Update from Charlene June 2008

Class of 1974

Greetings to members of the Class of 1974! It seems as though it was yesterday that we were graduating and now we are upon our 34th year out of school. Where does the time go? We are the age our parents were then, hard to believe isn’t it? Many of us are grandparents now, yet some of us still have children in grade school or high school. Ah, to be young and free again…..would we want to go back to 1974?

As we age, we are faced with losing class members in greater numbers than ever before. In 2007 we lost two members of our class….we actually lost them within a week of each other.

Wendy Stone passed away on July 28, 2007 at the age of 51. Jay Bacon passed away on August 2, 2007. Wendy was good about attending the reunions and Jay assisted with the floats. Jay rode the float in 2004 as part of our “Next 30 Years” theme, he was the 2004 section. They will be missed.

The 35th reunion will be here before we know it…..a little more than 1 year! It takes quite a lot of planning to organize the reunion and the float…..so please start thinking about it. I organized the one in 2004 and will continue to handle the paperwork and mailings, but it will be necessary for other class members to step up to organize the reunion activities and float participation. Without people stepping up to do this work, the reunion will not happen….which will be a shame. We had a small turnout for the 30th, but hopefully more will be able to participate in 2007. I can be reached at charlie0956@aol.com if you have suggestions for 2009 or would be willing to organize it. I can then get the word out to the rest of the class.

We also need to be raising funds to help pay for the float and the reunion. We have a very small amount of money in the bank account….so any suggestions on how to raise some money would also be appreciated. Any donations that you would like to make personally can be sent to me….made out to the Stevens High School Class of 1974.

I would ask that you also please contact me with comments, thoughts or news to share with classmates. I am also looking for current email addresses, so if you have changed yours recently or have email addresses from other class members that I might not have, please let me know. Plus, if you have moved or changed your name in the last few years, please let me know that as well.

So….here’s hoping that all of you remain well. That your children, grandchildren and spouse/significant other are well too. That as we continue further into the second half of our lives that we will continue to enjoy it and have some fun.

Comments, Ideas, Thoughts Start here!

Here's where the main body will lie for comments, ideas and thoughts on what we should do for a class get together. Just click on the headline to see all comments and add your own.

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Update, June 1st 2008

Hello!

I am releasing the link to the class site today and hopefully we'll start getting some serious feedback on what we are going to do for our 35th. There is a lot to be done and the sooner we get going the better time we can have.

I set up this blog to help us all have a central point to debate the ideas and plan.I hope everyone who participates here comes back often. My role here is to moderate and move things along. The actual planning and carrying out what we decide will fall upon those who volunteer their time.

What ultimately gets decided, will depend on the participation and how well this blog link gets talked about. The more classmates made aware of this page the better. I hope many of our class stop by here and leave an idea a note, or a picture behind. This is our page, there is no limit to what can be added and talked about here.

I have also added a slide show from the 30th in 2004. If you want to see the large version of the pictures, just double click on the image. It will take you to my picture gallery on Google Picassa. If anyone has pictures or video they would like to share, old or new, please don't be shy and send it in to me at my email address.

It would be great to see pictures from the days we were in high school and anything is welcome. I know there are some out there!! I will add it to the site as I receive them.

I will do all I can to help with getting this going, we need some others to step forward especially those who still live in the local area . This is YOUR page, let's make OUR 35th a great one! Let the ideas begin.

Best to you all, Phil Winans (aka "Stretch")

Post From Charlene "Charlie" Reynolds

Hi! I hope that you are having a good summer.

The SHS alumni weekend is over and while it rained all day and evening, things went off well. The date for the 2007 reunion is set on June 9th. The class of 1974 had 3 people at the reunion.....Phil Winans, Anne St. Sauveur Hulse and myself.

We did have a chance to talk during the dinner hour about the future class reunions and how to get people involved in both our own class reunion and the SHS alumni banquet as well. The larger reunion is a good dinner and a good place to discuss the future of the class.

We do need to start planning this. The class fund is VERY small, and reunion cost can be huge. We need to figure out a way to raise some money now, so that when the reunion comes around, people will attend.

The thought has been thrown out about using the Odd Fellows hall in downtown Claremont. If it is available in 2 years, there are several things to consider. First, it is on the 3rd floor of the building and the only way up is climbing the stairs. Second, there are issues with bathroom facilities and electricity. Third, there are no tables or chairs-so they would need to be rented. Fourth, would a hired, licensed bartender (which you would have to have unless you did BYOB) want to carry everything up 3 flights of stairs?

Fifth, we can't start the reunion until after 8:30 PM on Saturday and while we have tried to have events other times during the weekend, they have been poorly attended.

At the 30th reunion, we had some different people at events but for the most part the same people attended all of the various functions (ice cream, party and breakfast). We had a very poor turnout at the reunion although those attending did have a great time.

The committee had worked on the reunion for 9 months, which means the next committee needs to start thinking about the 2009 reunion (35th) about the time the 2008 reunion rolls around.

So, I am giving people something to begin thinking about. We need to raise $$. We need to start thinking about where we want to have the reunion and figuring out what is involved with that, and we need to get people involved.

Please forward this email to class members that aren't on this email and please let me know your thoughts.

Again, have a great summer and keep in touch!

Charlene Hayes Reynolds