A Classmate in the BDN

Here's a link to a story about classmate David Dahl from the Bangor Daily News.
http://bangornews.com/detail/50100.html
Vickie pointed out that this link doesn't work anymore.  I'm working on finding another way to share this article about Dave with you - Betsy 11-4-12.
Dave is the lunch chef at the Bangor Christian School and this is a really nice article about him. I remember going to Dahl's Bakery on North Main St. often, mostly with JoAnn Mitchell. Sometimes we begged for brownie ends from Lois and Inga at the back door and sometimes we actually spent money. Once we gathered all the money we could find - including looking under couch cushions and on the folks bureaus - and bought as many raised glazed doughnuts as we could. I believe we ate them all sitting on the front lawn of the Y. It was several years before I cared to even look at a raised glazed doughnut again, but they sure were good.

And Still More Photos

Here are some more photos from the reunion. These were taken by Libby Fournier Lizzotte. Most of them were taken later in the evening when we were out on the deck.Mike Lizzotte and Jon Hill

Rick McGinley and Vicky Labelle

Tom Spruce, Pam Thibodeau O'Connor, and Sally Curtis Rancourt

Starr Corliss Richards, Cheryl Demont Jones, Laura Climo Rich, and Rhonda Rossignol. Scott Jones talking to Chris McGlinchey and Peter Sirois in the background.The closest we have come to getting everyone in one picture. The only one cut out is Sue Plourde on the left side. Here's a nice close-up of the middle of the group. In front are Pam, Lynn, Rhonda, Libby, Linda, and Laura. Behind them I see Winnie, Helen Burr Goodwin, Judy & Jon, David Moore, Richard Buxton, Gene Kirk, Gary Sirois, and Mike Lizzotte.

More Photos

Here is another set of photos taken by Winnie. She filled in some of my gaps, but we are still missing a few people, so if you were there and took pictures, please send them along to me so I can add them. Send to betsyp55@yahoo.com.

Here are Mike and Libby Fournier Lizzotte. Scott and Cheryl Demont Jones and Gordon Boyington

Gary Sirois and Dave Moore

Chris Bates Daniels Winnie actually thought to take a photo of the river and the dam from the restaurant. A nice one, too
Sally Curtis Rancourt and Paul Paradis -not a classmate, but my husband :-).
Gordon sitting on the deck.

Janet Dana Horne and husband Steve.

Vicky LaBelle (who looks great in red, by the way)
Richard Buxton and his wife.

Gayle Phillips McCarthy and Family

I know I'd get in trouble if I didn't include one of myself, so here I am with my friend, Bonnie.Another try at the group thing. Those visible in the front are Vicky, Janet, Cheryl Randall, Pam, Lynn, Libby, Linda, Laura, Sally, Starr and Jill Manlove Jordan.

Reunion Photos

What a great time we had. There were 38 classmates in attendance and assorted spouses, children and others joined in. The atmosphere turned out to be great for chatting and getting reacquainted. There were a few glitches - the air conditioning was not working, the comedy night routines that started at 9 were loud, and mostly not funny, relying on bad language and potty humor for their jokes (plus one of them made fun of all us "old folks") and for some of us who were there when the lights got turned off and the chairs put up on tables, it might have ended just a little too soon, but it really was a lot of fun and I saw people that I haven't laid eyes on in 35 years.

I turned out to not be a very reliable photographer. I thought I was taking lots of pictures, but there are people I completely missed. I guess I got too carried away visiting and catching up. Fortunately, several people were taking pictures as well, so as soon as they send some to me, I'll be sure to add them here. Here are a few to get you started.

Libby Fournier Lizzotte (and her first Cosmo), Gary and Pattie Sirois, and Cathy Buchanan Degrasse.

Lynn Sulinski Ellis and Rick McGinley.

Ok so, in those first two, people have their eyes closed - let's see if it gets any better.

Diane Winter and Cindy Conary and Cindy's husband - who's name I can't remember right at the moment - sorry.Lynn Sulinski Ellis, the back of Rhonda Rossignol, Judy Lacadie Hill in the background, Bonnie McCaffrey and Jackie Bois Dolley.Christine McGlinchey and I took pictures of each other at the same time. I can't wait to see what the one she took looks like :-)

Scott Jones, above, and Pam Thibodeau O'Connor, Sally Curtis Rancourt, and Steve Damien, belowLynn Sulinski Ellis and Rhonda RossignolTom Spruce and Beth Lloyd McLellanJudy Lacadie Hill and Starr Corliss RichardsGene Kirk and Glenn Johnston looking over the yearbook with a friend who came over from the bar to visit.

