Time Warp 2009~1969

The weekend of July 10-12, I returned to South Bend, Indiana for my high school graduating class's 40th reunion. There was an informal gathering at a bar called Simeri's Old Town Tap on Friday evening, where many of our classmates gathered to see each other for the first time in four decades. I brought along strings of orange and blue party beads for everyone, plus a copy of our senior yearbook to have signed. What a trip it was!

On Saturday, many of us met at the old South Bend Central High School building downtown to go on a tour. It had been converted into apartments a few years after we graduated. It was hard to imagine the carpeted lofts had once been classrooms with 20'-high ceilings. Even the old gym had been subdivided, and the free-throw lines and scuff marks were still visible on the hardwood floors.

Saturday afternoon, I walked around the campus of Notre Dame and bought some gifts at the university bookstore. I did not attend ND, but I used to caddy on the golf course there and often "bummed tickets" to see the fighting Irish play football. I grew up less than a mile from the Golden Dome and the grounds hold special memories for me.

Saturday night was the big reunion event. The organizers had booked us a large banquet room at St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church, with an open bar and buffet-style dinner. There was dancing and reminiscing, a tribute to the 29 classmates who had passed away over the years, and three of the former cheerleaders grabbed orange and blue pom-poms to lead us all in the school's fight song. It was all very nostalgic and very well done.

Throughout the month, the local newspaper, the South Bend Tribune, has been running a series of articles about the Central Class of '69. It's fascinating to read what everyone has been up to. I returned to Las Vegas on Sunday with a head full of new memories, dozens of renewed friendships, and a yearbook full of fresh signatures. I took a few photos, too, and they can be seen in my 40th Reunion slideshow on Flickr.