by Judith Schnee (Judith Lynn Schnee)

Created on: January 20, 2009   Last Updated: January 21, 2009

Attending My Twenty-Fifth Class Reunion

In September of 1982, I received a letter from the committee chairman telling about final plans for the 25th Reunion of the Class of 1957 from Fair Lawn High School, Fair Lawn, New Jersey. I had known about the date for some time, and was looking forward to the event.

In fact, I had mixed feelings of excitement, interspersed with much curiosity about changes in my classmates. I had kept in touch with a few classmates, although infrequently. As soon as I received the letter, I called Carol, the chairman, who had married Andy, a classmate of ours. Reminiscing with her about our schooldays helped me to bridge the gap, as I "touched base" and caught up on news about many former classmates.

My high school years were busy, fun-filled; a time of involvement, friendships easily made and often just as easily broken. Many friendships had been strong since grammar school, and I thought that they would last a lifetime. As years passed, I had lost touch with the majority of my classmates. I knew this reunion, or coming together, would bring positive experiences with it.

When the night was finally here, I tried to stay calm, but I could only think about the evening and reuniting with the Class of "57. Although we had been 300 strong, we had been like a closely knit family. Our class had school spirit that was hard to match. We were naive compared to the youth today, living in an insulated world. We thought high school would last forever, and we had shed many a tear at graduation. Our paths had been diverse, twenty-five years was a long time, and I wondered how many of my former classmates I would recognize. For that matter, I wondered how many would recognize me?

We visited my parents, who still lived in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and then checked into a motel near the location of the reunion. That turned out to be a wise decision, since the reunion lasted well into the wee hours of the next morning.

The reunion was held at a private club in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Because of my excitement and anticipation, we arrived early. As we approached the club, we saw a large sign saying "Class of 1957 Fair Lawn High School - 25th Reunion. Tears came into my eyes; my throat began to close. My husband, seeing my reaction, dropped me at the door and then parked. The parking lot was filling up, as many people rushed to the door.

As I stepped inside, I recognized many of my former classmates. We were studying and reaching out to one another, with warm

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>