Micky Campbell Parker on September 26, 2011 9:46 AM
Here it is September and I'm still thinking about it! I have such great memories from my school years in Ithaca I was concerned that the reunion could alter that so that I wouldn't remember the same way. Was I wrong! The reunion was spectacular and served to underscore everything I thought to be wonderful! And, better yet, my mind's eye doesn't see a bunch of "old people," I see us all as we were then only with the perspective of our journeys.
Thank you to the committee for providing the backdrop for such a splendid weekend!
Judi Tagliavento-Richards on August 22, 2011 12:47 PM
What a grand wonderful experience ! For three fun filled days, I felt like I had stepped back into " a piece of history..." I was able to talk with many schoolmates ; old and new !!! Thanks to all the long and hard work by those who worked for two years. The 50 th exceeded my highest expectations, and we will all be blessed if we are given another reunion. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all my classmates, and the class of " 61, you have indeed enriched my life by knowing all of you. Thanks for letting me be a part of this wonderful experience; both in 1961 and at Our 50 th....!!!!!
As she drifted into dementia, my Mother threw away most of the pictures of my childhood. I had one album that survived of family events, but lost early school and scouting pictures. the picture albums here on the site are a wonderful find for me. I enjoyed the small part of the reunion that I attended and have already stated that next time I want the dog to be boarded so that I can attend more! The weather was perfect and there was plenty of room at the Pavillion at Stewart Park to move around and talk to everyone good planning. "Susie" Ryan Lyon
What a fabulous 50th Reunion! I enjoyed every, single minute seeing so many classmates and friends that I hadn't seen in all these 50 years! The reunion committee did a wonderful job and we all appreciate their hard work and dedication that made it all possible. I will always be so grateful for having grown up in the little college town of Ithaca, New York AND will also always be so proud to have graduated from what we all thought was the best school in the State of New York - Ithaca High!! God Bless everyone and hope to see you all (and maybe a few more) in 5 years!!
A thank you to all of the reunion committee members for bringing all of us back together, it was wonderful.
Yes, it was much to short, missed saying hello to many, and missed seeing others who were unable to attend-maybe next time.
The Fall Creek reunion was fantastic-what a better place to meet than at the "historic" Fall Creek House.
Very honored to to have had the privilege of having dinner with Coach Moresco, and his wife. Coach is still on top of his game!
Looking forward to meeting up again, our best to all,
The class of '61 obviously came from a very diverse and exceptional gene pool that spawned an incredible, eclectic array of accomplished folks who turned into a fine lot. Never thought the reunion would be so enjoyable. I too would like to salute the organizers for their persistence, and the fine end product.
Dear Classmates,
After two years in planning with an awesome Team effort, thank you for making our 50th, a successful, reminiscent, three day event. I was truly amazed with our turnout, organization, and follow-up remarks sent to our Committee. The follow-up remarks are as follows. Jolene DeLaurentiis Conklin: I think we needed an additional 2 days at the reunion in order to see everyone. What a success that was. The reunion surpassed our hopes and expectations. Everything was perfect and went smoothly. The sites you chose for our gatherings were great, the food was fine, and the events were terrific. Of course, best of all was reconnecting with old friends. We can only imagine the hard work and many hours involved in setting up our 50th reunion. It will certainly be remembered by all. Nick Poulos: Thank you for being the driving force to get us organized and all the incredible effort to track down all of the graduates. I feel these efforts are indicative of the uniqueness of our class. I am disappointed that there was not a chance to talk further with you. I felt that the Friday night venue offered a wonderful opportunity to talk to a number of people and to have some wonderful dialogues. Judy Gere Cobb: It was good to see you at our reunion, time passed so quickly and so many to talk with. You did a terrific job locating all of us, including those from grade school and all the other things that made for a memorable weekend. The pictures are great! Ellen Peterson Kirbert: Yes, it was great to see everyone! Joyce Catalfano: The lunch at The Nines for the Belle Sherman crew was wonderful. Tom Watkins: Many, many thanks for making the I.H.S. and B.S. reunion(s) such a big success. Sharon and I had a really good time and it was great to get re-acquainted with so many friends from days of yore. Most folks seem to have aged reasonably well, meaning I could recognize them without staring at the little yearbook picture in the corner of their name tags. You, Loulie, and the others all did a tremendous job in putting the festivities together-- in making stuff happen and keeping everything orderly and moving along. Everybody seemed to have a good time at all events, I only got lost in Ithaca once (wrong turn Friday evening on the way to the Lake Watch Inn), and much enjoyed driving and then walking around the old neighborhood. The closing ceremonies Sunday with the reading of the names of the