Reports on
Recent Past Dinners:
August, 2010 - A very small group gathered and enjoyed the
conversation and food to complete 9 years of our monthly class dinners.
Given the lack of interest among a broader number of classmates, the
monthly dinners, at least as now organized, are not likely to continue.
The small core group of current attendees, who enjoy visiting with our
fellow members of the Class of 1968, may meet informally periodically
without announcement. Any member of the class is welcome to join us but
probably would need to contact an one of the loyal dinner attendees who
were showing up most every month.
July, 2010 - Another
very nice little gathering, including one never-before-attended
classmate and two guests made it a special evening. For all of you who
don't attend our class dinners, we really do miss you.
June, 2010 -
The organizer was thinking of asking folks if we should try to continue
the monthly class dinners with such a consistently poor turnout. One
again, however, this was a fun event, so he decided to keep his mouth
shut. A few of the folks didn't leave until 9:35 p.m. The music was
good and if the menu did not have the veriety or specialties of some of
the other places we meet, it was good, at least my bacon, lettuce,
tomoto sandwich on wheat bread was, and it was inexpensive. The pie was
good, too. Best of all, of course, was the opportunity to visit with
classmates.
To address the issue of poor turnout, it is thought that an anonomous
on-line survey might give us an idea of what the problem is. If you
live in the greater Memphis area and we have your e-mail address, look
for an e-mail in the not too distant future asking why you don't attend
class dinners, if you don't, or how we could improve them if you do.
May, 2010 - Another really fun gathering and another really
small one. A lot of good conversation. We did talk a little about each
deceased classmate, remembering something special about each one best
we could. That lead to other mentions of our East High experiences,
classes, teachers, and the like and it was really fun. Back when the
montly dinners first started (first dinner was September, 2001), we did
a lot more of that. Maybe we should get back to doing it again because
it was both interesting and humorous. We could only wish more of you
could have been there to enjoy it as we did.
Gosh, the
April 2010 class dinner
was fun! It was a small group but lively discussion ensued. It was
great to see Lynn Malkin again. She hasn't been to Memphis in 3 years,
and she says she's probably only been back to the city less than a
handful of times since moving west in the late 1970s. The "locals"
seemed to be in good spirits and it was just a great visit among
classmates. If you weren't there, it is suggested you are missing out.
Classmates, we miss you when you don't visit with us.
The
March, 2010 dinner
was small but special. Two alumni we haven't seen in a while attended.
It was the first back at a class dinner for one of them who spent quite
a lot of time in the hospitial over the past couple of years. It was
good visiting with everyone who was there. Despite my verse and link to
the "Young Girls" song in the dinner announcement, none of our young
girl classmates joined us. It was mentioned that a number of those
women who used to attend class dinners now meet together on a regular
basis and that results in a lack of attendance at our class dinners
since they either have recently or will shortly be getting together on
their own. Good for them, bad for us.
Our
February, 2010 dinner was
good, with a couple of faces we hadn't seen recently at the dinners. We
still haven't rebounded to the attendance levels we had for most of the
first 6 1/2 years of our monthly dinners. We'll keep working at it and,
of course, we could use your help (your attendance). At the dinner we
discussed a possible "60th birthday" party or mini-reunion for sometime
this year. Stay tuned. Or better yet, send in your suggestions.
The January, 2010 dinner did not follow what we hoped was a
trend for increasing attendance. We only had 7 folks join us, but it
was a nice gathering.
It was really great
to see those few of you who came to the "class coffee" December 26.
Thank you for making the effort to share part of the holidays with your
classmates.
The November,
2009 dinner continued a trend of increasing attendance.
It was great to see some folks we haven't seen in several months. We
still have a ways to go to equal our average attendance for the first 6
years or so of our monthly class dinners, but with your help we can
meet and exceed those numbers ... and have more fun, too!
The October, 2009 dinner
was good fun. We had an out-of-town alumnus surprise us by joining us
and the small group seemed to have a good time, despite the loud music
and ambient noise. Those attending continued to express interest in
continuing the monthly dinners despite the small turnouts. Don't miss
out again, join us soon for our class activities.
