OUR 60TH CLASS REUNION ("IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES")
At the risk of repeating a prior sentiment.....It never gets old, does it? In fact it seems that each of our NHS-1963 Class Reunions get better and better as the years go by. That was especially true of our 60th Class Reunon held October 13-14, 2023. Our multi-event celebration was well planned, well executed and most importantly, well attended --- especially given that only codgers, geezers, fogeys, old bats, old bitties and old bags were invited.
But what a joy it was to see everyone again. The atmosphere was electric and the energy present for all three events was evident.
There were so many smiles, so many hugs, so many trips to the restrooms...... and lots of smiles and laughter.
REUNION RECAP
Detailed planning for the 60th class reunion (the what, where, when, events, cost etc.) took place starting in the Fall of 2021 (at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). The Alumni/Reunion Committee held eight planning meetings throughout 2022 and 2023 to work it all out.
At the risk of repeating a prior sentiment.....It never gets old, does it? In fact it seems that each of our NHS-1963 Class Reunions get better and better as the years go by. That was especially true of our 60th Class Reunon held October 13-14, 2023. Our multi-event celebration was well planned, well executed and most importantly, well attended --- especially given that only codgers, geezers, fogeys, old bats, old bitties and old bags were invited.
But what a joy it was to see everyone again. The atmosphere was electric and the energy present for all three events was evident.
There were so many smiles, so many hugs, so many trips to the restrooms...... and lots of smiles and laughter.
REUNION RECAP
Detailed planning for the 60th class reunion (the what, where, when, events, cost etc.) took place starting in the Fall of 2021 (at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). The Alumni/Reunion Committee held eight planning meetings throughout 2022 and 2023 to work it all out.
A "Save the Dates" letter went out to all classmates in October 2022. In May of 2023, our 2nd letter was mailed to all classmates with the amazing news that classmate Peter Stylianos had offered to "pick up the tab" for all reunion related expenses as his special gift to his classmates. That letter also contained a Sign-Up form. Finally, our 3rd letter with all of the I's dotted and T's crossed was sent out in early September 2023 to all classmates who had signed up to attend.
REUNION HIGHLIGHTS
REUNION HIGHLIGHTS
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GOLF EVENT - What a treat it was to play a round of golf with our classmates at the Nashua Country Club on a beautiful Fall day in October. Special thanks go to John Noraig and Peter Chaloner for making all the arrangements, and also to long-time NCC member and classmate Fred Jean for seeing that "those that must approve of such things" at the Nashua Country Club in fact did so.
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Before our early afternoon tee time, everyone enoyed a hearty breakfast buffet in the Fairfied Room at the NCC. The pictures below say it all.
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Five teams were put together (without prejudice). Hackers played with whackers, and huffers with duffers. There were only two real golfers (Moe Paquette and Carol Landry), but we all had so much fun, and in the end that's all that mattered.
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Everyone who signed up to play, received a Welcome bag and a gift --- a sleeve of 3 Titlest golf balls, and a really neat divot repair tool with a "NHS-1963" ballmarker. For most of us, the balls lasted (on average) about a hole and a half, being lost forever in the water or woods. The divot repair tool on the other hand, should last a lifetime.
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The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold, and it was dry - a great day to play. No excuses. That said, Team #5 (Moe Paquette, Steve Doris, Carol Hackett McKinney and Tom Osgood) finished strong and captured low team gross - which, if this were a sanctioned PGA Tournament, would have paid the four of us a million dollars each. Rather, it netted us nothing but bragging rights for the Class of 1963.
We did have some silly prizes for some exraordinary skills on display, with winners declared as follows:
We did have some silly prizes for some exraordinary skills on display, with winners declared as follows:
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Once the prizes were distributed, all of us gathered together for a ceremonial team photo.
And then most everyone hung around to enjoy a late lunch and a few brews in the NCC's Bunker Room - a perfect way to end the day. |
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THE LADIES LUNCHEON EVENT
As promised, thirty-two (32) of our NHS-1963 ladies had an absolutely gorgeous Fall day to gather, gobble and gab at the Ladies Luncehon held at Labelle's Winery in Derry NH without the constraints and/or complications of any male counterparts. The luncheon itself began at 11:00am, starting with hellos and hugs and a complimentary beverage, followed by a plated luncheon (Winemaker’s Buffet: salad, choice of Seared Boneless Chicken Breast or Pork Tenderloin, seasonal starch and vegetable, rolls and dessert). |
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The Ladies Luncheon planning committee consisted of Noreen (Tappan) Doris, team lead working with Alice (Neves) Jette, Bonnie (Merrill) McCann and Terry (Fariz) Huntley.
