Reunion Thoughts and Impressions from Our Classmates

Posted on 8 October 2010 | 1 Comments

So many of our classmates have provided their thoughts and feelings about our reunion weekend that it is only fitting to share their impressions with everyone.  We'll continue to post in this article as long as your contributions continue to come in.  Let us hear about where you visited, with whom you connected, and how you felt.  You can use the Contact tab on this web site or the reunion e-mail address dhs1960reunion@hotmail.com.  Here is what some of our classmates had to say:

Nora Sheehan Schaaf:  You can go home again. And success breeds success. Delighted that (the reunion) committee wants to build upon its strong work for the 50th reunion by expanding the use of the website and moving onto DVDs.

I was disappointed that the high school teacher tour guide didn't tell us more about today's student body. I know that the school has a good number of black, Latino and Asian students. I was glad that girls now have sports teams in several sports.

Jeri Cartier Swan:  What a wonderful weekend we all had! Frank enjoyed it too. Friday night was so much fun seeing classmates and talking non stop. The school tour brought me back to when we were all there. There are so many new things there, but we just wanted to see the "original" that we remembered. The dinner dance was fabulous, and we all just talked and talked. Meeting for breakfast put the finishing touches on a weekend to always remember. It was great seeing all of you. Hope to see you again.

Fred Ungerer:  My wife and I had a great time at the reunion. It provided yet another opportunity for me to "dance"!! Bill Knobel and I had a great time reminiscing and sharing many laughs. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the reunion so successful. Count me in for the next one.

Carol Famulare McGinley: I just wanted to let you know that I received my yearbook, and it is just wonderful.  I totally love it.  I am so so sorry I could not make it to the reunion, but if the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, I will be at the next one.

Mary Ellen Clark Levin:  That yearbook is wonderful. Now I'm reading it and trying to match up names and faces and putting the past and the future together. Something to hold onto, to treasure.

Bill Nicolosi: Words cannot express the fantastic experience of the events of the weekend. It was amazing seeing so many people, many of whom unfortunately I have not seen in fifty years.

Greg (Simonian) Madison: It was absolutely fantastic to see all of our classmates. This was by far the best of the class reunions ever. It was three of the best days I have had in my life to be able to go back and share such good times and memories with many of my classmates. I got to see and spend time with a few people that I have not seen since we graduated. How many times in your life will you get to meet people again after 50 years? I had wondered what happened to some of these people and finally got to find out. It gave me some closure and relief to finally know what happened to them.

Edie Van Buren Banzinger: Everything was just perfect. The entire evening was such a joy to me. My husband enjoyed himself and even danced with me as he, generally, isn't much on dancing.

The Reunion Year Book has blessed my heart, as many of my questions about friends have been answered. And with the e-mail addresses, I can still visit with them on line.

Howie was such a wonderful host. He did a wonderful job. My husband said Howie was more like a MC...job well done and appreciated. I didn't do well on the Dumont Trivia but I sure enjoyed hearing all the correct answers.

The dinner was delicious, the DJ did an excellent job: there wasn't any area that could have been improved on.

If there's another reunion, I would definitely, want to attend. Meanwhile, my mind is so full of the new memories of our classmates. And I've even received a couple of e-mails already. The reunion opened up the door for further communication with classmates, and that's priceless.

The new Reunion version yearbook hasn't left the living room and I keep pouring through the pages, still in amazement of the wonderful lives our classmates have lived during these last 50 years. I'm so happy for their successes and for " dreams come true," places visited and so much more. I'm on cloud nine knowing that so many of our classmates, have found happiness, peace and joy in their lives. MANY of our classmates might join me in saying, "It's been a Wonderful Life" so far... It has been such a joy to have had this experience, and now the 50th Reunion Yearbook at hand. I have already used it to get in touch with classmates.

Mary Ann Napolitan Hupp: Seeing friends from so long ago, especially Iris Maennicke Redgate and Ruth Crolius Lynch, was the greatest joy of the reunion. They welled up thoughts of elementary school and hours spent in the idle chatter of young girls. I'll never forget the glorious peonies that grew in Ruth's yard or the warmth of Iris' family.

Also, the high school gym stunned me. I never expected it to look the same as it was 50 years ago. I swear I could hear the echoes of cheers, music and laughter as we all stood there throwing ourselves back in time. Who will ever forget those intimidating ropes dangling from the rafters? And they still do!

And Howie and I even enjoyed getting lost as we made our way back and forth to events. We saw the reservoir from both sides, took a ride into Bergenfield and Teaneck and saw many familiar roads in Haworth, Harrington Park and New Milford. However, we thought we'd leave sightseeing in Paterson to Pete and Toot Enright!

Thanks to everyone who passed on their kind words about the reunion.

Christa Kniepke Brooks: I did not take too many pictures as I was too busy catching up with Jackie Davis. We had not seen each other in 46 years. So there was lots to talk about.

Iris Maennicke Redgate: I really felt like I was in a daze Monday after the reunion - toooo much talking, trying to figure out who was who and memories galore.

I am so glad I came - there is something very, very special about being with good old friends.

Howie was perfect in his role. Couldn't have hired anyone better!

Bill Dellner: Many folks that I knew 50 years ago did not seem to change except in physical appearance. Another thing that I enjoyed about the reunion, besides seeing old friends, was meeting folks that I never really got to talk with in high school. With age comes better communication abilities.

Pat Connelly Pellegrino: Everyone I talked to enjoyed themselves immensely. When I got home and read through the wonderful yearbook, I was quite surprised to find on page 39 the photo of me in my balloon dress! Well, I'm looking forward to the next reunion and will try hard to have some memorable experiences that I can report for the next yearbook.

Ed Gingras: Hope that we can all be there for the 60th. Thanks to the contact information that the reunion committee worked so hard to gather, I am planning to have mini-reunions between now and then with a number of classmates.

Harriet Ritz: The reunion was absolutely marvelous ---everything about it, the friends reunited, the atmosphere of pure joy, the facilities that were so comfortable. Steve and I had a fabulous time. We very much appreciate all that went into making this event a huge success. None of us wanted the evening to end, and although it may not be practical, would look forward to another reunion in the not too distant future.

The reunion made it possible for me to renew old friendships that are so precious. Strange, but we became the twelve year olds we had once been, laughing at the same things, conversing as we had in the distant past, reminiscing about our families, etc.