurant, in mid-July, to review dining options and sample the food.
Our next Reunion planning meeting was at Sandy's Rice School Condo, on August 15, 2015. We're making progress. Thanks to Karl Hakarrainen for the photo.
Our next Reunion planning meeting was at Sandy's Rice School Condo, on August 15, 2015. We're making progress. Thanks to Karl Hakarrainen for the photo.
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Dinner at Janice's - September 18, 2015
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