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Following lunch and based on each classmate's individual sign up choice, roughly half the group chose to partake in the "Paint & Sip" activity, led by local artist, Sherry Burnett, owner of the Paint Party Studio in Salem, NH., with the other half of the group choosing to engage (at their own risk) in a personal "Psychic Reading" provided by Portsmouth, NH-based psychic, Betty Lipton, featured in the "Top 100 Psychics in America, published by Pocket Books, a divsion of Simon and Schuster.
The model painting for the "Paint & Sip" activity is shown below, along with a few photos of what can only be termed as budding female artists from the NHS Class of 1963.
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A few more best-in-ahow photos below.
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THE SATURDAY SOCIAL
Welcome to All Classmates from the Committee, List of Acknowledgements and the Schedule of Events for the Saturday Social
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The Main Event, and the one that we hoped everyone would choose to attend (and they did - 103 classmates and guests) was the Saturday Social held at our traditional (favorit)e gathering place, the Nashua Country Club on Saturday evening, October 14, 2023.
Since energy and stamina are in short supply (at our advanced age - no matter how hard we try), the Alumni/Reunion Committee decided that for the 60th Class Reunion we should merge two of our most popular past events (the "Icebreaker Social" and the "Dinner Dance") into a single event referred to this time around as the "Saturday Social". |
We kicked our Saturday Social off with the traditional "meet and greet" cocktail hour (the first one was on us) with an assortment of appetizers in the NCC lounge. We had a special 6' X 8' banner made up showing our high school on Elm St. as we knew it, and hung it up in the lounge for all to see and to also serve as a backdrop for classmate pictures.
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We were fortunate to have Craig Michaud, local Nashua historian and creator of the Nashua NH Past, Present and Future group on Facebook, join us as a Special Guest and bring along with him a wonderful display of artifacts and memorabilia from the City of Nashua in the 50's & 60's for all to reminisce and enjoy. Craig, is a photographer and his wife Tara (Marandos) Michaud took photos and videos throughout the evening.
More on that later. Many of Craig's photos are now part of this web site. Below are a few shots of some of Craig's "City of Nashua in the 50's & 60's" memorabilia display. |
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Following the cocktail hour, we transitioned festivities into the main NCC ballroom. As the group made their way into the ballroom, they could stop, view and listen to a video that was taken to record at our 25th Class Reunion --- all three events back in 1988. This video was taken by Dick McCann. Bonnie (Merrill) McCann's husband. Originally recorded using a VCR camcorder, we had it digitized and enhanced for the 60th Reunion, and were able to play it non-stop on a large screen all evening, strategically placed on a table in the hallway between the ballroom and the restrooms. It got plenty of views, but in case you missed and would like to view it now, click here.
As classmates and guests scrambled in free-for-all dashion for seats, we played a fabulous look-back video (The 50's - A Pop Culture Tribute) on the two large screens in the Ballroom highlighting "the way it was" when we were growing up in the rocking 1950's. Many good memories. If you you would like to see/hear it again, just click here.
As classmates and guests scrambled in free-for-all dashion for seats, we played a fabulous look-back video (The 50's - A Pop Culture Tribute) on the two large screens in the Ballroom highlighting "the way it was" when we were growing up in the rocking 1950's. Many good memories. If you you would like to see/hear it again, just click here.
WELCOME AND INVOCATION
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Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was none other than our classmate
and man with the velvety voice from Holy Cross radio station WCHC 88.1, the one and only Tommy Osgood. Tom welcomed everyone, outlined the schedule of events and introduced the Reverand Jim Chaloner (retired) to provide the invocation & blessing, and to also recount some of the challenges that he endured growing up as Peter's kid brother in Nashua |
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Rev. Chaloner also invited everyone to stop by our "In Memory Of" exhibit honoring all of our NHS-1963 classmates who had passed on. Kudos to committeee members Steve & Noreen Tappan Doris, Bonnie Merrill McCann, Alice Neves Jette and Teresa Fariz Huntley for preparing this beautiful and heart warming display.
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In addition to his opening remarks, Tommy O outlined the schedule of events for the evening and then invited all present to pony up to the chow line and help themselves to the buffet.