Faculty Guest
Program Financial Report: [posted July 9, 2008]
As
you may know, in the summer of 2007, due to a lack of turnout at the
class dinners, I suspended then later terminated the Faculty Guest
Program wherein I invited a faculty member to be our guest. This
program was funded by anonymous donations from dinner attendees. At the
time of the suspension, the fund had $53.28. After waiting to see if
the dinner attendance would recover only to find the dinners themselves
in jeopardy, I sent a check for $53.28 to the Class of '68
Reunion
Committee on May 14, 2008, suggesting the money be used to (a)
sponsor the faculty guest program itself or find another classmate to
do so and use the money to continue the program or (b) incorporate the
money into the Reunion fund to help pay for the 2008 or future
reunions.
The faculty guest we had join us were delightful and it
was great fun and rewarding to visit with them at the dinners. -- Ken
Welch
35-Year
Reunion Review:
To those of you who were able to join together for our 35-year reunion:
Thank you!
Reunion!
It was wonderful to see and visit with each of you and your presence
made for a great party! We feel confident that each of you share our
thoughts about the others that were with us when we say we are thankful
for and value your friendship.
More than 130 snapshots
from the reunion have been posted (last update: August 4, 2003). If you
have pictures of the reunion you'd like to share, contact us at editor@EastHigh.org.
The East High Class 1968 has concluded its 35-year reunion with a very
successful party at the Racquet Club in Memphis. We have yet to
formally review the attendance count, but the "gatekeepers" reported
nearly a 100% attendance of those who had pre-registered and we had a
few more join us. So we were in the 85 person range.
It appeared one of the highlights may have been the photographs -- once
people realized that photographers had been made available, the
"studio" seemed quite busy taking and printing photographs for couples
and groups. We hope a lot of special memories were captured. We are
very happy to have a 2003 group photo of the Class of '68.
We are especially thankful to those who made the extra effort, and went
to the extra expense, to travel to Memphis from out of town in order to
join us. We only regret we don't get to visit with you more often.
Don't stop now. Memphis area classmates, join us
when you can for our monthly class dinners!
While this reunion is fresh in your mind, if you
have any suggestions for future reunions, please let a member of your
Reunion Committee know. While a lot of factors go into the decisions of
the Committee, it will be happy to receive your ideas and to consider
them. You may contact the Committee through this e-mail address (East68@gmail.com).
Active members of the Reunion Committee for the 35-year Reunion were:
- Marsha Hunt Marascuilo
- Rick Handwerker
- Patty Crowl Burnett
- Bill Holt
- Betsy Reitz
- Ken Welch
- with very special thanks to Jessica Turnbull
Buchignani's participation and invitation to use her wonderful home for
our Friday night event,
- and our appreciation to Linda Lovvorn Niell and
her husband Barry (East '61) through whom the Racquet Club facilities
were made available.
If you have photos or recollections of the reunion you would like to
share by having them posted on The East High Alumni Page, please
contact the alumni web page at
editor@EastHigh.org.
The East High Class of 1968 began its 35-year
reunion with a wonderful
party Friday night. Fifty-nine people were in attendance at Jessica's
beautiful house, with good food, some great oldies music in the
background, but the best thing of all were the many friends getting to
visit again. It's got to rate as an excellent reunion party.
The non-committee event of lunch across from East High and walking over
to the campus turned out to have a small attendance, just as expected.
However, it also turned out to be a very good event. City Schools were
registering for summer school at East High so the doors were open and
our group was given free range over most of the school. Once again, a
lot of memories were resurrected. We met 2 or 3 graduates of East after
our time, a policeman who graduated in '78, and two city school
employees, one graduating in '93. The third was, if memory serves, a
graduate of the 1980's.
There are some biography booklets still available.
Information on the June 18, 2016, mini-reunion is at the top of this page.
A report on the
April 21, 2001,
mini-reunion is follows, with reports on previous reunions thereafter.
MINI-REUNION
SAID TO BE
ONE OF THE "BEST EVER"
[posted April 22,
2001] - "Best
Ever" reunion?
Amid numerous positive
comments about last night's Class of '68 mini-reunion was one
classmate's comment that it was the "best ever." That might have been
slightly over enthusiastic because the memory fades of past reunions.
Or maybe it does rank among the higher evaluations on the fun scale.
This writer cannot be a judge, since he missed the other two that have
a consensus of being the best: the 10-year reunion and the Friday night
event of the 20th. Regardless, it was great fun last night to see and
visit with a lot of old and good friends.
