ABOUT THIS SECTION
This section provides information about our 50th Reunion that was held in early August 2007. This page gives a brief overview of the reunion events (full details are on Page 4), lists the classmates who attended, provides info on the reunion's recorded media (CD, DVD,VHS) and the Class Photo - and shows some photos in pop-up files (which required JavaScript to be enabled on your computer). A brief review of the Memory Book is included on this page. Pages 2 and 3 contain photos of the Bellingham Golf and Country Club and the Reunion Committee Chairmen.
Links to the Page 1 items are below:
- Brief Overview of the 50th Reunion's Main Event
- List of Who Attended the Reunion and Picnic
-
Reunion Photos - Many on a CD, Some on this Web Site
[ Updated 11-09-07 ]
- Reunion DVD/VHS Tape - Ordering Info
- BHS-57 Class Group Photo - Ordering Info
- Review of the BHS-57 50th Reunion Memory Book [ NEW: Added 12-28-07 ]
- Updates to the BHS-57 50th Reunion Memory Book [ NEW: Added 12-28-07 ]
- The 50th was Our Last BIG Reunion, So, What Comes Next?
See Page 2 for a map to BG&CC and pictures (taken by Ray Denson) of the Bellingham Golf & Country Club (BG&CC), which was our reunion location.
See Page 3 for photos of the 50th Reunion Planning Committee Chairmen.
See Page 4
for event details of our 50th Reunion weekend - as well as for lodging and campsite information of places reunion attendees may have stayed. (Lodging info may be useful for the upcoming "BHS Alumni Class" picnics.)
The 50th Reunion's main event and dinner was held on Saturday, August 4, 2007 at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club, ("BG&CC") upstairs in their new clubhouse. The BG&CC offered the benefits of a private club in a lovely historical site located in the heart of Bellingham (on Meridian Drive, not far from the mall). The clubhouse is all wheelchair accessible with wheelchair ramps at all entries and a nice elevator in the lobby which took us to the second floor where our Main Event activities occured. (Visit the Bellingham Golf and Country Club web site for its own info and photos.)
The BG&CC's dress code, always "country club casual," was explicitly defined by Ray Denson in Item 3 on Page 4 of this section.
Check-in time was 1PM; many came by then (or earlier) to have the most visiting time and to enjoy the "Wall of Photos" and "Memorial" displays. By a couple of hours later, the majority of attendees had arrived and vsiting was in full swing. Decorations were beautiful. Pictures were taken, video taping was done, and a group photo made. Fancy food that was beautifully served included mid-afternoon hor d'oeuvres and a later dinner (see the Menu details on Page 4). A variety of entertainment was provided and enjoyed by all.
Note: This overview barely covers Saturday's reunion events, and, there also were events on Friday and Sunday. See the full details of all the weekend's reunion events on Page 4 of this section. Also, view the pop-up photos in Section 3 below.
See which classmates attended the 50th Reunion. This list of attendance figures was based on ID cards left over and on notes taken by Buck and Jere Edwards at the Reunion Register Desk and on notes taken by Sharon Johnstone and Bette Bergman at the Picnic Register Desk.
It was a GOOD turnout! Many thanks go to the Reunion Planning Committee Chairmen and all helpers.
3. REUNION PHOTOS - MANY ON A CD, SOME ON THIS WEB SITE
[ Updated 11-09-07 ]
David Crook took almost 300 photos at our 50th Reunion on Saturday and at the Alumni Picnic on Sunday, He saved them as JPGs on a CD that he copied and mailed to all BHS-57 classmates. David's CD is viewable on either PC or Mac computers, or via a DVD player attached to a TV, so you're probably already familiar with many of them.
For online viewing, you can see 45 of David's Saturday reunion photos in this (2007 50th Reunion Memories) section of our web site. If you cannot find yourself or friends you recognize in any of his pictures on this web site, remember that these are a relatively small sampling from David's CD. That CD is a good way to view ALL of David's photos (taken both on Saturday and Sunday), using your computer's "slideshow" software or your DVD player attached to a TV.
Click to see: REUNION PHOTOS BY DAVID CROOK
Ed Andrews (Gail Smith Andrews' husband) took about 370 photos at our 50th Reunion on Saturday and at the Alumni Picnic on Sunday. He saved them as JPGs on a CD that he copied and mailed to me for selecting some for sharing with you via this web site. This section shows 48 of Ed's Saturday reunion photos now available for online viewing.
Click to see: REUNION PHOTOS BY ED ANDREWS
Also, you can see many of Ed's photos taken at the 2007 Alumni Picnic on Sunday at the high school on Page 2 of the ALUMNI REUNION PICNICS section.