While the chow line was a bit too long (there should have been two rows of food station access, not just one), and there was a lack of clear signage for gluten free items, the food and food service was (to be perfectly honest) just OK, and the only disapointment of the evening. That said, it seemed most folks didn't mind the wait, nor the warm (not piping hot) food, because they were engaged in lively conversations with others in line, and laughter was everywhere. |
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GUEST SPEAKERS
As people finished eating, Tom introduced a very special guest speaker, Keith Richard, Principal of Nashua High School South. Keith addressed the entire class primarily to thank them for the extraordinary support that our Class of 1963 has provided to the students of NHS South through the years, and specifcally referring to the 27 scholarships awarded since 2013 (with many more to come in the future we might add). Keith described a couple examples of how meaningful our support has been to students. Click on the short vifeo to the right. |
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Little know fact. Keith Richard's father is younger then us !!! Keith's dad is Johnny Richard (NHS-1965). Now do you feel old? |
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Next up was Steve Doris who had the pleasure of welcoming everyone (again) on behalf of the Alumni/Reunion Committee. Click on the short video to the right. Steve also had the honor of announcing a new (4th) annual scholarship, sponsored by the NHS Class of 1963 --- this new scholarship will honor classmate Peter Stylianos, who contributed an amazing $1 million dollars to our NHS Class of 1963 Scholaship Endowment Fund in the Spring of 2023. Steve indicated the Peter Stylianos Honorary STEM Scholarship would be awarded each and every year going forward starting In June of 2024 to a student at NHS South who excelled academically and who was interested in pursuing a career in one of the STEM fields. |
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As many of you already know, in addition to picking up the entire tab for the cost of our 60th Class Reunion (Golf, Ladies Luncheon and Saturday Social events) --- Peter's special; gift to classmates, he donated an amazing 1 million dollars to our NHS Class of 1963 Scholaship Endowment Fund in the Spring of 2023. Peter very much wanted to share his perspective on the importance of education and the rationale behind his magnifcant donation.
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Peter addressed the class and said in part: "I am sincerely grateful and fortunate to be a contributing alumnus of the class of 1963, alongside each of you and many other philanthropic sponsors. I firmly believe that education is the most important and valuable key, that opens the gateway to life’s opportunities and possibilities. Providing post graduate support and encouragement via academic scholarships is an investment in the education of our future leaders."
He had much more to say, and ended his speech with the words "Pay It forward, Pay it forward", suggeting it become our NHS Class of 1963 motto.
He had much more to say, and ended his speech with the words "Pay It forward, Pay it forward", suggeting it become our NHS Class of 1963 motto.
THANKING PETER STYLIANOS
Follwing Peter's talk, Steve said "hold on a minute, Peter", we have a few more words for you.
Steve said: "In addition to your incredible support for our Scholarship Endowment Fund, you have also graciously “picked up the tab” for our 60th Class Reunion, making it a bit easier for all of us to attend. Not only that but you made the challenge of planning our 60th reunion a whole lot easier for the committee…….. (not that it's easy…. but you know what I mean). We didn’t have to worry about calculating event pricing.... or collecting and depositing classmate checks – and that has preserved a considerable amount of the diminishing brain cells among our committee.
Now……How to thank the “man who has everything” was the challenge our committee faced. Surely, Peter didn't need dance lessons. He might be interested in another Rolls-Royce (but we couldn’t afford that). Instead we consulted with Peter’s most influential teacher at NHS. Who remembers Harold Greene? Mr Greene taught Physics in our Junior and Senior years, and he served as a major motivator to Peter sparking his interest in Electrical Engineering. Anyway, we wondered what Mr Greene would suggest?
Well, as it turns out…. the Class of 1963 would like to thank Peter by presenting him with his very own, first ever NHS Varity Jacket awarded….not to an athlete, but to an outstanding STEM student.
And if it doesn’t get cold enough in San Jose to wear it, you can mount it on one of your walls at home – and call it a piece of art.
Thank you Peter…….."
Follwing Peter's talk, Steve said "hold on a minute, Peter", we have a few more words for you.
Steve said: "In addition to your incredible support for our Scholarship Endowment Fund, you have also graciously “picked up the tab” for our 60th Class Reunion, making it a bit easier for all of us to attend. Not only that but you made the challenge of planning our 60th reunion a whole lot easier for the committee…….. (not that it's easy…. but you know what I mean). We didn’t have to worry about calculating event pricing.... or collecting and depositing classmate checks – and that has preserved a considerable amount of the diminishing brain cells among our committee.
Now……How to thank the “man who has everything” was the challenge our committee faced. Surely, Peter didn't need dance lessons. He might be interested in another Rolls-Royce (but we couldn’t afford that). Instead we consulted with Peter’s most influential teacher at NHS. Who remembers Harold Greene? Mr Greene taught Physics in our Junior and Senior years, and he served as a major motivator to Peter sparking his interest in Electrical Engineering. Anyway, we wondered what Mr Greene would suggest?
Well, as it turns out…. the Class of 1963 would like to thank Peter by presenting him with his very own, first ever NHS Varity Jacket awarded….not to an athlete, but to an outstanding STEM student.
And if it doesn’t get cold enough in San Jose to wear it, you can mount it on one of your walls at home – and call it a piece of art.
Thank you Peter…….."
