The holidays are a time for getting together. This can be of friends, family, and even alumni. The group seen above is a class reunion.
The November 28, 1984 issue of The Romeo Observer contained an article about the 50th reunion of the Romeo High School Class (RHS) of 1934. It took place at the Romeo Golf and Country Club. According to the article, alumni David Pettibone of St. Clair, Dorothy Burlison Gayfield, and Jean Bradley Glisch made the arrangements for the gathering. It involved a cocktail hour and dinner. George Walter Combs of Reston was the master of ceremonies. He greated the class members, husbands, wives, and two teachers. In addition, he read excerpts of a letter "from Blanche Hills McNamara of Hardy, Arkansas recounting her six years as English and journalism teacher with the class."
In case you were wondering how many people graduated from RHS in 1934, it was 47 students. Twenty-two of them showed up at the reunion in 1984.
Last, but not least, the photo itself contains all of the alumni and guests who attended. And yes, we know all of their names. In the front row, there are Joy Hough Wilson, Kathryn Tincknell Howard, Jean Bradley Glisch, Ave Marie Verellen Jacques, Jeanette Davis Warren, Edna Wilson Murray, Dorothy Hillman Kleinhans, Elizabeth Pierson Lill, Margaret Braidwood Elsen, art teacher Helen Starkweather, Edward Stebbins, Leo Anderson, Marjorie Boyd Rogala, Majorie Braidwood French, and Laura Rose Lothery Graves. The back row consists of Gerald Potts, commercial teacher Victor Knowlton, Stanley Ludtke, David Pettibone, Alex Lomakoski, Edward Nauseda, George W. Combs, and William Butt. Dorothy Burlison Gayfield is kneeling in the front.
I don't know how you feel, but to me, it's amazing to see people who graduated 90 years ago this year reuniting 50 years later. It makes me all the more thankful for the time that we have on Earth to spend with friends, loved ones, and the people we went to school with.
To learn more about Romeo High School and various class reunions, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, June 13, 1934, p.4 and November 28, 1984, p.5-A