[ New page as of 11-09-07 ]
I very much appeciate receiving both David's and Ed's CDs of reunion photos so I could put several of them on this web site. Many, many thanks to them for taking such wonderful photographs of our 50th Class Reunion and the 2007 Alumni Picnic.
Note: Those two men spent much of their reunion time "working," rather than "just visiting," and it is MUCH appreciated. (If you want to send them comments, questions, or a "thank you," use these links to
send email to David
and/or
send email to Ed.)
Note: If anyone took photos of the reunion's Friday Golf Tournament or its award celebration afterward, some of them can be put online, space permitting. Please
send email to Marilyn
for her currently preferred photo submission procedures.
Many reunion photos taken at the banquet show the table centerpieces.
The clear glass vases holding shells, roses, and carnations were a special part of Mary Margaret Montag's lovely room decor.
Note: Click the vase graphic at the left to see an enlargement showing some flowers' detail from this centerpiece.
4. REUNION DVD/VHS TAPE - ORDERING INFO
To order the 2-hour DVD or VHS video tape from RAINES PRODUCTIONS who professionally taped the whole reunion with classmates sharing their "school days" memories, click this direct link to DVD-Video Order Form - a PDF file that you can download, print, and use. (If you want to access it another way, this form is Item 7 in PART 1 of the PDF File Downloads section of this web site.)
5. BHS-57 CLASS GROUP PHOTO - ORDERING INFO
About the form to order the BHS-57 Class Group Photo that was taken outside by the woman photographer: I lost my copy of her form (and forgot her name). That's not like me, but it happened. When I searched my purse for it, it simply wasnt there. If anyone has one of her forms please photocopy it and mail it to me or scan it and email it to me - whichever is easiest to do quickly. I will re-type the form and turn it into a PDF file on our web site.
I think there was an October or November 11th (15th?) deadline for ordering her Class Photos, so it may be too late now. However, I'd clike to make that form available on our web site as a PDF file anyway. (I'd promised that lady, who didn't have time to give everyone forms, that I'd put it on our web site.)
For those who like to order online, visit their web site:
http://www.picmyphotos.comg/
Note: If you click that link, it will open their web site in a new window - so you can later close it and still easily return to this BHS-57 web site in THIS (still open underneath) window. Also, when at their web site, you will need to use the password YARY to see the photo.
I cannot access that their web site (the URL above) on my old computer (or I'd get the form that way). And, I always prefer to order things (and pay by check) through postal mail. So, I need that form, and other classmates may also need it. Although, of course, now that the Memory Book is available with Ed Andrews' good (black-and-white) class photo in it, you may not need/want the color photo the professional woman photographer took of us. But, if you Do have her email info, please
send email to me ASAP, so I can get her form from her. Thanks. Marilyn.
Top of Page
6. REVIEW OF THE BHS-57 50TH REUNION MEMORY BOOK
All classmates who ordered the BHS-57 50th Reunion Memory Book should have received theirs by now. If not, please let Darla Mesford O'Malley know.
(I was probably the last one to get a copy -in late December- because the first copy mailed to me -in November- never arrived; it got lost in the mail somewhere. Else, I'd have written this review much earlier. Marilyn.)
First Impression: I immediately noticed and was pleased by the use of color photos for both the front and back covers of the 50th Reunion Memory Book (shown below):
Note: Click the photo of the front cover (left) to see a pop-up enlargement of the BHS high school photo.
Note: Click the photo of the back cover (right) to see a pop-up enlargement of the old City Hall building (now a museum).
As soon as I received my copy of the Memory Book, I read it from cover to cover, enjoying every bit of it. The BHS Class of 1957 50th Reunion's "Memory Book" was well-designed, informative, complete, and an interesting "good read," enhanced by many photos and art sketches.
The front cover has the 1999 photo that David Crook took of Bellingham High School's main entrance; be sure to check the pop-up to see the enlargement photo. The inside front cover has the sketches that Terrry Solvang made in 1956 for the Smoke Signals book; (great seeing those sketches again).
Photos between the covers The BHS-57 Memory Book includes the 50th Reunion "group picture" (a "two-page" spread) that Ed Andrews (husband of Gail Smith Andrews) took; great photo, Ed. But that's not all. There are photos of honored guests (our teachers, Al Hunt and Floyd Sandell) who attended our reunion, photos of the "Scorer's table" we donated to the high school, several pages of all our individual head-shot photos from the 1957 Shuksan (including a few photos of our classmates who didn't graduate with us due to various reasons), and a photo taken by Dan O'Malley of the high school's "new" (to us) side entrance. Great photo, Dan!
Text between the covers provide news and comments each classmate wrote about themselves and gives their current postal and phone contact info. Preceding the back cover is a two-page article by Darla O'Malley called "The Last 50 Years , , , Surviving the High Tech World." It brings back memories; I'm sure most of us can relate to what she wrote. Following her article, she included the most recent "November 2007 email list of BHS-57 classmates".
