35

Saturday, September 9, 2006

1971 Cranston High school East 35th year reunion

at Yawgoo Bakes, 555 Slocum Road, Slocum, RI

The Cranston East class of 1971's 35th annual Reunion took place on
Saturday, September 9, at Yawgoo Bakes in Slocum, RI. This was kind of an
experiment: would classmates have a good time at a Reunion that was 1)
outdoors 2) during the day 3) not in November 4) in casual clothes 5)
without music so loud you can't hear what people are saying 6) and
inexpensive? Based on what people told me, I'd say the answer is: Yeah!

The day itself was perfect: summery sun, with a slight breeze to keep
cool.
Considering that it rained the week before - and was arctic the next day -
we lucked out. Thanks to Whoever was in charge of the weather.

Yawgoo Bakes is a rustic, park-like place, and includes several
roofed-but-open-sided structures, kind of like dining halls at a summer
camp. The smaller building housed the bar, which did a brisk business as
people arrived, checked in, put on their name tags, donned their souvenir
t-shirts (mine is now a collector's item), and began talking, hugging, and
laughing with people. The place also has a ball field, horseshoe pit,
volleyball net, basketball court, and bocce pitch, none of which got much
use, although Joe Ricci and I played a little bocce before dinner, and Tom
Iacono and Butch Butler shot some baskets.

Dinner was served in the larger structure: barbecued selections and
lobster.
I thought the food was great, but I'm a sucker for barbecue anyway. The meal
gave people more of an opportunity to meet and chat. People strolled under
the trees, sat at the picnic tables.

It brought a smile to my face to look around during the day and see a dozen
groups of classmates talking, laughing, and picking up the threads. I got to
talk to some old friends, continuing conversations started decades ago as if
it was only yesterday. As usual, I met and spoke with some classmates I'd
never known before and, as usual, was fascinated by the different
trajectories people's lives take. We talked about family and jobs and
places
to live and pets and health and everything else.

Elliott Richman and I observed that this is a really nice bunch of people.
We're lucky to have a group of folks that are this nice, this interested in
each other, this willing to travel just to say hi and make contact again.
After all, some classmates came from pretty far: North Carolina, Maryland,
Colorado, Florida, California, Bermuda (hi, Roberta!), just to mention a
few. It's too bad we only get to do this every five years or so.

As far as the turnout, we had about a hundred classmates, plus guests,which
is not bad, considering that we only have good contact information on about
400 classmates, half of whom live out of state. I know that some folks opted
out because they prefer a dinner-dance type format. I personally don't mind
either way, but it was nice to wear comfortable clothes, and wander around
the trees and grass, and talk to people like at a big picnic.

So many people thanked me so enthusiastically that I have to clarify my
minor role: keeping track of contact information, and sending out emails and
occasional mailings. All the real work was done by others. A committee of
the willing made phone calls, gave suggestions, offered opinions, and helped
in many other ways: thanks to Juliana Pastine Reilly, Ernie Rheaume, Gail
Glen Whitfield, Teddy DeCaro, Gene Blair, Helen Dittelman Dolan, Ed Ianni,
Maryann Pezza Matano, John Dyer, Pat Dewey Giarusso, Tina DeMarcoMcKendall,
and Susan Bond Burns. Dan Barry fronted the deposit money and helped us with
suggestions from his long experience. Paula Zampini-Capozzi made a
thoughtful donation, even though she could not attend. Joyce Singer Lee made
many phone calls, arranged publicity, and put up signs, among other things.
Monika Szynkarski Curnett handled all the money transactions superbly,
despite irregular and cryptic information from me. Beverly Brisson DeFelice
helped distribute t-shirts and provided a fascinating scrapbook of our last
get-together. And, finally, I solemnly promised Nancy Goldis Iacono that I
would not mention how she handled all the arrangements with Yawgoo Bakes,
designed and ordered all the t-shirts, ordered and obtained desserts and
decorations, and without whom there simply wouldn't have been a reunion, so,
of course, I won't.

