Members of the HMHS Class of 1956 like to attend reunions: They’ve had one every five years since graduation, with an extra one fitted in at 47.5 years. Their fiftieth reunion, in October, 2006, brought together more than 40% of the 231 graduating classmates for the most memorable one of all. (Ninety-four classmates participated in at least one event of the reunion weekend; they came from as far away as Washington, California, Florida, Maine, and points in between.) Centered at the Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill October 13-15, the reunion included a golf outing at Ramblewood Country Club and an evening “Welcome” reception at the Clarion on Friday at which reunion committee member Tom Baird had set up an on-going, large-screen slide show of classmates in their younger days, using many Shield yearbook photos. The next morning, classmates and guests reminisced during a tour of HMHS guided by current students, followed by a buffet lunch at the home of Tom and Judie Baird. Class conviviality continued at the main event, Saturday night’s dinner-dance at the Clarion. Faculty guest Carl Wilhjelm (HMHS music instructor 1953-1961) and his wife, Alice, sat with former band and orchestra students. Identified by Shield photo nametags, reunited classmates enjoyed a photographic display table and a musical presentation by Connie Beane Blake and reunion committee members Molly Fretz Stevens, Shirley Borrell Deal, and Pat McGlade Herdelin. The class gathered later for a photo shoot. Pierce Pelouze, reunion co-chair and co-emcee with Joyce Jackson May, announced that $5,600 donated by the class would be used to fund a yearly scholarship: the Class of 1956 Scholarship for Further Education in Music for a HMHS senior who plans to continue his/her education in music. (Since the reunion, the fund has grown to over $6,200, allowing the $1,000 scholarship to be extended by a year to 2012.) Committee member Frank Jackson IV created and saw to it that every classmate received a CD of hit songs popular in 1956, and Baird and Margo Foster edited and produced a much-appreciated 50th Reunion Yearbook, including an updated Class Directory. Sunday’s Farewell Brunch at the Clarion was highlighted by a class quiz prepared by committee member Paul Sturgis. Other committee members who helped to plan and carry out this “reunion of all reunions” were Treasurer Dick Hammond, Secretary Judy Jefferies Fielder, Nils Herdelin, Ed Schmauder, Joan Pera O’Neill, Dottie Mears Thompson, and Harvey Restrick. Much of the credit for the success of the reunions goes to the enthusiasm of the committee and the diligent research headed by Pierce Pelouze to find missing classmates; he then keeps everyone who has e-mail (currently 143 classmates) updated via a Class Email as to events, deadlines, changes in class listings, etc. Every six-to-eight weeks, men of the class gather for a Guys’ Lunch; the women have their Gals’ Lunches. Usually eight to twelve classmates attend, although sometimes it’s as many as twenty. They enjoy the chance to get to know each other as adults as well as to reminisce about the escapades of the Class of 1956—and they look forward to the next reunion in 2011 (if they can wait that long). This Class of 1956 loves its reunions!
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