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| Four of five Reunion Committee members who attended the reunion included, from left, Sandy Olson, Mary Hanagan Palmer, John Houghtaling and Cindy Couchman Hoffman. (Photo by Janine Giordano) |
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Olson the OrganizerThe 2010 reunion was especially important
to me because it was the 50th anniversary of my graduation from RSCS.
Due to a number of circumstances, I had not been able to attend any of
the other reunions of my class that had taken place over the decades.
This time there was nothing short of death or dismemberment that would
have kept me away! I reconnected with some dear friends who had slipped
out of my everyday world and became closer to other RSCS grads who were a
few years ahead or behind my class. That was the exact reason for
including 11 classes of students in this event. Sandy Snyder Olson Class of ‘60 Just Felt Right
Never
have two years flown by as fast as the past two, working on the
committee, researching schoolmate names and addresses. The
re-acquaintances and renewed friendships produced by our efforts made
the project worth every minute we contributed. What I found amazing, and
what made it come together as completely as it did, was the fact that
everyone we located and talked to, had kept in touch with someone else
and that was how we managed to put the spreadsheet network in place. I
felt it most, when the dancing began Friday night and I was watching
the very same people I had watched at school dances fifty years ago.
It’s kind of like the feeling I had when the dancing started the night
of our reunion. It could have been 1958 at an RSCS sock hop. It just felt “right.” Cindy Couchman Hoffman Committee Member, Class of ‘65 Worth Every Ounce of Effort
Working
on this multi-class reunion was a pleasure. For over two years we
worked daily finding addresses and then confirming these addresses by
calling or emailing everyone. Everyone on the committee had to agree on
all the arrangements whether it was choosing the reunion location,
writing the reunion packets, agendas, finding a caterer, agreeing on the
meals, etc. We discussed everything and tried to be as organized as
possible. It was great to work with Sandy, Darlene, Cynthia and John.
Many thanks to Orville Eckler who contacted many people for us. Also,
many thanks to the Bonds for giving their time to stuff the registration
packets and the tote bags. Another pleasure was contacting
classmates that I haven’t talked to since graduation and having
wonderful conversations with them. Some sad times came along when I
realized we had lost another classmate. I feel the multi-class
reunion was a great success. Everywhere I looked during the reunion,
there were smiles upon smiles upon smiles. We have heard many positive
comments from the attendees. With all the hours, days, months and years
that went into planning the reunion, it was well worth the while and I
feel extremely fortunate to be a part of the committee. Mary Palmer Hanagan Committee Member Class of ‘62 Beaver, Pa There, in Spirit
Thank
God for technology; www.411.com was a great help. If we had a name, we
could find an address and a phone number. We (Mary Palmer Hanagan, Cindy
Couchman Hoffman and I) had to rely on all the class contacts to find
married names. They were all so great to work with. Orville Eckler
agreed to be our slave. Sue Chadwick/Robinson was a great help because
her class was having a reunion that first year. The Eckler girls, Pat
and Georgene, were gung-ho. Norm and Dave Pooler were both funny along
the way. John Houghtaling was his usual “wanting to please” self. Tucky
Palmer already had a lot of Class of ‘60 members. We also made calls to
the grads and found out from them who they had kept in contact with over
the years. When we did find someone, we had to call and confirm all the
addresses to make sure they got their forms. It was sad sometimes
to hear that we had lost someone, so there were a lot of tears along
the way, but more smiles when we got to talk to someone we had not seen
for so many years. There were very few that we could not find. Class of
‘63 could not find David Smith. My wish would be that classmates keep in
touch. The team worked hard and long for all to have a great time. I’m sorry I could not attend. I was there in spirit. It was definitely a labor of love for all!!! Darlene Oram Committee Member Class of ‘63 Florida Committee Member Perspective
I
was so happy to see those whom I hadn’t seen in so many years! The time
spent with those who made a difference in my life was very precious!
The two-year effort put into this multi-year reunion by Sandy (Snyder)
Olson, Darlene (Oram) Okusko, Cindy (Couchman) Hoffman, Mary (Hanagan)
Palmer, myself and those who helped out along the way was truly a labor
of love and hard work! The entire event turned out to be more
spectacular and rewarding to all of us than we could ever have imagined! John Houghtaling Class of ‘61
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