deceased was a highly appropriate and solemn touch. You guys on the planning committee even came up with perfect weather, not an easy accomplishment in Ithaca. Steve Craft: It was so great to see many of the classmates I had gone to school with! It was well worth the drive, and the weather was great. We appreciated how helpful ya'll were informing us of the schedule. Sally Fry Morgens: It was so fun to see you in Ithaca. Everything went so fast, especially Sunday morning. The program was over; every one disappeared almost instantly; there was no time to say good-bye. The web site photos are amazing - you all did an incredible amount of work. It makes me realize that the next reunion would be fun too. John Tuthill: Thanks for letting me know. I've already heard from a couple and it is nice. I sense I missed a really special time with a large group of people. I am so proud of what you and Loulie and your support cast did with the reunion. Not only that, but I have spend hours slowly going through the Class Directory and catching up that way. Amazing careers of so many. Keep that web site up if possible, it's worth the effort. Ron Cima: Thanks for the note. Gay and I thought it was a very special weekend and we left wanting more. It was especially wonderful to see you and the rest of our very unique gang of Sixth Grade classmates. Eleanor Jean Hewitt Dillard: I am still reeling from all aspects of our wonderful reunion. I can't thank you and so many others for the incredible job. Everything was so well organized that it appeared to go without a hitch. I can't imagine that that was actually true, but for those of us who just partook, it couldn't have been better. And for you to arrange the best Ithaca weather ever, well... It was such a surreal experience. To come back "home base" and gather again with a group where the bodies were different but the faces were the same. It was like a time warp. There wasn't enough time for anything but the most superficial contact. Most of that was just fine, but occasionally there was someone you wanted to know more about. One of the special gifts was seeing Rosina Mason. It is less than a three hour drive from here, and I will visit her soon. Again and again, thank you for all your time and effort!!! Nancy Given: Thanks for sharing these pics!!! Gads, old old memories. I do remember a cocker spaniel puppy coming to 2nd grade with the teacher AND Mrs. Hopkins sent me a card that said "Congratulations to a first grader who made good" when I graduated from high school. She was one TOUGH teacher!!! I very much appreciate your taking the time to keep in touch before the reunion. John David and David Solomon came on Sunday afternoon and filled me in on the reunion. What a great time you had!!! and the committee did such a super job finding everyone and making all of us feel we were part of the event. Maybe next time.... Ann Sheehan McNichols: You all did such a great job. I have looked at the web site and all the pictures you took. Thank you so much!!! Diane Driscoll Swartz and I are going to try to get some of the Ithaca folks together for lunch in Aug. I hope we will be able to keep in touch going forward as too much friendship time has been lost over the last 40-50 years. My husband wouldn't go to his 50th but had a wonderful time at ours and was so impressed with friendliness of the people he met. He can now understand why I have such fond memories of my time in Ithaca. Linda Klein Hirvonen: And thanks to you for all the time and effort you put into planning what was a magical trip down memory lane. Bev French Bray: It was great to see everyone but I agree it was a bit overwhelming. Thanks again for all the work you did to make the reunion happen. Margie Kolar Liguori: Thanks for all your work on the reunion. I thought it was a great success and such fun to see everyone. Joanne Westfall Bonanni: Yes it was a wonderful fun time last weekend.. It went too fast. The website is getting better and better...great fun pictures and will also bring memories. Judy Lampman Lankau: I was just saying to Paul that there wasn't enough time to chat with everyone. But we had a wonderful time, catching up with old friends and classmates. Susan Blair Jenny: Can I really be so far away from Ithaca and old friends already? It felt so wonderful re-connecting with everyone and yes, I also wished I had been able to spend more time with you in particular. Norma Kane Reardon: We really enjoyed the reunion. It was great to see so many old friends. What a wonderful job you all did. Don Sutherland: I had a great time. It was wonderful to see everyone again and renew old friendships. You are right about not having time to spend with everyone. It seemed like it was so short. Nancy Falke Merolle: We had a wonderful weekend visiting Ithaca and the reunion. There seems never to be enough time. The reunion was so well done, I can't say enough about how obvious it was that a lot of you did a gigantic job. Well done!!! Janet Greene Denham: The pictures are great and I just enjoyed the whole trip so much! I am so glad I came and saw so many people. I had a great time and also enjoyed just seeing Ithaca and how much it changed! You did a wonderful job organizing everything. Tom Rawski: A quick note to thank you for all the work that you (and others) lavished on preparations for our recent reunion. I have been a lifelong "conscientious objector" to both graduations and reunions; despite earning a trio of tertiary degrees and serving on various university faculties since 1971, I have never donned a cap and gown since that fateful day