Also see Graduation, Fifties and Sixties, Higher Education and this tribute to my wonderful graduating class GHS Class of 65.



Page Toppers


Quotes


Labeling a Group Photo

When you have a photo of a large group of people that are not in straight rows it can be difficult to label the names so people can easily identify who is who. One way to do that is to trace the silhouette of the people in the photo on a piece of paper using a light box--or just sketch it if you want. Write the names of the people in the appropriate place on the paper. You can put the sketch in the album next to the photo or you can make a pocket for it. You can put the photo in a photo mounting sleeve and adhere it to the page with a paper hinge with the sketch mounted behind it. You can also copy and reduce the size of the sketch but I would write the names in first.


Old Friends

Friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle,
because the older you get,
the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

(for similar quotes see Friendship Quotes)


The Class Reunion

Every ten years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
"A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail."

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed"
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted "least" now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot. (not smoking it!)

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they've set the date;
Our fiftieth is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party;
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun; I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.


Class Reunion

(Ann Luna)

My class reunion's coming,
and I don't know what to do.
My weight and chins have doubled
since the year of '62.

I look into the mirror and--
Good Grief! How can this be?
Gray hair, false teeth, thick glasses--
It's my mother's face I see!

But I head out to the party.
No sense moping, I decide.
I'll just have to grin and bear it.
(But I'm dying, deep inside.)

Then I walk into the banquet hall
And stop. There's some mistake.
Not a single classmate do I find.
Did I confuse the date?

Still the faces seem familiar,
As each one I keenly stare at . . .
Then I realize I'm looking at--Good Grief!
My classmates' parents!


Class Reunion

(Elizabeth Lucas)

It was my class reunion, and all through the house,
I checked in each mirror and begged my poor spouse
To say I looked great, that my chin wasn't double,
And he lied through false teeth, just to stay out of trouble.
Said that 'neath my thick glasses, my eyes hadn't changed,
And I had the same figure, it was just a mite rearranged.
He said my skin was still silky, although looser in drape,
Not so much like smooth satin, but more like silk crepe.
I swallowed his words hook, sinker and line
And entered the banquet feeling just fine.
Somehow I'd expected my classmates to stay
As young as they were on that long-ago day
We'd hugged farewell hugs. But like me, through the years,
They'd added gray to their hair, or pounds to their rears.
But as we shared a few memories and retold some class jokes,
We were eighteen in spirit, though we looked like our folks.
We turned up hearing aid volumes and dimmed down the light,
Rolled back the years, and were young for the night.


Excuses for not attending a Class Reunion

(I sent this in an email to class members before our fiftieth class reunion. I am not sure if it made a difference but we had very good attendance.)

If you are not coming to the reunion, you need a good excuse and a notarized letter. The following reasons have been tried and are unacceptable.
Excuse #1: I'm overweight.
Rebuttal: You're not alone. Note t-shirt sizes being offered.
Excuse #2: I'm a different person than I was in high school.
Rebuttal: Lucky for you, we ALL are. Let's face it: we could only have improved.
Excuse #3: I don't look as good as I'd like. I (choose one or more) am bald, have wrinkles, saddlebags, grey hair and no one will recognize me.
Rebuttal: Guess what! You won't recognize anyone else, either. Using the reunion committee as a representative sample, our whole class looks like a "before" photo in a plastic surgery ad.
Excuse #4: I'm not successful. I'm not (choose one or more) a lawyer, a doctor or rich.
Rebuttal: You'll be pleasantly surprised to find how much everyone has matured. We may be plump and wrinkled (see Excuse #3, above) but we're not stupid. Money is not success.
Excuse #5: I was not in a popular clique in school
Rebuttal: Now that we're old and smart, those cliques have dissolved just like the superficialities they were based on. The only cliques you'll notice at the reunion will be the sound of our joints as we walk around.


from Those Were the Days

(Recorded in 1968 by Mary Hopkin, 2005 by Dolly Parton)

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days.


The Way We Were

(Barbara Streisand)

Memories light the corner of my mind.
Misty water color memories
Of the way we were.

Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind,
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were.

Can it be that it was all so simple then,
Or has time rewritten every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again,
Tell me? would we? could we?

Memories may be beautiful and yet,
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget.
So it's the laughter
We will remember,
Whenever we remember
The way we were.


from Young

(Kenny Chesney - written by Craig Wiseman, Naoise Sheridan and Steve McEwan. © BMG Songs Inc./Mrs. Lumpkin's Poodle Music/BMG Music Publishing Inc/Ross Cahill Music /BMG Music Publishing Ltd/Trinfold Music Ltd. From "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem", © 2002, BNA.)

Looking back now, well it makes me laugh,
We were growin' our hair, we were cuttin' class.
Knew it all already, there was nothin' to learn;
We were strikin' matches just to watch 'em burn.
Listened to our music just a little too loud;
We were hangin' in there with the outcast crowd.
Headin' to the rapids with some discount beer;
It was a long train trestle, but we had no fear.
Man, I don't know,
Where the time goes.
But it sure goes fast,
Just like that.

(chorus)
We were wanna be rebels who didn't have a clue.
With our rock n' roll tee-shirts and our typically bad attitudes.
Had no excuses for the things that we'd done.
We were brave, we were crazy, we were mostly,
Young.
Young.

Talked a good game when we were out with the guys.
But in the back seat, we were awkward and shy.
Girls were a mystery that we couldn't explain.
And I guess there are some things that are never gonna change.
Man, I don't know,
Where the time goes.
But it sure goes fast,
Just like that.

(repeat chorus)
Young, Yeah, wishin' we were older.
Young, hey, I wish it wasn't over.


from Don't Happen Twice

(Kenny Chesney - written by Thom McHugh and Curtis Lance. © Net Music.)
(From "Greatest Hits", 2001, BNA.)

I haven't seen you in forever,
Oh, you haven't changed a bit.
You didn't think that I'd remember.
How could I forget.

We sang "Bobby McGee" on the hood of my car.
Made a wish on every star,
In that clear September sky.
One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups.
Three a.m., I fell in love,
For the first time in my life.
Oh, that's something that just don't happen twice.

To this day I still taste that first kiss.
How I prayed it wouldn't end.
In a way, seeing you like this,
I guess it never really did.


Do You Think of Me

(Keith Whitley)

If you drive around back in our old hometown
I wonder do you think of me?
When you go by our school do you remember two fools
I wonder do you think of me?

And remember the car where you struck the spark
To a fire that's still burning on in my heart.
Then on graduation day you just drifted away.
I wonder do you think of me?

And remember those games, those cold football games
I was your hero though I seldom played.
Back then could you see what our future would be.
I wonder do you think of me?

And the classes we missed caused by a kiss
I can tell you that I never felt like that since.
I don't know if you would but I'd go back if I could.
I wonder do you think of me?
I still love you, do you think of me?


Songs for Class Reunions

back to top of page