Sunday, November 06, 2005
Of Things Neutral: A Wonderful Visit
Eleven of us made it to the 40th Reunion of the Graduating Class of 1965 from St. Mary's Elementary School in Delaware, Ohio. We gather at Brewskee's Restaurant in Delaware on Friday, October 28. We talked and shred memories from 8 o'clock until after midnight.
John Bills and his wife Joanne, Jimmy Russell, Fred Furlong, Cathy Wolf, Cathy (Reed) and her husband Ralph Bennett, Ed Connell and he wife Donna, Tom Frentsos, Barb (Bianchi) Ekelberry, Brenda (Ingle) Bennett, and Charlie Kelly.
Why, even Wilbur and Mary Bills, John's parents and Tom's uncle and aunt, came by to visit. I didn't realize until the next day when I was driving through the Ohio Wesleyan University campus that a new fire station had been erected and named for Mr. Bills. In our day, he was a fixture at the station on the corner of William and Sandusky streets. If he wasn't there, a house was burning down in another part of town. Congratulations, Wilbur!
Steve Stromberg was out-of-town. Bob Held said he was coming but didn't make it. Steve Walker had to coach his high school football team in its last game of the season. Randy Thompson, Greg Amato, Kathy Shane, Barbara Buchaan and Mike Halter all live too far away to make the trip. Dan Parker was prohibited from joining by circumstances out of his control. And, according to his family Kevin Grigsby is "presumed" dead.
I was amazed at how little everyone had changed since 1965. That is not to say that we haven't gained weight (all except Cathy Reed and Barb Bianchi, that is) nor that some of us have lost some hair. It was the smiles and the senses of humor that remained the same. It was Charlie's devilish grin as he approached the table that gave his identity away to me. Jimmy is still soft-spoken with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. Freddie is still the same analyst getting to the "how it works" solution like he was when building his own radio and making his own glass in the basement of his parents' home. Ed is still quiet and reserved. John, the rock n roller of the class, still shows the brilliance of having been one of our class leaders. Barb was exactly as I remembered her as she introduced me to the Beatles, listening to records on her front porch in the fall of 1963. I would have recognized Brenda's face in a crowd of a thousand. Cathy (Reed)was my first real kiss (other than the playground antics of my third grade year) on the roller coaster at the Columbus Zoo in the spring of 1964; no one forgets the face of his first kiss. Cathy (Wolf) is her family personified, and so professional with a great memory for the details of our years at St. Mary's even if she thought my name was "O'Brien Quimby" when I first moved to Delware in 1958. And, Tom is still the charmer with his broad grin and dancing eyes. What a wonderful group of people to have known and know again!
We remembered our teachers: Sr. Peter Chanel, Mrs. Mahoney, Sr. Paulinda (now Sr. Colleen), Mrs. Elder, Sr. Marita, Miss Mahoney (Mrs' Mahoney's daughter), Sr. Paulinda again (she just couldn't get enough of us), and Sr. Agnes Clare. Mrs. Mahoney, Mrs. Elder, Miss Mahoney and Sr. Agnes Clare have all gone to the eternal reward, and we commend them to God's mercy and compassion.
As I visited each, I remembered moments long forgotten: my attempt at singing "If I Fell" by the Beatles at the 8th Grade Christmas party, the panic I caused over the strep infection for which my mother's poodle puppies had to be put down when we were all just suffering from an allergic reaction to the "Flubber Balls" we bought at Woolworth's, that first kiss, my throwing a pencil at the teacher in 6th Grade becasue she accused me of talking when it was actually the two in front of me (I won't reveal names!), the Fr. O'Brien explanation of how one of our classmates in 2nd Grade was Black (God burnt one, according to Fr. O'Brien!), Miss Mahoney's fingernails screeching as she wrote on the board, Sr. Agnes Clare's ruler and the back of our heads ... oh, there were just so many!
I think one of the funniest lines of the night, and I don't remember who said it, was: "I can't believe one of this group became a priest!" Well, to tell you the truth, my family still is considering that question. After all, according to my mother I was to be an actor, a priest or a jailbird. (I refuse to post any information regarding my experience in her predictions.)