The back cover has a beautiful photo taken by Darla O'Malley of the old City Hall that was built in 1882. The inside back cover has sketches by Phil Van Aver that he made in 1956 for the Smoke Signals book. (It was also great seeing Phil's sketches again. I recognized him as a great artist when at Fairhaven; I still have and cherish a few sketches he then created for me).
Last impression: The resulting book is well designed with its many photos as well as interesting text. Several photos and sketches were created by various people (see the credits at the bottom of the book's first page); they greatly enhance the book along with the text written by individual classmates.
Darla deserves special kudos for her dedicated work as "book designer," "typesetter," and "publisher" on this project - as well as "photographer" for the back cover. She did a super job on this tremendous task which took many months of work - sending out questionnaires to all classmates, organizing their returned info, typing it, proofreading it, gathering the many photos and sketches, organizing the pages, and getting the books printed and bound. So . . .
7. UPDATES TO THE BHS-57 50TH REUNION MEMORY BOOK'S CONTACT INFO
This is our LAST Memory Book; let's keep it up-to-date as long as we can, so we can keep in touch for possible future reunions. Please carefully check your own "contact info" (your postal address, telephone, email address information) as listed in the 50TH Reunion Memory Book. Your CONTACT INFO corrections or updates will be provided in this section for classmates to note in their copies of the Memory Book.
Please do NOT send simple typos if you see any in the vast text content of the book. Also, don't send changes to your descriptive text; it's too late to edit that info.
Just report your own Contact info errors/changes in: your name, postal address, telephone, and/or email address. (You can also report Contact info errors/changes for a classmate friend who has no web site/email access.) The corrections and updated info will be listed below so everyone can mark their books with the changes.
If you have changes to be noted,
send email to Marilyn, being sure to indicate your Email Address Line Number or your Other Contact Info page numbers (as noted in the Memory Book). Be brief. For examples, see the corrections/updates already noted below.
EMAIL ADDRESS CHANGES (Found at back of the book, following page "b"):
Line 15: Add ".com" to the email address for Denny Berry.
Line 106: Add ".com" to the email address for Don Marten.
CONTACT INFO CHANGES:
Page 39 for Marilyn Moir Coughran: Change the telephone area code from "529" to "520."
8. THE 50TH WAS OUR LAST "BIG" REUNION, SO WHAT COMES NEXT?
Hitting the "50 year mark" after high school graduation was a special event and we happily celebrated it - with our last BIG class reunion. As for smaller "mini-reunions," here's what's now scheduled to happen in the next couple of years, and what also MAY occur during these and/or future years:
THREE-CLASS ALUMNI REUNION SUNDAY PICNICS
We are expected to take part in the historic Three-Class Alumni Reunion Picnics held on the Sunday afternoon of each BHS class's 50th Class reunion weekend duing 2007, 2008, and 2009 to honor three (BHS-57, BHS-58, and BHS-59) classes. If you attended the 2007 Alumni Picnic during our 50th Reunion weekend, you know how it went. The class of 1956 hosted the picnic in our bonor. There was a catered picnic held inside the high school's Commons area, an (optional) tour of the building, photos displayed for viewing, and chances for lots of visiting with former BHS students we may have known from other classes as well as our own.
Details on the three
ALUMNI REUNION PICNICS can be accessed through the link given here or by clicking its (new) purple "section" graphic link on the BHS-57 Home Page.
FUTURE "NO HOST" GET-TOGETHERS? ANNUAL GOLF TOURNEYS? ANYTHING?
Any future (now unscheduled) "mini-reunions" of BHS-57 classmates probably will be much smaller and most likely for people still living in or near the Bellingham area - although other classmates who like to travel long distances are certainly welcome to join in.
There may be impromptu gatherings planned at the last minute. For example, some people may have picnic gatherings, perhaps in Bellingham parks, where any classmate is welcome.
The annual Golf Tourneys (which may include weekend camp-outs in various locations) are planned to continue. These are open to any classmate who wants to tag along and join the extraneous fun times - even if they don't play golf.
If notices of these "mini-reunions" or "golf tourneys" (or whatever kind of get-together - maybe a theatre party?) are provided to Marilyn in time - with complete info (date, time, place, contact person) - they will be put on the BHS-57 web site in a new "Mini-Reunions" section then to be created. (Be sure to provide any extraneous info such as "bring baseball bats and mitts, sack lunch, lawn chairs, umbrellas, etc.")
By the way, a good way to let other classmates contact you (and you them) via email is to be sure you are listed in the
EMAIL CONTACT section of this web site. Check it out.