Members of the Class of 1963,
Class of 1963, Your Reunion Planning Committee
met earlier this month, and by all accounts, determined that
our 45th reunion was a success. 48 member of our class attended
along with Martin Beer and John Gibbs. Our two former teachers
enjoyed themselves and were delighted to be there. In his
thank you note, Martin said in part "Your committee did
us "old teachers" proud for having planned what
seemed yet another great reunion occasion...People, some new
to me, were not just welcoming but were truly interested in
our past experiences together." Peggy Friend, Paul's
widow, also attended as our guest.
Our treasurer of nearly fifty years, Stan Bockmann,
reports that we had a balance in our class account of $1127
remaining from the 40th. We now have a balance of $1448 with
one more bill to pay. So we will carry a balance of between
$1300 and $1400 into our 50th.
After the dinner, I asked for a volunteer to
assemble the pictures we took during the weekend and put them
on a CD for us. Skip Coleman's wife, Mary Lou, came up afterwards
and volunteered to do it for us. Our committee has seen a
draft copy...you will be amazed at what she has done. She
has set the pictures to music (of the 1960s), has inserted
other clips from the '60s and has included at the end all
of the pictures from the CD we made after our 40th. Every
classmate and his/her significant other who attended is pictured.
We have asked her to produce it as a DVD (which will be professionally
done) so it can be viewed on your TV with sound and picture
quality that will be much better than you would have on your
computer speakers. The cost to produce the DVD, pack and mail
it will be $15. We think this is a bargain, considering the
paper yearbook we had produced in 2003 cost $20.If you would
like a copy (or copies...they make great gifts!), please send
a check for *$15* made out to HMHS Class of 1963 to *Stan
Bockmann, 401 Columbia Ave., Pitman NJ 08071*. I guarantee
that you will be pleased with the final product. Any surplus
resulting from the sale of the DVDs will go to the Class of
1963 Scholarship Fund.
Speaking of Stan, on December 9 he received
a kidney from a young woman in his church. He had begun dialysis
in late October, so this kidney has been a real Godsend to
him. Both he and the donor are doing very well. I spoke with
him yesterday...he had just finished making breakfast!
The silent auction we held on Saturday evening
netted $671 which, when added to our existing balance, gives
us a scholarship fund balance of $6351.50, including $135
in interest that the fund earned last year. We will be awarding
another $500 scholarship in 2009 (our sixth). Because our
intent is to build the fund so that the Class of 1963 scholarship
continues in perpetuity, we encourage you to donate to help
us reach that goal. Please send your checks made out to *HMHS
Scholarship Fund * (Class of 1963 Scholarship in the memo
line) to Stan at the above address. Donations to the fund
are tax exempt.
The locals have decided to get together informally
in the fall of each year as we approach our 50th. When we
have something arranged, we will let you know and hope that
you can attend if you are in the area. Finally, keep your
schedule open in mid-October - mid-November 2013 for our 50th.
We have no plans at all regarding that reunion, but it will
happen and your suggestions are welcome. Best wishes for the
Holidays, and we wish you a healthy and prosperous 2009.
For the Committee,
Henry Ryder