The night started with
a ominous sign. The private room reserved for the event was closed by
the restaurant management because the overhead fan fell out of the
ceiling. It was hanging by electrical wires. Restaurant management
reported that mishap occurred at 6pm, too late to get an electrician to
fix it and too dangerous to allow guests into the room. So the
restaurant staff squeezed tables into a corner of the restaurant and
designated it ours. It was about half the size of the private room and
half the size of what would have been ideal, but as one alumnus said,
it's not the place, it's the people. We did have to fight to be heard
over the restaurant's music and ambient noise, and this writer's voice
was feeling the strain later in the evening.
Attendance was good
for the get together at the Half Shell restaurant, with the special
surprise of the presence of Lynn McCarley (Rebecca), who just happened
to be in town from her home in New York this weekend, and George Nash,
who drove in from Jackson, Mississippi, that evening to spend some time
with us. Jack Brakefield coming in from south Alabama was a treat.
Although it wasn't a surprise, because the date of the event was firmly
established because he was going to be in town, Maynard Robinson's
joining us from California was great fun. Of course, the gathering
wouldn't have been a success without the attendance of our Memphis
based class members.
At least 22 classmates
were at the mini-reunion, two or three dates/spouses, and two
especially invited guests from other classes, and one friend who
attended with the Class of '68 for the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. Two
others checked in by telephone, Little Bit Kinnett and Mike Ronsiek of
Louisiana, though no longer married, both called at different times and
engaged in prolonged chat with various members of the class. Mike
expressed surprised at the turn out and said if he'd known so many
class members were going to be here, he would have made the drive up.
Perhaps we can look forward to his joining us next time.
It was especially good
to see Pam Pennington and Patt Duncan feeling well enough to come to
the mini-reunion, since both are battling illnesses.
A newsletter was
available for all attendees catching them up with some of the news of
classmates, it was news previously published on The East High Alumni
Page. The newsletter also listed some of those who sent greetings even
though they could not attend.
With apologies to any
classmates whose names may have failed to have been recorded, the
following is an attempt at a list of the names (as we knew them at
school) of East alumni who joined us.
Jack Brakefield
Patty Crowl
Pat Davis
Patt Duncan
Janice Floyd
David Harsh
Curt Healy
Lucy Lathram
Wes Lawson
Carole Marshall
Rebecca Lynn McCarley
Frank Mitchell
George Nash |
|
Pam Pennington
Billy Pierce
Betsy Reitz
Maynard Robinson
Diane Rudner
Patty Taylor
Jessica Turnbull
Cynthia Wooten
Bill Yerian
Lester Goldsmith (Class of '70)
Beth Gooch (Class of '75)
James Wax (associated with the Class of '68) |
It was a night of great fun.
I sure hope we can see each other again, soon.
report
submitted by: Ken Welch
P.S. Happy Birthday, you know
who you are.
A report about the
June, 1999,
mini-reunion is below, followed by a report on the 1998 30-year
reunion.
June
1999 Mini-Reunion a Mini-Success
[Last updated June 20, 1999] -
A Class Party and Mini-Reunion for the Class of 1968 was held the
evening of June 19, 1999, hosted by a class member at the clubhouse of
a multi-family housing complex in East Memphis.
About 150 invitations were sent by mail, and a few by e-mail to all
those for which the class has valid addresses. Of course, a few of the
addresses thought to be valid a year ago for the 30 year reunion were
no longer valid.
The best count The East High Alumni Page has is that 26 people attended
the party. Chips and dip, a vegetable plate with dip, and a Corky's
barbecue dinner were provided, along with "East High" oatmeal cookies.
A copy of the Class of 1968 section of The East High Alumni Page was
circulated, as was an official and updated copy of the Class Reunion
committee's address list. The '68 Annual, along with a couple of others
from classes close to '68 were circulated. Also making the rounds were
photographs from the 30 year reunion held in June, 1998.
Three guests graciously volunteered to bring additional food, Marsha
Hunt Marascuilo, Janis Floyd Steinhagen, and Lester Goldsmith ('70).
Others volunteered to help but were assured by the host that it was
unnecessary.
