Reunion Summary for Friday 10/9/2009

Friday evening’s event was held at the Evansville Airport Marriot.  The event was very informal and casual.  Classmates and their guests milled around visiting while recorded music from the ‘60’s played in the background.  A DVD of the 1962 State Championship Basketball Game played on one side of the room for those who wanted to watch and relive those particular memories.

One hundred five (105) attended this event; 57 were Bosse 1964 classmates.  The Harrison Class of 1964 and other friends of our class were invited to attend; so 13 Harrison classmates attended.  Among those attending from Harrison was Pat Ryan who played Pappy Yokum in Li’l Abner at Bosse.

Don Fischer (Bosse) won the ½ pot which also included a VHS tape and handbill of the 1962 State Championship Basketball Game.  This was Don’s first reunion so he was quite pleased.

Rick Meinert’s wife, Andrea, made a beautiful Bosse quilt complete with Benji in the middle.  It was a log cabin design fashioned in beautiful scarlet and grey material.  Raffle tickets were sold on Friday and Saturday nights.  The drawing was held Saturday evening.

Late in the evening a small group from the Central Class of 1964 joined the group.  Their reunion fell apart but some met for dinner anyway.  Then they joined our group and seemed to have a good time reconnecting with people they knew from Harrison that had gone to Central their freshman and sophomore years. 

Reunion Summary for Saturday 10/10/2009

Saturday evening’s event was held at the Evansville Airport Marriott in the Royale Ballroom.  The event was casual although Tim Wirtz wore dress pants…a pair of black jeans.  The doors opened at 6:15 pm with a number of people already eager to enter.  Each classmate received a bag of goodies which included the Reunion Book and a Bosse ornament among other things. 

Teachers were invited as guests.  Amazingly 11 teachers came.  Mr. Jennings and his wife Lois were among them.  Mr. Jennings used a walker but he ambled around fairly well.  He will be 99 in November, 2009.  The other teachers who attended were Mr. Sullivan (and wife), Mrs. Aramowicz, Mr. Benjamin (and wife), Mr. Grabhorn (and wife), Mr. Hartig (and wife), Mr. Hitch (and wife), Mr. Maidlow (and wife), Mrs. Padgett, Ms. Shelton, and Mr. Winstead (and wife).  More teachers attended this reunion than attended the 40th reunion or the 60th birthday party!

Before dinner the teachers gathered with the classmates to have a group picture taken.  In addition to the 11 teachers there were 59 classmates.  We looked marvelous!

Reverend Susan Whitledge Ruach gave the blessing for the meal.  We each in turn (teachers first) went through the buffet line to get our scrumptious salad, entrée, and dessert.  Including guests there were 109 of us for dinner.

Rick Meinert was the Master of Ceremony.  Larry Hessler and Bill Speicher assisted.  Rick read the list of those classmates who died since the last reunion.  There were 7 of them:  Michael Beckham, Michael Bishop, Mary Doss, Gilda Felty, Carol Fortner, Barbara Putnam, and Jo Carroll Sanderson.

Attendance prizes from the Evansville Chamber of Commerce were given for the following:

            First reunion attended:  Don Fischer and Diane Marsh Duncan

            Most great grandchildren:  Amber Powell Stuart (2)

            Traveled the furthest:  Gil (Rocky) Diekmann (San Francisco)

            Oldest teacher:  Mr. Jennings (to be 99 this year)

A special recognition gift was given to Michelene Northern Freudenburg.  She has served on more reunion committees than anyone.  And without her help and guidance with the 40th, there would have been no 40th or 45th reunion.

The winner of the Bosse quilt was Amber Powell Stuart, a very happy camper!

A short auction was held.  Items auctioned included freshly made Mac’s barbecue sauce, a “man cave” phone, DVD and handbill of the 1962 State Championship Basketball Game, ceramic Benji (made and donated by Mike DePriest), state championship license plate (donated by Dennis Skelton), and bulldog purse and jewelry (donated by Kathy Whetstone Wydick, Harrison 1964).

Patty Poland Wheeler did not win the auctioned ceramic Benji.  But she commissioned Mike DePriest to make her one.  Mike then donated ½ the commission to the reunion fund.

At the conclusion of the program the doors were opened.  The Harrison Class of 1964 (all 21 of them who had dined elsewhere in the hotel) joined our group.  Folks mingled and talked until we had to vacate the room at 12 am.

A total of 74 classmates attended one or both evening events.  This was down from 109 classmates at the 40th reunion. 

At the Reunion Committee follow-up meeting the committee voted to donate $100 to the Bosse Class of 2010 toward their yearbook publication.

Plans in the works:

            A 65th Birthday Celebration some time in 2011.  You gotta come!

            The Grand 50th Reunion some time in 2014.  Be there or be square!

Please Note: To reduce the costs of future reunions we will send only E-mail notifications and Reunion Registration information to classmates with E-mail addresses.  Classmates without E-mail will be sent one "Save the Date" postcard and one "Reunion Registration" letter by US Postal Service.

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