Stage Crew

The Stage Crew for our Senior Class Play "Follow The Dream" 1960: Back: Raymond Barton, Roger Kinnear Front: Ray Faucher('61), David Feltmarch

Every live production has some folks front and center, on stage, and other folks behind the scenes, pulling on ropes, moving props, and adjusting lights.

The same goes for our 50th Class Reunion. Here's the stage crew who helped make our 50th Class Reunion a success:

Carol Johnson Smith - registraton table
Carolyn Hebert - raffle tickets (Judy's daughter)
Judy Goodwin Cross - raffle tickets
George Collette - room set-up
Barbara Fleming - informal photographs
Ronald Cormier - library tour

Memories Shared, Memories Made

Evelyn Hurme Fogg reviews an album of Westminster elementary and junior high photographs assembled for our 50th Class Reunion.

The Monday, July 26 edition of the Gardner News (Volume 208, Number 175, pages 1 and 5) featured a front-page story on Gardner High School's class of 1960 three-day reunion. Staff reporter Steve Marcotte attended the Sunday Brunch at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library to interview classmates. His report acknowledged the large number of scholarships and awards received by members of our class, and included quotes from Jerome Pierce, Judy Heino Collette, and Judy Goodwin Cross.

The color photo of Karen Heywood Greenlaw published in the Gardner News did not scan well (came out too dark and grainy) so we used one of our own from the Sunday Brunch in this post.

The album that Evelyn is holding is still not complete. We are missing Mrs. L'Ecuyer's 1st grade class, 1949, and Miss Smith's 6th grade class, 1954. It does contain the entire Junior High Yearbook from 1957, thanks to Jean Williams Mattson.

The following GHS classmates and friends contrubuted to the album by loaning original documents or photographs for copying and scanning, or by helping to identify names of students in photos.

Jean Williams Mattson, Evelyn Hurme Fogg, John Oinonen, Ernest Lehtonen, Oscar Lehtonen, Merilyn Ruuska Dunn, Marilyn L'Ecuyer Michelson, Robert Marien, Robert Lowman, Ruth Vieweg Hutchison, and Richard Donovan.

A Salute to Service

David Feltmarch provided this photo of three GHS classmates in training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Shown are David Feltmarch, Russell Hoag, and Ronald Rosengren.

At the Saturday Dinner program of our 50th Class Reunion, class president Stanley Gemborys called upon all former service members to stand in recognition of their service to country. We do not have a complete list of all GHS classmates, male and female, who served in a branch of our armed services. If you can help us by identifying classmates who are veterans, please include their name in a comment you add to this message. Thank you.

Sunday Brunch

Our Sunday Brunch at the Levi Heywood Memorial Library on West Lynde Street in Gardner provided additional time for meeting and greeting former classmates. Some classmates toured the library facility, including the local history room, while other classmates mingled or sat in small groups or pairs, examining posters and class photo albums. The library tour was conducted by Holy Rosary School classmate Ronald Cormier.

The Friday Night Social and the Reunion Dinner events bustled with activity, laughter, and noise. The conversations on Sunday were more personal, focused, and reflective. Classmates put their heads together to identify classmates in our elementary or junior high school photo albums.

For more photos from the Sunday Brunch, click on the following link:

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9296283/1/SundayBrunch?h=1ac09e

Just for the record: 43% of GHS Class of 1960 classmates live in the greater Gardner area. An additional 14% live in other Massachusetts communities. The remaining 43% live in other states, including Alaska and Hawaii, with Florida having the wildcat's share. 115 classmates registered for our 50th Reunion. This represents 56% of our class. Gardner area classmates accounted for 32% of the overall attendance.

Saturday Night Dinner

Reunions within reunion: former Sacred Heart School classmates gather together for a group photo. Front row: Connie Lesneski Libed, Barbara Pelletier Bachand, Donna Blake Beise, Roberta Dines Graves, Judy Heino Collette, Janice Dick Drummey. Back Row: Gordon Dickie, John Yablonski, David Pacocha, Lucile Minns Fagan, Barry Glinski, Rachel Hebert Reilly, John Awdycki.

Banding together: Major domo Richard Goguen assembled former GHS band members for a group photograph. Front: Jacqui Teir Sanford, Karen Heywood Greenlaw, Barbara Pelletier Bachand, Claudine Marchegiani Reilly; Back: Richard Goguen, Rachel Hebert Reilly, Carrie Cunningham Larson, Linda Giles Merikanto, Bill Farnsworth.

Our 50th class reunion dinner was held at the Westminster Village Inn on Saturday night, with the steamy weather holding steady long enough to get an outdoor photograph of all of us, without any rain on our parade.