Although this was a party hosted by an individual classmate for which
no guest was expected to incur any cost whatsoever, one of the guests
instigated a collection of money to help defray the expenses. Many
graciously donated, some apparently extremely graciously. The host
embarrassingly acknowledges the kindness of the guests.
The party was without RSVP requirements. The host thought a practical
prediction of attendance would be about 20, that 30 would be quite
nice, and that 40 or more would be an unqualified success. The count of
26, including the host, seemed to be a sufficient number for a fun
visit. Sixteen of the attendees were Class of '68 members, four were
members of other East classes who attended either as a special guest of
the host or in the company of an '68 graduate.
"The attendance was right in the middle where you could be pleased or
concerned about the turnout. Considering the kind expressions of those
who attended, I think we can call this a good mini-reunion, though we
did miss a lot of classmates," remarked host Ken Welch. "These are fun
folks who obviously remember their high school friendships and want to
keep them alive. Of course, most all of our classmates are fun folks,
but some had other engagements or live out of town."
While it is believed no one traveled from out of town for the
mini-reunion, and none were expected to do so, the party had one
classmate who lives in Pennsylvania attend. "It was great to see Patsy
Sewel Gruenberg and her husband, even more so since she was not able to
come to our 30 year reunion last summer," the host commented about the
party's out of town guests.
Everyone expressed appreciation for the mini-reunion idea, as did many
at last year's 30 year reunion. It remains to be seen if the attendees
who gathered Saturday night are a special group with this interest or
if others will attend future mini-reunions regularly.
The host continued to express his belief that a mini-reunion every six
months would be a good schedule, although along the lines proposed last
year in which the party is less complex because it might be held at a
restaurant.
The idea of mini-reunions was most recently brought to the attention of
class members based on the Class of 1975's mini-reunion efforts.
The source for this report was a direct participant in the organization
of the event, therefore subject to bias.
1998 Reunion
FUN
PEOPLE, FUN TIMES, THEN AND NOW
The 30-Year Reunion
— Photos —
[last updated June 7, 1998] - The East High School
Class of 1968 held its 30
Year
Reunion June 6, 1998. Members of the class, making up a little more
than half those in attendance, along with spouses/dates, and five
faculty members who taught at East during the tenure of the class
totaled nearly 100 people. The primary event was a casual barbecue
dinner at the Hill's Barn party facility in Davies Plantation. The
Class once again demonstrated it consisted of fun people who create fun
times, both while in high school and today.
The Reunion Committee had decorated the room with
red and grey balloons and items of other school colors creating a very
nice looking environment. A disc jockey played hit records from the
members' high school era and Pig 'n Whistle restaurant provided a
barbecue meal. As expected, the music was mostly ignored because the
focus was on each other. The din of voices in conversation never
lulled. The Reunion Committee gave away a print of a watercolor by
artist Layfayette Ragsdale depicting the front of East High School.
The guests of honor, the faculty members who
taught members of the class, included Barbara Olds, Elizabeth Rashed
(who we knew as Elizabeth Regan), Helen Rice, Frances Hoback, and
Margaret Taylor. Barbara Olds first year as a teacher (English) was
1967-68, the year the Class of 1968 were seniors, and she is retiring
this year after many years as a principal in the Memphis City School
system. So her attendance completed the circle of beginning with these
class members and ending with them. Elizabeth Rashed just retired from
teaching (English) within the last 2 or 3 years, having taught at East
for all but two years of her 30+ year career. Helen Rice was a very
welcome guest at the reunion, having not only been the Physical
Education teacher for many of the girls in junior high, but having been
the home room teacher for a section of the Class of '68. Unlike the
rotation that occurred for most students between junior high and senior
high, Miss Jones remained the home room teacher for the same group of
students for the entire 6 years. Frances Hoback was also a girl's
physical education teacher from about 1964 to 1968. Margaret Taylor,
who taught math to many members of the class, retired a few years ago
as principal at Grahamwood Elementary.
Earlier in the day about 25 people gathered at
East for a tour organized by The East High Alumni Page in coordination
with the Reunion Committee. Here, too, many expressions of delight were
heard after the informal roam-around-the-school-as-you-like event.
Favorite places included the mass gathering areas: the auditorium, the
gym, the library, and of course, the beautiful lobby. A few alumni
brought children to show them where they went to school, which locker
was theirs, etc. Some of the old trophies dating back to the earlier
years of East were on display along with the newer ones and the school
looked great. One favorite place was the Annex, where so many had
homerooms and classes in junior high. While closed to students, the
Annex is a storage area and offices for the building engineers.
