We held the 35th reunion of the Graduating Class of Springfield High School Class of 1972 over the weekend of June 29 and 30, 2005, in Springfield, Illinois.
On Friday evening, June 29, we gathered at The Alamo, a bar at 115 N. 5th Street in downtown Springfield, just north of the Old Myers Brothers building.
At this informal gathering, people just kind of aggregated in groups, met with friends, and the like. I was delighted that so many folks showed up. I wish more would have come. I hope that we can get the word out that we had so much fun so that more folks will come to our next event in 2012, our 40th Reunion. (Are we that old?)
On Saturday evening, June 30, we gathered at the TRN Club on Lake Springfield. The club is for people who work at Television stations, Radio stations, and Newspapers, hence the name. The club was having an open evening and a local band, so we gathered there so folks could again gather with friends, enjoy the music, and buy some food.
I spent most of both evenings with Donna Yurdin, a friend from high school—and my prom date!—whom I had been keeping in touch with lately, but whom I had not seen in a long time, and that was very special. I also spent much of my time both evenings with all my friends from all the stages of my life who were '72 grads of SHS. There were folks from Dodds-Blackhawk, Hay-Edwards, Lawrence, and Franklin, all who later went on to attend SHS. I had a great time!
I was especially lucky to be in Springfield at that time, partly because it was a long trip from St. Lucia, where I have been living for the past several months, and partly because I have a very tight schedule in med school. I took advantage of the trip to spend Thursday night with Donna and her father and mother, Dr. Donald and Evelyn Yurdin, at their home in Springfield. Donna's brother Bruce was there, too. That was great fun! And I was also able to spend Wednesday night of that week with my old friend Dave Jones, whom I knew both from Laurel United Methodist Church and Boy Scout Troop 36 (which was sponsored by Laurel) before we were together at SHS, and his wife Sally, who is very sweet. (Anyone married to Dave has to be sweet! :-) That was great fun, too! He showed me his collection of photos from our days in Troop 36. I still have them, too, but they are all boxed up and in storage, and I haven't seen them in ages. Thanks, Dave! (Email them to me when you get the chance!)
I was also especially lucky that weekend that my 6th grade class at Lawrence also held a reunion, a mini-reunion or sub-reunion to the SHS reunion. I spent a lot of time with those folks, too, both at the SHS reunion and at our 6th grade reunion.
I took some pictures, but I have not yet posted them. I shall soon. If anyone else has any photos that she or he would like to share, please email them to me at chuck.mccaffrey@gmail.com. I would also love to receive any scans of photos from any of my classmates from grade school, junior high, or high school, as well as friends from church and Boy Scouts. I would be delighted to add them to my on-line collection to share with everyone.
As for our next reunion, I would be delighted to help with the planning again. Personally, I would like to make our next reunion a destination reunion in which we go to a hotel, resort, or similar place for an entire weekend. That way, people could get together in groups and go off and do things together, perhaps forming and reforming different groups of friends for different things to do together, and then all of us getting together in the evenings for class-wide events such as a formal dinner dance and the like. But the great thing about an entire weekend together is that we wouldn't be limited to seeing each other only at the larger, formal events, which by the way, can be as informal as we want. Moreover, we don't have to make this an expensive get-away. We could go to Las Vegas or some other such thing, but we could have a "get-away" right in Lovely Central Illinois, at one of the hotels in Springfield or another nearby city. That way, people who come from out of town would be able both to visit friends and family in Springfield as well as being able to attend the reunion. Or we could do it at Vegas or some other such destination. Perhaps Lovely St. Lucia! ;-) Either way, I am completely open. If you have any ideas, mail them to me at chuck.mccaffrey@gmail.com, and I'll make sure that the committee sees them. Thanks!