-Ed DeJesus

Click here to see the some pictures

Click here to see some more pictures

Click here to see the official invitation



	Saturday, September 9, 2006 1971 Cranston High school East 35th year reunion at Yawgoo Bakes, 555 Slocum Road, Slocum, RI The Cranston East class of 1971's 35th annual Reunion took place on Saturday, September 9, at Yawgoo Bakes in Slocum, RI. This was kind of an experiment: would classmates have a good time at a Reunion that was 1) outdoors 2) during the day 3) not in November 4) in casual clothes 5) without music so loud you can't hear what people are saying 6) and inexpensive? Based on what people told me, I'd say the answer is: Yeah! The day itself was perfect: summery sun, with a slight breeze to keep cool. Considering that it rained the week before - and was arctic the next day - we lucked out. Thanks to Whoever was in charge of the weather. Yawgoo Bakes is a rustic, park-like place, and includes several roofed-but-open-sided structures, kind of like dining halls at a summer camp. The smaller building housed the bar, which did a brisk business as people arrived, checked in, put on their name tags, donned their souvenir t-shirts (mine is now a collector's item), and began talking, hugging, and laughing with people. The place also has a ball field, horseshoe pit, volleyball net, basketball court, and bocce pitch, none of which got much use, although Joe Ricci and I played a little bocce before dinner, and Tom Iacono and Butch Butler shot some baskets. Dinner was served in the larger structure: barbecued selections and lobster. I thought the food was great, but I'm a sucker for barbecue anyway. The meal gave people more of an opportunity to meet and chat. People strolled under the trees, sat at the picnic tables. It brought a smile to my face to look around during the day and see a dozen groups of classmates talking, laughing, and picking up the threads. I got to talk to some old friends, continuing conversations started decades ago as if it was only yesterday. As usual, I met and spoke with some classmates I'd never known before and, as usual, was fascinated by the different trajectories people's lives take. We talked about family and jobs and places to live and pets and health and everything else. Elliott Richman and I observed that this is a really nice bunch of people. We're lucky to have a group of folks that are this nice, this interested in each other, this willing to travel just to say hi and make contact again. After all, some classmates came from pretty far: North Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, Florida, California, Bermuda (hi, Roberta!), just to mention a few. It's too bad we only get to do this every five years or so. As far as the turnout, we had about a hundred classmates, plus guests,which is not bad, considering that we only have good contact information on about 400 classmates, half of whom live out of state. I know that some folks opted out because they prefer a dinner-dance type format. I personally don't mind either way, but it was nice to wear comfortable clothes, and wander around the trees and grass, and talk to people like at a big picnic. So many people thanked me so enthusiastically that I have to clarify my minor role: keeping track of contact information, and sending out emails and occasional mailings. All the real work was done by others. A committee of the willing made phone calls, gave suggestions, offered opinions, and helped in many other ways: thanks to Juliana Pastine Reilly, Ernie Rheaume, Gail Glen Whitfield, Teddy DeCaro, Gene Blair, Helen Dittelman Dolan, Ed Ianni, Maryann Pezza Matano, John Dyer, Pat Dewey Giarusso, Tina DeMarcoMcKendall, and Susan Bond Burns. Dan Barry fronted the deposit money and helped us with suggestions from his long experience. Paula Zampini-Capozzi made a thoughtful donation, even though she could not attend. Joyce Singer Lee made many phone calls, arranged publicity, and put up signs, among other things. Monika Szynkarski Curnett handled all the money transactions superbly, despite irregular and cryptic information from me. Beverly Brisson DeFelice helped distribute t-shirts and provided a fascinating scrapbook of our last get-together. And, finally, I solemnly promised Nancy Goldis Iacono that I would not mention how she handled all the arrangements with Yawgoo Bakes, designed and ordered all the t-shirts, ordered and obtained desserts and decorations, and without whom there simply wouldn't have been a reunion, so, of course, I won't. -Ed DeJesus Click here to see the some pictures Click here to see some more pictures Click here to see the official invitation