The Class of 1968 30 Year Reunion appears to have
been highly successful in every respect for those who attended. There
was a lot of comment about more frequent mini-reunions and the idea
seemed to be well received. Plans for any such mini-reunion most likely
will be communicated by word of mouth rather than mailings, but they
should also be posted on this Web site.
The many hours of planning and work by the core
group making up the Reunion Committee seems to have paid the benefits
handsomely once again. It appeared the party was a major success
measured by the number of people expressing pleasure with the event.
To contact
the Reunion Committee: E-mail: East68@gmail.com
To contact The East High Alumni Page: editor@EastHigh.org
Members of the Class of 1968 Reunion Committee for
the 1998 30-year reunion included
- Linda Lovvorn Niell
- Marsha Hunt Marascuilo
- Patty Crowl Burnett
- Rick Handwerker
- Bill Holt
"Missing"
list valid as of May 22, 2018
The reunion committee's address list does not have valid mailing
addresses
for the following classmates. If your name is on this list or if you
know contact information for someone on this list, please send an
e-mail to East68@gmail.com with the appropriate postal service and e-mail
addresses. Newly added names are in bold. A separate "no-email-address" list is below this list.
Barnard, Jeanne
Beecham Hughey, Judy
Farris, Donald
Gardner, James
Hallock Yale, Joyce
Haynes, Larry
Hunter, Gail
Isbell, Ronnie
Kimberly, Ruth Ann
Lane Weems, Juanita
Langford, Beverly
Leggett, Garland
Newman, Steve
Neill Baldwin, Linda
Ortasic Young, Diana
Overstreet, Deborah
Powell, Robert Lee
Reeves, Lester M.
|
|
Robinson, Don T.
Scott, Barbara
Searcy Hudson, Shelia
Shoffner Brittenum, Jana'
Snodgrass, Wayne T.
Starks, Robert C.
Stephens, Richard L
Stinson, Dennis
Stovall, Helen
Thornton, Anita
Watkins, Mike
Watson, William
Weatherly Farmer, Susan
West, Susan
Weston, Steve
Wilbur Ward, Judy
Wilkinson Tatum, Linda |
|
No E-Mail Address List
As
of February 9, 2018, it appears we have no validated e-mail address for
the following people. We would like to be able to contact you with
class information. We have a 50-year reunion upcoming. If you would, please consider sending your e-mail
address to us at East68@gmail.com right now!
This list will be updated periodically as the 50-year reunion approaches in 2018. Check back often as names may be added!
Bacon, Mackie
Beecham Hughey, Judy
Bradley, Charles
Dowling, Nancy
Farris, Donald
Gardner, James
Gragg, Frances
Hallock Yale, Joyce
Haynes, Larry
Hunter, Gail
Isbell, Ronnie
Kimberly, Ruth Ann
Knous Faris, Barbara
Lane Weems, Juanita
Langford, Beverly
Leggett, Garland
Lipow, Hershel
Lovvorn Niell, Linda
Maden, Martha
Malkin Armanino, Lynn
Neill Baldwin, Linda
Newman, Steve
Overstreet, Deborah
Paulus Conner, Tina
Pierce, Bill
Powell, Robert Lee
|
Reeves, Lester M.
Robinson, Don T.
Rowe Warren, Phyllis
Scott, Barbara
Shepherd, Cybill
Shoffner Brittenum, Jana
Sikes, James
Smith Jordan, Julie
Snodgrass, Wayne T.
Starks, Robert C.
Stein Kabakoff, Diana Jo
Stephens, Richard L
Stinson, Dennis
Stovall, Helen
Taylor Cowell, Patti
Thornton, Anita
Watson, William
Weatherley Farmer, Susan
West Wyant , Susan
Weston, Steve
Wilbur Ward, Judy
Wilkinson Tatum, Linda
Witherspoon, Eric H
|
Please
note that some services block our bulk e-mail messages (AOL for one,
sometimes Microsoft addresses) so our routine messages don't get
through. However, we will make extra attempts to see to it that
messages about our 50-year reunion do not get blocked.
it is suggested you attend both nights! 
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