News from Janice Dick Drummey

Janice Dick Drummey

Janice (Dick) Drummey is a retired surgical technician and lives with her husband, John, in Merrimack, NH. They have one daughter, Lisa, who is a medical assistant in Hampton Beach, NH. Janice and John enjoy traveling. Jan knits and felts ( I had to ask her about that!) handmade purses. Janice has donated one of her hand-crafted purses for our 50th Class Reunion raffle.

Janice is one of sixty-seven Gardner High School classmates with accounts on Facebook. When you "make a friend" on Facebook you can visit their profile page and read about their education, work, and current hobbies or interests. You can also view their photo albums and see their children and grandchildren and other friends and family nembers. People can share as much or as little about themselves as they choose. In a way, Facebook can be a "virtual reunion" that enables you to reconnect with classmates and see how they are spending their lives.

Do you have a "news from" story to share with us? Contact us at ghsclassof1960@gmail.com.

News from Russell Hoag

Phyllis and Russell Hoag

Russell Hoag and his wife, Phyllis (Gallant) Hoag are now retired and have relocated from Maine to Roanoke, VA to be closer to two of their sons, one in Charlotte and one in Norfolk. The Hoags have many interests, including travel, sports, Spanish and Oriental cultures, cooking, and reading. If you are a member of Facebook, you can keep up with the Hoag's adventures and view their photo albums online.

In 2006, Russ spent several months in China on a work assignment. He kept a blog on which he recorded everyday experiences. You can enjoy his observations and commentary by going to http://loshoags.blogspot.com/ . Just click on the link or copy and paste it into your Internet browser.

Class Reunion Information - Update 1

One of the cottages available at the Wachusett Village Inn, site of our 50th Class Reunion dinner

Information about the 50th Class Reunion of the Gardner High School Class of 1960 has been sent to all classmates via USMAIL. The Reunion Registration Form should be filled out and included with a check made out to the GHS Class of 1960 then mailed to Judy Heino Collette at the address provided.

The three principal events of our Reunion weekend include:

* A Friday Night Social at Williams Restaurant and Tavern, 184 Pearson Boulevard, Gardner, starting at 7:00 p.m.

* A Saturday Evening Dinner at the Wachusett Village Inn, 9 Village Road, Westminster MA starting at 5:30 p.m.

* A Sunday morning Brunch at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library starting at 10:00 a.m.

Your completed registration form with check should be mailed to Judy by Friday, April 2, 2010.

The reunion information also includes driving directions to Williams Tavern and the Wachusett Village Inn, a list of Things to Do while you are in the Gardner area, and a recommended list of places to stay. The Wachusett Village Inn has single rooms and suites in the main building and cottages on the grounds.

If you have questions about any of the reunion events or facilities (all have good access) please contact Judy at the telephonenumber listed in the information packet.

Copies of all forms and information are available at the GHS Reunion Archives at http://mysite.verizon.net/vzep7fvn/index.htm .

Please continue to monitor our GHS web log for any changes or new information about our 50th reunion.

Does This Ring True?

Just thinking about a class reunion can trigger all kinds of feelings about school, self, and others. These can be happy feelings based on good times, friendships made, and shared "glory days" of accomplishment. There can also be wistful or regretful feelings about things done or not done in high school - personal rivalries, jealousies, or heart-aches that may seem silly now. Because class reunions can evoke powerful emotions, some people avoid going to them. In the lists below, we take a light-hearted look at reasons for not going to a reunion as experienced over the years.

Reasons for Not Attending - 1965
Can't go - I'm expecting a baby.
Not me - I just started a new job
Sorry - I'm stationed in the service
But I'm in graduate school
Frankly, I don't want to see him or her.

Reasons for Not Attending - 1985
I won't recognize anyone.
No one will recognize me.
I'm single - again.
We are on vacation that week.
I have business travel.

Reasons for Not Attending - 2005
I don't like to drive after dark.
Rich food gives me gas.
That's a long way to go for just a few hours.
I'd have to lose some weight first.
Will anyone even remember me?

Do you have an observation to add to this list? Your replies are welcome. You can leave a comment or e-mail an idea to ghsclassof1960@gmail.com.

This post was written in fun, and we hope we haven't hurt anyone's feelings. Our 50th Class Reunion on the weekend of July 23-25, 2010 may be the last best chance to have so many of us together in one room again.

Junior High School Photo Project

Homeroom 8-23, Gardner Junior High School,
1956 Photo provided by Ronald Rosengren

We have collected photographs taken in most of the seventh and eighth grade classes at the Gardner Junior High School on Waterford Street, Hubbardston Center School, Westminster Junior High School, Holy Rosary School, and Sacred Heart School. Electronic links to these photographs are available at the GHS Reunion Archives.

Click on the link below or copy and paste it into your Internet browser.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzep7fvn/photos.htm

Thanks go to the many classmates who provided photos to scan or who helped to identify classmates in the photos. These include:

Sacred Heart School - Judy Heino Collette, Rachel Hebert Reilly
Holy Rosary School - Diane Roy Young, Cecile Maillet Danielson, Charleen Surrette Bernard
Westminster Junior High School - John Oinonen, Merilyn Ruuska Dunn, Marilyn L'Ecuyer Michaelson, Jean Williamd Mattson, Robert Marien, Richard Donovan
Hubbardston Center School - Robert Coffin, Alan Erickson, Lloyd Hannula, Jerry Arsenault, Lorna Rivers, Sandra Hanson Merikanto
Gardner Junior High School - Ronald Rosengren, Martin Anderholm, Beverly Morze Piccone, Elizabeth Jacki MacDonald, James Tamulen, Lou Migliozzi, Arthur Thompson, Harold Fiske, Ann Fleming Fiske, Gladys Narkevicius, Linda Giles Merikanto, Brendan Dunn, Roger Kinnear, Carol Nyman Platukis, Shari Montville Whipple, Richard Goguen, Nancy Ball Griffin, James Ewing, Carolyn Cunningham Larson, Shirley Long Smith.

If you can help identify unknown persons in the photos (see lists accompanying each photo), please send an e-mail message to ghsclassof1960@gmail.com . Thank you.

News from Lloyd Hannula

Lloyd Hannula - a complete walker - in Tennessee just before entering the Great Smokies National Park

Lloyd Hannula of Westminster, MA has been "section hiking" the Appalachian Trail since 2005. His son completed the trail that year and he joined him in hiking the CT and MA sections of the trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine. Lloyd also climbed to the summit of Baxter Peak on Mt. Katahdin with him. Over the past five years, Lloyd has trekked the trail from the southern terminus of Springer Mountain, GA to Bland, VA and from Harpers Ferry, WV to Grafton Notch, ME. He has also hiked the 70-mile stretch between Maine Route 27 and Monson, ME. In the spring of 2010 Lloyd will head to VA and complete the segments between Bland and Harpers Ferry, and some remaining ME mileage before our GHS 50th Reunion. We wish him well and look forward to congratulating him at the reunion.

Lloyd is obviously no armchair traveler. Check out the protective gear he is wearing - cap, layers of warm clothing, wind-resistant pants, water-shedding gaiters, breathable boots, and sunglasses. That round object hanging from his belt is a combination watch/compass/altimeter. Do you think he has GPS stowed in that pack, too?