We attempted to take a group photo. My selected photographer couldn't get us all in one shot, but hopefully somebody did. As you can imagine it was hard to get the whole group together and paying attention at one time.

Linda Gilbert and Bonnie McCaffrey

The deck proved to be a nice refuge from the loudness and the heat inside. In the photos above you'll find Cathy Buchanan Degrasse, Laura Climo Rich, Bonnie McCaffrey and Starr Corliss Richards, then a bit of Beth Lloyd McLellan, Rhonda Rossignol, Lynn Sulinski Ellis, Judy Lacadie Hill and Cathy again.

And a mug shot to end this particular posting with - Jon (Reed) Hill.

Class Trivia

At our last reunion we had a trivia challenge on all the tables and we'll have a new one this year. Here are some of the questions from the last one to get you warmed up:

Who was the 1973 Sachem dedicated to?

Who was the vice-principal our senior year?

Who were the two people memorialized in the Sachem?

Who had the most facial hair in the Class of 1973 (male, of course)?

What was the song sung at the Senior Assembly by the entire group?

Who played the stripper at Senior Assembly?

What were the only varsity sports played by girls in 1973?

Who were the captains of the girls and boys basketball teams?

Who directed the Senior Play?

Who were the Boy's State representatives?

Who were the seniors in the chess club?

Who were the senior class officers in 1973?


See how many you can answer without looking at a yearbook. Here's a hint for one of them.



I'm looking forward to seeing many of you soon.

Betsy

Change of Plans

Many of you have already heard the latest, but for those who haven't, here it is:
Our reunion will now be held at the City Park Grille restaurant. The Grille is located on Main St. at the foot of Stillwater Ave. and next to the city park. The reason for the change is that when it came time to make final commitments to the hall, caterer, DJ and photographer, we didn't have enough reservations on hand to feel safe making those commitments so we changed course. We are excited about the new plan and hope you will be too. We'll gather at the Grille at 7:30, have some drinks, socialize, order dinner from the menu, socialize some more, and then at 9:00 there will be entertainment, since it is Comedy Night anyway. There is a nice outdoor area right along the river, that we can use and the Park next door is always open if the weather is nice and the comedy and/or the bar crowd get too loud. If you have already paid, Cathy will be sending your check back. If you haven't paid but would like to come, please let us know if you can. Even if you aren't interested in dinner, I hope you will stop in for a beer or to just visit with classmates anyway. This setting gives us more flexibility that way and it would be great to see as many of you as can make it. We'll have something set up to view the slides that were taken our senior year and will have other photos, and yearbooks there to look at. There might even be a new trivia challange to test your memory on.

Don't forget!

It's time to let us know you are coming. We are getting close to the time we need to tell the caterer how many classmates and guests are coming to the reunion on Aug. 9 and we still need to hear from many of you. Please take a minute right now to fill out your form and send it off with your check today. Thanks


















Here are a couple of images of the High School. One is from the 1971 yearbook end pages and the other is a more current (probably 2 years ago or so, based on other things in the area) image from Google Earth. If you haven't had a chance to check out Google Earth, you should. It's pretty neat and fun to play around with. You can download some free software and then zoom in on almost any place on the planet. earth.google.com

Have you received yours yet?

Your 35th Reunion Announcement and Questionnaire, that is. Most of you should have. If you have, please return the questionnaire and a check (made out to Cathy Degrasse, please) as soon as possible to reserve your spot at the reunion. Even if you are not able to attend this time, please return the questionnaire, so we can update the class list and share your stories with classmates. If you haven't gotten yours yet, please let us know.

If you are on the list below, you haven't received this info, because we don't have a current address for you.