You can view a more complete album by clicking on the following link: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9296283/1/SaturdayDinner?h=015013

Friday Night at William's Tavern

Pull up a chair and visit a bit with Roger and Yvonne Savaria Perreault from Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Shari Montville Whipple is front and center in this digital photo taken on Friday night.

The Friday Night Social at William's Tavern and Restaurant on Pearson Boulevard in Gardner served as a warm-up for the main event, our 50th Class reunion dinner, on Saturday. Over 80 classmates participated, meeting, greeting, and discovering new friends in a relaxed setting with plenty of appetizers, both hot and cold, and friendly waitstaff who were eager to refill every glass.

For a more complete album, please click on the following link:

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9296283/1/FridayNight?h=27943b

Safe Travel, Classmates

Here's wishing all GHS Class of 1960 classmates safe travel to and from our 50th Class Reunion events. Whether you live near or far, we hope you enjoy meeting former classsmates and making new friends.

The weather this week continues to be hot and muggy, with chances of thundershowers in the afternoon or evening over the weekend of July 23-25, 2010.

The photo above was taken by Judy (Heino) Collette and shows some hand-painted items prepared by classmate Diane (Brazawskis) Ewing for our reunion raffle. What a nice way to remember our 50th Class Reunion - some lucky ticket holder will take home quite a keepsake.

........................................... Don't Be Late!

Friday Night Social, Williams Tavern, Pearson Boulevard - 6:00 p.m. (NOTE: There is NO Tour of the former GHS building on Elm Street)

Saturday Reunion Dinner, Westminster Village Inn - 5:30 p.m. (registration) 6:45 p.m. (class photo), 7:00 p.m. (dinner) 8:00 p.m. (short program and raffle).

Sunday Brunch, Levi Heywood Memorial Library, West Lynde Street 10:00 a.m. (includes tour of building)

The Girl on the Boulevard

Here is a photo of a confident and poised young woman at the beach. She is a classmate you may remember, particularly if you attended Pleasant Street, Connors Street, and Gardner Junior High in the 1950's, too.

You will see her again at our 50th Class Reunion. Can you identify this person?

News from Nancy Ball Griffin

Nancy (Ball) Griffin with her husband Paul and grandchildren AJ (11) and Elizabeth (9), plus Stella

Nancy and Paul were married in 1963. Nancy graduated from Framingham State College in 1964. She taught in both urban and rural areas in Rhode Island before moving to Rochester, Minnesota where daughter Jennifer was born. Nancy and Paul then lived in the Twin Cities area and Indiana before moving to Columbus, Ohio. She writes, "It took many years, but I finally became a Buckeye Nut," but adds that all New England teams are still her favorites. Nancy worked in several small businesses, in real estate, and as a nursing home administrator. In 1994, Nancy returned to teaching, this time in inner city schools, and reports that she loved it.

In addition to photos of her own family, Nancy sent pictures of the late Pamela (Prime) Miller, who died in 2006. Taken in 1995 and 2001, these will be shared in a special post.

Nancy contributed a story to the GHS Memory Book and will join us at our 50th Class Reunion on July 23-25, 2010. Like many others in our class, Nancy enjoys traveling, reading, crafts, and spending time with friends and family.

Enjoying Your 50th Reunion

One way to have a good time is by taking a chance on winning one of our unique raffle items, like this felted Icelandic wool purse handmade by Janice Dick Drummey.

Our 50th Class Reunion is rapidly approaching and we hope you are preparing for a good time with friends and former classmates. You can help yourself have a more memorable journey in time and place by doing some of the following:

* Looking at the pages of your 1960 Argus before the reunion. You can't expect people to look like that after 50 years, but reviewing the photos in the Argus will remind you of people you might want to seek out at the reunion.

* Introducing your spouse or guest to classmates who may share similar hobbies or life experiences.

* Taking a camera so you can share some photos with family and friends back home, or to send us digital images for posting to the GHS Web Log

* Collecting a FEW photos of home, family, or hobbies to share with classmates. This may be especially important if you have recently retired, relocated or purchased a brand new Harley.

* Carrying extra cash for all those little unexpected purchases you might make, including a class photo and raffle tickets.

* Taking time to chat with people you didn't know very well in high school, but with whom you may have developed similar interests or opinions over the years.

* Don't forget to pack your sense of humor. There are always a lot of things that can go wrong and not meet your expectations. You can't expect to recognize everyone by name, and they may not even remember you, either. A room may be crowded. A dinner table may be full. Someone may have taken the last scallop wrapped in bacon. Plus, it could rain. Hey, we are all still here, aren't we? Let's party.

