CLASS OF 1965 50TH REUNION

The reunion started Friday afternoon when the class was honored with a luncheon hosted by  the school.  This luncheon was created several years ago to celebrate each graduating class at their  fiftieth   anniversary. Note to other classes: Plan to attend when you celebrate your own 50th!

Angela Van Rynbach was voted as the most influential member of our class, having spent decades  in  India, Bangladesh, and Africa working for the U.N. World Food Programme.


Angela and Kathy Fox, the FA alumni coordinator

Below is a photo of a pretty good looking bunch of old folks , from left to right Steve Beslity, Angela Van Rynbach, Barbara Kemp, Brandt Rising, Holly Russell Sandy Lotowycz Rising, Holt Apgar,  Lynn Barker Caruso, and Phebe Alice Smith Apgar.


After the luncheon, the  reunion- with several more late arrivals-  moved to Brandt’s farm in Brightwaters.  Time can fade exact memories, so let it be mentioned that this was a “hurricane weekend” . The northeast was forecast to have weather that was somewhere between awful and dangerous. Some classmates cancelled, and others endured traffic  that barely crawled.  As it turned out, the weather was no more than an annoyance.

Saturday was much like Friday, in that we all gathered back at Friends for a luncheon, this one hosted for all students who graduated 50 or more years ago:


Brandt is standing at the left, and moving to the right is Gloria Koster. Steve Beslity is next, but Eric Koster is hidden behind him, and Angela is further hidden behind Eric. Further to the right is Bob Tilden, Behind him, apparently whooping it up is Lynn Barker and Phebe Alice.

In the realm of small world and great coincidences,  there  is a lady sitting in the foreground, ahead of Brandt. Quite by chance I sat next to her at the luncheon and noticed her name tag “Jackie Copp”. I looked over to her and announced “You are Linda Moore’s sister!”.  (Jackie graduated in 1952) We talked for a while, and several others stopped to remember Linda .  I gave her a friendly hug and asked her to pass it on to Linda when she saw her again.

IT IS TIME TO PAUSE FOR A REALITY CHECK AND THE INTRODUCTION OF SOME PERSPECTIVE:
  If you were to move elements of this scene back to 1965. “Us seniors” would be looking at the class of 1915! Could we have imagined  the class of 1915 mingling around with eyes that twinkled like teen-agers'?  Could we have imagined the long and fortunate road that brought them back together  as old friends half a century later?

Each evening we gathered at what we called "the farm" when we were in school. It was once much larger, and was operated by the Isbrandsen Lines to help supply the kitchens of the fleet. In this picture Brandt's mom is showing the farm scrapbook to Bob.


Angela, Lynn,Phebe Alice. and Holly


Dave Pratt and Holly Russell. Behind them are Holly's two travelling companions. After an hour, they were "one of us."


Lynn and Phebe


Dave Pratt and Jeff Davis. It was Jeff's good luck that he was already scheduled to perform at Old Bethpage Village on reunion weekend. He is a folk singer (jeffdavisoldmusic.com), and you may remember his yearbook informal posed with a number of folk instruments gathered on an appalachian trip the previous summer. He didn't realize at the time that music would be his career.


Angela, Eric, and Bob in the kitchen


Holt and Phebe.


Barbara and Jeff.


Barbara and Steve.


Steve. I hope he will excuse some editorial liberty with this yearbook excerpt. I couldn't help myself. Can you say "mellowed with age??"


Angela.


Eric.


Lynn and Bob.


Brandt entertains a few cranks on the calliope, and announces that the meals were free, but the entertainment will cost $60 a head.


Brandt cranked the caillope and Bob had cranked the correspondence. but Thank You Sandy for doing most everything else!

It is time for good-byes... Here is a portrait of the class and spouses that attended the reunion. The only two non- FAers are Gloria Koster next to Eric, and Donna Tilden, next to Dave Pratt.


SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

This is a picture full of smiles, but pictures don’t capture the excitement each time that another classmate walked through the door on Friday evening. It doesn’t capture the warmth of looking into an eye that looked at you 50 years ago. Neither does it capture the strange feelings of satisfaction yet emptiness when it is over…  Much like a kid at Christmas; ...Waited all year, counted each day, woke up early, opened all the presents, and now it is all done. It was so good while it lasted, and we missed all those who weren't there with us.

There were parting cheers of “see you next year!” , but  we knew it to be only a wish. Perhaps in five years? I hope so.