in June 1961 when IHS unleashed us on the adult world. But I must report that this past weekend in Ithaca was pure delight. I enjoyed every minute of it. And it would not have happened without your behind-the-scenes operations. I've done a bit of organizing over the past 50 years, and therefore have a very clear idea of the work involved in arranging for several hundred people to converge on multiple sites over a 3-day period. Thanks so much for your contribution to making this happen. I've already made reservations for the 100th reunion in 2061. Judy Goldfarb Weinberg: It was so much fun. I'm glad we had that time together. Suzanne Hastings Cullen: Yes it sure was a lot of fun. There is something about 50 years to ease the pressure of seeing so many people. Ruth Buncom Williams: I am so happy about seeing you and everyone again. You are a very special person and always so caring. I thank God for all of you that formed the roots of my life. Judy Shapley Waterman: What a terrific reunion!!!!! I agree the time went too fast but the connection with dear friends after 50 years was really fantastic. Now we have lots of new friends. Teena Wheater Reichardt: The reunion was terrific. You and your group did a terrific job of planning the reunion. Everything went very well, but the best thing was the number of people you persuaded to attend. Beth Bronfenbrenner Soll: Thanks so much for writing me! It was lovely to see your friendly, happy face/person. John Pete: We had a great time! As I reviewed the list of attendees I missed several people I should not have. You guys did a great job I hope everyone will come in 5 years. Mike McCarthy: Yes good to see every one and thanks for pushing me! --can't believe it was all 50 years ago! Ross Dicker: For me, it was an overwhelming experience that I wasn't prepared for. I wish I had been able to look the old year book before getting there, but I don't have one. I was able to see many people whom had completely forgotten about but recognized when I bumped into them, and others who recognized me but I didn't. You and the committee did a great job preparing this event. Kudos to each and every one of you. Bev Love Gaines: It was so good to see everyone. I too didn't have enough time to talk to everyone. I did, however, have a wonderful time at this reunion -- which was very special to me because of our ages (We'll see?) I also was glad to see Pat Scott again. She has come a long ways from when I saw her shortly after her stroke. Margie thank you again for all of your hard work these past 2 plus. You guys were wonderful!!! Robert Smith: It was a great time for all at the reunion. Gail told me that she felt that she had one of the best times working at putting together the classmates welcome packages. She felt that she had a better time to meet different folks and spend time talking with many. She felt it was a little more intimate. Alice Lutton Glover: We both had a good time. There were so many people there that I didn't even know were there until I saw your pictures.
I am touched by the t-shirt. All the names. I feel like I was really there. The gift is one of the most thoughtful I have ever received.
Thank you
Bob Campbell
P.S. The T-shirt is on display in my room and everyone comments on what a nice class I have.
I loved every minute of the reunion! Connecting with old friends I hadn't seen in 50 years, discovering new friends, and finding out what our classmates have done over the last half century. I'm so glad I traveled cross-country to be there!
Danilee Gorman Poppensiek on July 20, 2011 10:00 AM
I too was overwhelmed by the wonderful experience and can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself as much. Like Mary Poppins, I thought the reunion weekend was "practically perfect in every way." A huge thank you to the reunion committee for making it all possible. See you at the 55th!
I first of all want to thank John David for his hard work on the class of 61 website and his diligence in preparing and posting things to keep us up to date with our class.
Next would be Loulie & George Kent for their many hours spent working and writing and mailing and all the other stuff that went into making the 50th happen.
Then there is the reunion committee to which all of the above and many more devoted endless hours. They spent a lot of time over several years to insure that the 50th reunion of the class of 61 was the best one ever. To all of you I offer my most sincere thanks for your efforts in making it a huge success.
Here I need to give a shout out to my facebook buddy Judith Lampman Lankau for sharing photos and comments with me, thank you Judy.
To our classmates Rick Gravelding, Teddy Antrum and Fluffy Saccucci, from a long time friend and fan I thank you all for your friendship and entertainment throughout the years. I give you special thanks for your talents at the reunion. Without you guys it would not have been so special. The bands were wonderful but without Fluffy and Teddy they would have just been bands. The gathering at Stewart park would not have had any entertainment if not for Rick and Mike singing and playing, and we cannot forget George on the tuba.
With all that being said, I want to thank the entire class of 1961 for allowing me to return and be a part of something so very special.
To those who took the time to shake my hand and say hi, thanks, you all have touched a place in my heart that I thought was lost forever. when I left high school.
I close with the thought of attending the 55th and seeing you all again.
Most Sincerely
Don Darling
2017
All Reunion C...
2012
Dave