GHS Memory Book

GHS Memory Book - Cover Design and Photo by Judy Heino Collette

Thirty-five classmates responded to our invitation to contribute a memory of their Gardner days. The invitation was sent out via e-mail, posted on Facebook, and published in the home news section of the Gardner Daily News. Samples of the GHS Memory Book will be displayed at the Saturday Reunion Dinner on July 24th, 2010. Electronic versions of the GHS Memory Book will be provided at no charge to classmates with e-mail. Paper copy will be sent to classmates who request one for a nominal fee that covers costs of copying and postage.

The GHS Memory Book includes first-person anecdotes about persons, places, and experiences that have made a lasting, lifetime impression. A separate section is devoted to other perspectives on the Gardner experience. Some are written with humor, many as tributes, and others with wistfulness, a few with wishfulness or even mischief. One thing is sure: you will learn things about former classmates that might surprise you!

The GHS Memory Book includes a cover, introduction, table of contents, and 24 pages of memories - 28 pages in all. The work was collected and compiled by Douglas S. Fleming. Judy Heino Collete designed the cover and completed the technical edit and formatting. Classmates who authored items for the publication include Yvonne Savaria Perreault, Carrie Cunningham Larson, Galdys Narkevicius Richardson, Timothy Swanson, Tom Ryan, Donna Blake Beise, Connie Lesneski Libed, Alice Winter Empie, Elaine Stanley Guaraglia, Richard Goguen, Jadwiga Narkevicius Earle, Walter J. Dubzinski, Jr., Louis Paul Migliozzi, John Oinonen, Annette Arsenault Wall, Linda Giles Merikanto, Douglas S. Fleming, Edith Needham Godfrey, Suzanne Skamarycz Nobrega, Jean Williams Albert Mattson, Judy Heino Collette, Dennis Erickson, Jan Morin Ricord, Barbara Pelletier Bachand, Nancy Ball Griffin, Jeanne Charest Mallet, Carole Nyman Platukis, Robert H. Coffin, Jr., William Farnsworth, Karen Heywood Greenlaw, Virginia Blake Monette, Stanley R. Gemborys, Winona LeBlanc Moeller, and Beverly Morze Piccone. Shari Lee Montville Whipple provided the verse that marks transitions between the sections of the text.

To request a paper copy to be sent via USMAIL, contact Judy Heino Collette. To request an electronic version you can read on your computer and print yourself, contact Douglas S. Fleming.

News from Winona LeBlanc Moeller

Winona (LeBlanc) Moeller and her husband Ken, at Ken's 50th Class Reunion at Melbourne, Florida - from Florida Today, May 23, 2010

Winona has a B.S. (nursing major), M.S. (Family Health and Education) and certificates for post-graduate study. She is a retired LTC, Army Nurse Corps and completed assignments in Germany and throughout the United States. Winona was on special assignments to Fort Sam Houston and the Pentagon for Army Nurse Education. She was honored as Woman of the Year for America Red Cross Europe and earned the Outstanding Nurse Award for Quality Improvement in the Northeast Region.

Winona remains active on the Board of Alumnae at UMASS Amherst. In retirement she keeps busy with home remodeling, gardening, cooking, reading, listening to classical music, walking, and swimming. She quickly adds that "Any of these activities take a back seat when Ken and I are able to enjoy our grandchildren - Derek, 5, and Amanda, 3." Winona and Ken moved fifteen times in their married lives (43 years). Their two children, Gregory and Jonathan, live in Massachusetts and New York.

In high school, Winona was a member of the Junior Red Cross 1, 2, 3, 4 a Senior Play Usherette, and Pro Merito.

Senior Banquet Informal

Following the 1960 Senior Banquet, some classmates met in Ashburnham at the camp of Winona and Pamela LeBlanc. Seated around the kitchen table are (starting from the back, center, near the refrigerator, and moving clockwise): Jadwiga Narkevicius, Alice Winter, Geraldine Girard, Marilyn L'Ecuyer, Evelyn Hurme, Beverly Morze, Winona LeBlanc, and Pamela LeBlanc (partly obscured). Gladys Narkevicius took the photo.

What memories does this photo evoke for you?

Fact: Seven of the nine persons at this gathering will also be in attendance at our 50th Class Reunion on July 23,24, and 25, including the photographer.

Do you have an old high school photo like this you can share on our web log?

News from William Bradford

William Bradford and his wife Lynn on a trip to the Georgia and Carolina Mountains

After graduating from high school, Bill spent four years in the Navy aboard aircraft carriers and on bases in Florida. He earned a B.S. degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and then worked as an engineer for Southern Bell. He writes, "Now retired, I am enjoying life with my wife, Lynn. We have two children -a daughter, Teresa, and a son, Billy - and four grandchildren. I keep busy with BMW motorcycle and car clubs, painting, reading, traveling, and attending grandchildren's sports activities. Bill and Lynn live in Port Orange, Florida.

Bill attended elementary and junior high school in Westminster prior to enrolling at Gardner High School.