I left Delaware so refreshed and wondered if we would ever get together again. Barb had a daughter get married this weekend, and John has a son getting married in May. Some are already grandparents many times over. I hope we do get together again, and I hope we don't wait another forty years.
John Bills and his wife Joanne, Jimmy Russell, Fred Furlong, Cathy Wolf, Cathy (Reed) and her husband Ralph Bennett, Ed Connell and he wife Donna, Tom Frentsos, Barb (Bianchi) Ekelberry, Brenda (Ingle) Bennett, and Charlie Kelly.
Why, even Wilbur and Mary Bills, John's parents and Tom's uncle and aunt, came by to visit. I didn't realize until the next day when I was driving through the Ohio Wesleyan University campus that a new fire station had been erected and named for Mr. Bills. In our day, he was a fixture at the station on the corner of William and Sandusky streets. If he wasn't there, a house was burning down in another part of town. Congratulations, Wilbur!
Steve Stromberg was out-of-town. Bob Held said he was coming but didn't make it. Steve Walker had to coach his high school football team in its last game of the season. Randy Thompson, Greg Amato, Kathy Shane, Barbara Buchaan and Mike Halter all live too far away to make the trip. Dan Parker was prohibited from joining by circumstances out of his control. And, according to his family Kevin Grigsby is "presumed" dead.
I was amazed at how little everyone had changed since 1965. That is not to say that we haven't gained weight (all except Cathy Reed and Barb Bianchi, that is) nor that some of us have lost some hair. It was the smiles and the senses of humor that remained the same. It was Charlie's devilish grin as he approached the table that gave his identity away to me. Jimmy is still soft-spoken with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. Freddie is still the same analyst getting to the "how it works" solution like he was when building his own radio and making his own glass in the basement of his parents' home. Ed is still quiet and reserved. John, the rock n roller of the class, still shows the brilliance of having been one of our class leaders. Barb was exactly as I remembered her as she introduced me to the Beatles, listening to records on her front porch in the fall of 1963. I would have recognized Brenda's face in a crowd of a thousand. Cathy (Reed)was my first real kiss (other than the playground antics of my third grade year) on the roller coaster at the Columbus Zoo in the spring of 1964; no one forgets the face of his first kiss. Cathy (Wolf) is her family personified, and so professional with a great memory for the details of our years at St. Mary's even if she thought my name was "O'Brien Quimby" when I first moved to Delware in 1958. And, Tom is still the charmer with his broad grin and dancing eyes. What a wonderful group of people to have known and know again!
We remembered our teachers: Sr. Peter Chanel, Mrs. Mahoney, Sr. Paulinda (now Sr. Colleen), Mrs. Elder, Sr. Marita, Miss Mahoney (Mrs' Mahoney's daughter), Sr. Paulinda again (she just couldn't get enough of us), and Sr. Agnes Clare. Mrs. Mahoney, Mrs. Elder, Miss Mahoney and Sr. Agnes Clare have all gone to the eternal reward, and we commend them to God's mercy and compassion.
As I visited each, I remembered moments long forgotten: my attempt at singing "If I Fell" by the Beatles at the 8th Grade Christmas party, the panic I caused over the strep infection for which my mother's poodle puppies had to be put down when we were all just suffering from an allergic reaction to the "Flubber Balls" we bought at Woolworth's, that first kiss, my throwing a pencil at the teacher in 6th Grade becasue she accused me of talking when it was actually the two in front of me (I won't reveal names!), the Fr. O'Brien explanation of how one of our classmates in 2nd Grade was Black (God burnt one, according to Fr. O'Brien!), Miss Mahoney's fingernails screeching as she wrote on the board, Sr. Agnes Clare's ruler and the back of our heads ... oh, there were just so many!
I think one of the funniest lines of the night, and I don't remember who said it, was: "I can't believe one of this group became a priest!" Well, to tell you the truth, my family still is considering that question. After all, according to my mother I was to be an actor, a priest or a jailbird. (I refuse to post any information regarding my experience in her predictions.)
I left Delaware so refreshed and wondered if we would ever get together again. Barb had a daughter get married this weekend, and John has a son getting married in May. Some are already grandparents many times over. I hope we do get together again, and I hope we don't wait another forty years.