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CLASS PHOTO
At 9:15 sharp, the following sounds were heard...... <click on start icon to the right> it was time for all classmates to march downstairs and line up for the official classmate photo. |
HAPPY FACES
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DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY
After the cocktail hour, Memorabilia exhibit, 25th Reunion Video, Tribute to the 50's video, Guest speakers, Class photo, we enjoyed listening to and dancing to the sounds of our favortie tunes from the 50's and early 60's. Our DJ was working his first (and perhaps last) gig as a DJ, but Micah Doris, youngest son of you know who, is always game for any challenge. And he did a pretty good job working through the list on the right !!! 
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MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS
Best in show? You be the judge.
Craig Michaud captured a lot of great shots and some of our favoties are below. Again, to see the complete photo slideshow of all of the 60th Reunion pictures, click here
Best in show? You be the judge.
Craig Michaud captured a lot of great shots and some of our favoties are below. Again, to see the complete photo slideshow of all of the 60th Reunion pictures, click here
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THE BEST PICTURE OF THEM ALL........So Many Miles, So Many Smiles
Sorry to say that we don't have pictures of each and every classmate that attended our 60th Reunion but we do have a solid representation.
This reunion in the words of many was the best ever
Fitting, for the Best Class Evah !!!
Sorry to say that we don't have pictures of each and every classmate that attended our 60th Reunion but we do have a solid representation.
This reunion in the words of many was the best ever
Fitting, for the Best Class Evah !!!
- FEEDBACK FROM ATTENDEES
100% positive, and no complaints. Examples below:
- from Pat Olsen Andrews:
Dear Steve - Once again you and your team have hit one out of the park, scored a touchdown and landed a hole in one. You get the idea. It was a fabulous well planned and executed reunion. Thank you, thank you, thank you for repeatedly agreeing to provide your classmates with the opportunity to come together and share in each other’s lives. Connecting with old friends becomes more and more precious as the years go by. Please pass on to the reunion committee my gratitude for their hard work and devotion to the cause of creating and keeping friendships going throughout these years. You all deserve an A+. Hugs to all of you, Pat Olsen Andrews - From Ron Beaupre:
Great reunion. Thanks for all your work and all the others for making every reunion a success! Take Care. Ron and Peg - From Cathy Maiocchi Felch
Thanks for the picture! And thank you and the committee for all you did to provide a lovely evening for us all. - From Gerard Denault:
I want to thank you, Peter, and the other members of the Committee for the hard work of arranging the reunion. I have attended 6 or so celebrations in all,and I have enjoyed every one. - From Gene Tabor:
Just a quick note to express gratitude for your efforts in putting the reunion together. My wife and I had a wonderful time seeing old friends in my case and making new ones in hers. I saw my (11 years younger) 1st cousin on Sunday and asked him how many reunions he had attended. He said that his class does not have them. I am grateful for your efforts and all your helpers as well. The only slightly frightening issue is being 78 with all the attendant issues and spare parts that have been installed. One day at a time. - From Tim Hurley:
Love the class photo. Reminds me of the sports team photo in the 1963 Tusatali. Maybe we should think about a scaled down reunion for our 65th. A full scale reunion like the 60th would be nice, but it would obviously require an enormous amount of work by you and your reunion committee colleagues. It is probably too much to ask every five years. However even a scaled down version would be a lot of fun and allow us to stay in touch as we get older. Just a thought. Thanks again to you and the other committee members for all the work and planning that went into the 60th Reunion. It's pretty clear that none of you suffer from a lack of energy. - From Carl Goodwin:
The 60th reunion was a wonderful and memorable affair. Denise and I appreciate the time and effort you and the committee put into these reunions. It’s an exceptional class because of your long standing leadership and commitment. Thank you, Carl and Denise - From Carol Hackett McKinney:
Many thanks for putting this together. It was such a success. Thanks for putting me on a winning golf team. - From Marcia Chisolm:
The reunion was more than pretty good. It was great! Thanks for your leadership and all committee member efforts. I was still on a high the next day. The DoubleTree was a disappointment, but it didn’t dampen the fun at all. Thanks for all you’ve done over SO many years to help us all keep in touch and enjoy spending some time together again. It’s been so special. Marcia - From Arnold Thibodeau:
Wow! What a fantastic job the Committee did to organize such a terrific 60th reunion event last evening! Jeannie & I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Thank you. - From Keith Richard (NHS South Principal):
Steve, It was such a great night and I appreciate you allowing me to come and speak and just say Thank You for all the wonderful things your class is doing. No other class is doing what you guys are doing. It was a lot of fun, thanks again. Keith
RECAP OF 60TH REUNION COMMUNICATIONS
Final plans for our 60th Class Reunion were sent to all classmates in the letter below on September 5, 2023
Final plans for our 60th Class Reunion were sent to all classmates in the letter below on September 5, 2023
The announcement of detailed plans for our 60th Reunion was sent to classmates in the letter below on May 4, 2023
