The title of this piece is the website for the 50th high school reunion for the class of 1966 at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. It is to be held September 9-10 in the stunning rooftop Monaco Ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel (9599 Skokie Blvd.) in Skokie, Illinois. All the necessary information to attend can be found on the website.
As scribed in an earlier (11-08-15) post on this "noted" class (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-j-zaremski/noted-evanston-high-class_b_8504638.html), there are many such events across the land each and every year. And no doubt the motivation for these reunions, certainly the one at the half-century mark, is to renew acquaintances left in the rearview mirror five decades ago, and, of course, to rekindle acquaintances, events, coursework, teachers, gripes, complaints, sporting events and school teams, fine arts presentations and plays, and the like. For Evanston High's class of 1966, the yearning to revisit these experiences will be no different. After all, none of us that were members of this class knew what our future would hold, so in a way we are---putting a twist on familiar movie titles---going back not to a future, but with most of a future already completed.
Presently, there are nearly 140 of a class that neared 1,000 ready to come from all parts of the country. Classmates now hail from as far away as France, Canada and Mexico. But with less than 90 days before the big weekend, this blog is a shout-out for many more to pen in that weekend on your calendars. Don't wait until the last moment to decide to come. So, too, and unfortunately, our class has lost over 100 members in the last 50 years. They will be remembered at the reunion too.
As this author wrote previously, members of this class upon graduation had no idea what the future was to hold. Sure, we had our academic stars and our jocks, so we sort of knew who would carry on their high school legacies into the college years and, if lucky and fortunate enough, perhaps beyond. Also previously written about were individuals that indeed reflected well on why our class was a noted one, even those that fell under the radar while at ETHS. There were, of course, others that made the press in not such good ways in the succeeding half century since graduation. But the good and proud since 1966 far outweighed what happened to some of our classmates due to life's experiences or of their own doing. The former included becoming breadwinners, raising a family on available resources, becoming grandparents, undertaking charitable endeavors to assist the less fortunate, partnering up with others, withstanding life's difficulties that reached into all corners, and leading and showing by example to others on how to become productive members of society and confront challenges.
And we did all this knowing that the fabric of our country was being stretched and reshaped in the years we attended ETHS, e.g., experiencing the "mopheads" from across the pond, protesting the Vietnam War, reading, listening and participating in racial, social and economic turmoil, and seeing the enactment of momentous legislation like the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, and the Civil Rights Act.
So why not take a brief moment to see about "coming home"---albeit for only a weekend---and a home that had yet to be encumbered by a future we now know today. Check out: www.eths1966.com.
PS, Class representatives have recently been invited to participate in Evanston's upcoming 4th of July day parade. Any class member interested in walking, bicycling or riding in it, just come on out!