Update 10-6-09

Hi,

Some notes, in the order they arrived.

From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  For those of us who grew up with Cantor Mann -- does anyone happen to have his or her original bar / bas mitzvah recording that Cantor Mann made for us to study at home?  What a cherished memory those would be.
        And what an amazing voice he had.  I also recall being told that he had -- and sang with the power of -- one lung.  But perhaps my memory is not accurate, and Mark Jonas or Hy Rosov could correct it.     
        Meanwhile, again, the temple's web site is:  www.valleystreamjc.org   Also, obviously unrelated, there's a great Jack Webb / Johnny Carson segment at:  Cleptoman...wmv
   
    [Rich -- if my bar mitzvah study record still existed, it would be in my parents' uninsulated attic, where, after almost fifty years, I'd bet it would be pretty unplayable.  But I have a feeling I actually played Frisbee with the disk soon after the sacred event, in celebration of a lot of things.]
   
    From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  Thanks for mentioning the items in the Alumni Association bulletin.  If possible, could you also alert people about the upcoming October 3rd Homecoming at South?  We'll be honoring the Class of '59, but we also hope there'll be alumni from other classes.
   
    [Rich -- Uh, I kind opened my e-mail a bit late to forward Emily's note, but I hope everyone had a good time.]
   
    From Jerry Bittman:  The people in Rockville Centre couldn't have selected a better person than Bernie O'Brien to honor.  There might be a few -- very few -- individuals on this planet with bigger hearts and with as much caring and kindness as Mr. O'B.  In my sixty-two years, I've yet to find such an individual comparable to him.  My only thought is why did it take the people in Rockville Centre so long to recognize this man?
   
    From Ellen Sue Brody Pilger:  My husband Ted and I will be flying to New York City for two weeks at the end of December and to Jacksonville, Florida, for a long weekend at the end of January.  We'll be visiting family, but I'd love to catch up with anyone in either area who might be available for lunch or for coffee.
        I really enjoy seeing the familiar names on this page, but I don't know where any of you live.  So if you'd like to get together, please give me a buzz.  Again, my e-mail address is:  ellensue@pilger.com
   
    From Paul Zegler:  After playing Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls three times during my career, I figured it was time to “step up”.  This time, I'm playing Arvide Abernathy, and this is going to be a terrific show with a great cast.
        If you happen to be in Los Angeles, the play will open on Friday, October 16th and run through Sunday, October 25th.  Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM, and Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM.  Tickets may be purchased at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard or by phone at:  805-583-8700.  Prices range from $25 to $55.  Hope to see some of you.
   
    A reminder of the two upcoming Long Island reunions.  They're for specific classes, but everyone is welcome to attend:
       
        The class of 1964’s 45th.  Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Irish Coffee Pub in East Islip.  Approximately 1:00 to 4:00 PM.  $45/person and cash bar.  Please contact Tom McPartland at: tommcp@ptd.net
   
        The class of 1959’s 50th.  Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Knights of Columbus in Oceanside.
    7:00 to 11:00 PM.  Please contact Terry Gunderson Kaiser at:  terkaiser@optonline.net
   
    Finally, the first half of an article edited from the latest Alumni Association bulletin.  The second half will be here next week.  From Val Manzo:
        The Class of 1969 Had An Amazing Reunion
        After a successful 20th reunion -- in our 19th year -- and a mini-reunion which took place two days before 9/11, Bill Taylor, the 2001 organizer, started asking about planning our 40th.  He enlisted Princeton resident Rob Tannen and sent e-mail notes to several of us who he’d kept in touch with.  Rob generously offered to host the reunion in Princeton, but many of the grads wanted it on Long Island, so they could see family members and other old friends during the weekend.
        So two local grads, Lynda Bands and I, took over the plans and hired Reunions of America, since they had helped our predecessor planners in 1988.  Still, our secret weapons were David Mekelberg and Cornelia Mitchell, who enabled us to have an almost 30% turn-out of our former class.
        First, David, who's a local computer consultant, created a chat room for us in Yahoo groups.  Those people who’d previously been in touch using e-mail now had a place to speak more directly to their former classmates.  At first, our chat room was used to decide what kind of reunion to have, but, after a while, it became a way to reconnect, to remember, and to share stories, photos, and a lot of laughs.  Some sad tales were told, some deceased classmates -- there were twelve -- were discussed, and some of our accomplishments were shared.  But the wonder of it all was that there was little bragging going on.  It was more of a joyous reconnection.
        Then we realized that Reunions of America doesn't search for people at all.  The company gets the class list from the high school, updates it with information from the last reunion, sends invitations out, and sits and waits.  When I discovered this, two of my closest ‘69 friends offered to track down our missing former classmates. Then Cornelia Mitchell  jumped in and noted that the job was too big, and the timing too late, to reach everyone we were looking for.  So I posted a “Help” message at out chat room, and six more people signed on to search.  They were each given names from specific letters of the alphabet and the master list.  As they searched for the missing people on their individual lists, Cornelia also suggested that we “harness the power of the chat room” and ask all of the members to help us find our missing friends.
        And people did!  And in the process of people's supplying names of parents, cousins, relatives, neighbors, and other information to one another, the chat room came alive.  The MIA team tracked down so many graduates with such fervor that we were expecting 100 guests, some of them spouses -- but not many -- out of a class of 322.
        The chat room was a gift.  The reunion promised to be a blast, and the enthusiasm generated in the chat room led us to plan events for the entire weekend, not just for one night.  And so many people stepped up to continue the search when Lynda and I had to step back to finish the reunion planning:  there was our nine-member MIA committee, and the Friday and Sunday event planners, and the two men who started it all -- Bill and Rob.  And there was also David Mekelberg, Barbara Callow, and Barbara Brown.  All of them deserve credit.
        (Continued next week.)
   
    The South '65 e-mail addresses:  reunionclass65.blogspot.com
   
    The South '65 photo site:  picasaweb.google.com/SouthHS65
   
   
    Rich