I had high hopes going into the weekend that the reunion would be all I wanted it to be. I never liked the one high school reunion I went to. Maybe the difference was that we lived together at St. A's for three years, because it was great to see everyone. I felt everyone was genuinely happy to reunite. There were no pretentious behavior about what anyone did or didn't do in their lives. It was all about the reunion. Some of the spouses attended and took pictures.
The first meeting was Friday night for dinner at the Pizza Ranch in Bettendorf. They had a Regular food buffet plus the Pizza buffet which made me happy. But they had a Dessert pizza bar and I tried all but one, only because it wasn't available till on my way out. My bad, not good for my Diabetes at all but oh so good.
Every one was so welcoming. Hugs were everywhere. We had on name tags with first names, but probably should have put maiden name also. I'll share a senior moment of my own. Sheryl and I hugged and talked for a while. Then I went to rejoin Susie Fritz Valley and got ahold of someones copy of the booklet and figured out who Sheryl was. I was going Sheryl who??? (Sheryl Truman Neuman).
Everyone was there the first night except DiAnn Althaus Rooney, who missed a plane connection. We felt so sorry for her since she had done so much work for the reunion. The reunion booklet was quite the keepsake. DiAnn and I came from California and Mary Saunders Kelley came from Boston and everyone else was in between.
The evening was very informal. We all moved around frequently to talk with someone new.
Some of us met again at the Airport Best Western, Susie and I, Carolyn Edwards Bellner and her husband, Lee Thompson Tressell, Phyllis Nestor Pate, --------------, and DiAnn Althaus. Susie and I found Lee, Phyllis and -------waiting in the lobby for DiAnn to arrive. While there some other nurses from the Moline hospital came in and we talked to them about others we knew in their class. We ran into the Moline nurses on more then one occasion.
They served a breakfast in the lobby so we ate together. Saturday just spontaneously happened but on Sunday we planned to meet for Breakfast before Church. Then we left together to go to the old hospital.
The second meeting was Saturday at 11AM at Biaggi's in Davenport. It was the memory luncheon. When we entered there was a Memorial to the deceased. There was a photo with the four of them and candles. As you will recall the four were Sue Brandt Benson, Monica Gordon McCormick, Meg Weaver Hanson and Donna Wolfong. I took lots of photos at the memory lunch and after working with the blog will post pictures on Pinterest for all interested parties to review pictures of persons and memorabilia. Next to the Memorial was a cake with the picture of everyone in our graduation outfits. Some of the memorabilia: a blazer with the school badge, a beanie, a graduation announcement, some mother/father/daughter pictures, a commencement bulletin, a school bell, some news letters, RN hat with stripe and pin, and school pin were enjoyed by all. We had Trivia questions and sang the school song. If I can get any committee members on the blog, maybe we can post the questions. After lunch, we went to rest for the evening banquet.
The evening banquet was held at the Pinnacle Country Club in Milan. Trinity College really did a great job with the program. Their IT Department prepared a presentation of pictures from the three schools. There were some great shots from St. A's. The three different videos replayed continuously through dinner. When the presentations started they did each school separatley. When they called our name they showed our graduation picture, we stood and received our gift which was a crystal paperweight shaped like a diamond for 50 years. At the end of the presentation, they mentioned deceased members. Trinty has a honor guard for deceased nurses. They were dressed in capes, white dresses and hoses and caps. They stood at attention and we honored lost ones. It was very classy.
Before you knew it the night was over. Neded sleep to get up and going on Sunday.
I echo Shirley's comment about this reunion being far and above the high school reunions from the common high school we shared. Everyone was so happy to see each and every one of our classmates--that was the key difference between St A's and Alleman. I kept asking myself all weekend where did the years go and why did we let them slip by without connecting?? Good question, but all of us stayed actively employed with busy lives that whizzed by. I hope we can replicate this reunion in five years!
ReplyDeleteI'm very grateful that you included me in your 50th reunion. It was great to see all of you. You are a very accomplished group of ladies and I'm privileged to have been included in your celebration. Thanks for putting this together Shirley.
ReplyDeleteThe unknown message above is from Eileen Lyness McSperrin. She was with us the first year and then quit to get married. they moved close to Merciville and classmates visited their house when doing psych training. She came to see all here old classmates.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me want to cry. I so wish I could have been there. I went to my 50th high school reunion in Illinois and it was just ok. If I hadn't gone with my high school best friend that I am still close with I would not have enjoyed it particularly. But I know I would have enjoyed this. The difference here is that we were all united by a common goal - to be the best nurses we could be and serve our fellow man. And then there was all the blood, sweat, and tears we shared together for those 3 years. The memorial for our lost classmates sounds so nice. Again, wish I could have been there.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing to say here. About Eileen. She was a victim of the times. In this day and age she would have been allowed to complete her training despite marriage and pregnancy. Seems so unfair but that was the way it was. Does anyone remember Kay Simmons? She was from RI and ended up dropping out and getting married. I met Dwight because of her. Wish I knew where she is and what she is doing.
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