George Avery
Richard Baker
William Bond
Jeannie Boyle
Steven Breton
Julie Carmichael Marquis
Delma Chubbuck
Paul Commeau (not Paul Comeau)
Linda Dupuis Leland
Ann Dyment
Roxanne Ewer
Joseph Goodie
Carol Goslin
Stephen LeBretton
Michael Mitchell
Dean Nadeau
Chris O'Keefe
Gayle Phillips McCarthy
John Robertson
Michael Sanborn
Lorenzo Severence
Maynard Shorey
Deborah Soucie Tatham
Diane St. Louis Oakes
Wayne Taylor
Michael Thibodeau
Almar White
Jeffrey White
Stephen Wickett
Glen Willey
Lee Wood

If you know an address (mailing or e-mail) or a phone number for any of these people, please let us know, or contact them and ask them to contact us. You can post a comment here, or send email to betsyp55@yahoo.com.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We'll be spending the long week-end at Green Lake and after that there will just be a month left till the big party. Look for updates here and we'll see if we can liven things up a bit in the next month.

Here's a webcam shot of the Statue of Liberty. She doesn't move much, but if you enlarge it you can see people walking around and planes flying by, and it's a nice shot of the old gal. http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/

Betsy

Do You Wanna Dance?

Here we are, meeting again to work on the class list and make a plan for getting everything arranged for the reunion. The gang just loves it when I take pictures - especially Winnie, who thought she could hide in her sweatshirt. Judy Bishop Moore joined us this time

All the pieces are coming together as we get ready for August 9th. The Hall is booked, the caterer is booked, the photographer has been contacted.

We've hired the DJs (Steve and Theresa Dupuis's sister, Karen and her husband) and they are anxious to know what music you want to hear and dance to. Here are some of the songs mentioned in questionnaires we sent out for previous reunions:

Songs
Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress - The Hollies
American Pie - Don McLean
In-A-Gadda-da-Vida - Iron Butterfly
The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
Nights in White Satin - Moody Blues
Color my World - Chicago
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Groups and Artists
CCR
BTO
Carole King
James Taylor
America
Marvin Gaye
Three Dog Night

How about you? Any favorite music from our high school years or since then that you would like to hear that night? Even if you won't be able to join us that night, take a minute to share your favorite songs from the 70's. What songs bring back memories of dances at the Helen Hunt or the Y? or of the jukebox at Jacks or the Bowling Alley? Which groups did you see in concert and where? I know that the song "Mean Mistreater" by Grand Funk Railroad always brings me back to the kitchen of Laura Climo's house at a party which reminds me of a game of spin the bottle that occurred at that same party and .... . . Well, you get the idea.

Our committee will be meeting again in a couple of weeks and invitations will be going out shortly after that, so if you have stumbled upon this or have been directed by another classmate but haven't received a post card from us, we are probably still looking for your address, so let us know. And check the list of lost classmates posted a few weeks ago to see if you can help us find anyone.
Thanks
Betsy

Some photos of Old Town

My dad took these photos of Old Town in 1965. Most of the views have changed quite a bit with the possible exception of Old Town Canoe. I thought you might enjoy looking back at the Old Town of our youth. Betsy.

Looking at the mill from the Great Works side.

Then, St. Joseph's Church and Rectory - Now Holy Family Parish.

The Methodist Church, later Community Center. I remember going to dances and other functions in the basement of this church.

View of Indian Island from North Brunswick St. Remember the old one-lane bridge?

Chief Poolaw's gift shop on the Island.

St. Ann's Church and Rectory. My family sometimes went to church here because we could walk from home and they had a 5:00 p.m. Sunday mass.

Old Town High School before the pool. I remember walking from Herbert Gray to the high school to have hot lunch when I was in 4th-6th grade. We would go in those doors on the side of the gym where the pool was later attached, and walk across the front of the stage to the little room behind the kitchen. There was an organ in that room and sometimes Rick McGinley's sister would be in there practicing while we ate lunch.

Joseph A. Leonard Junior High School.

City park and bandstand.

Main Street looking south from near city park.

Old Town City Hall, Police Dept. and Fire Dept.

Old Town Canoe.

Brunswick St. looking south from beside the library. Lots of beautiful Elm trees that are no longer there.

Center St. looking toward downtown. Post Office on left out of sight and Keith Madden's front porch on the right, I think.

Main St. looking south with Penobscot Shoe, Old Town Shoe and Woolen Mill in background.

Below is the view from our front yard on Davis Street, looking toward the river.