Life Story/Short Version…When I heard my old high school class was going to have its first reunion, I got excited and saved the date: Saturday, April 18. Since we go back to Philadelphia in the spring anyway to see my now 98-year-old mother, Germantown High’s reunion would be the high point of our visit. Then I read the fine print: “Please tell us about your life, career, family, accomplishments, hobbies…and limit your paragraph to about 100 words.” Um, 50 years in 100 words–thanks! It took me a full month to figure that one out. What took so long…So why 50 years to get together again? Well, it was an unusual school with no major leaders. We had the typical jocks and student government types, cheerleaders, the drama kids, yearbook group and art students. The school was about one-third black and evenly divided between religions and ethnic backgrounds. Interestingly, few of us were rich or poor, just basic middle with working-class parents. And amazingly, for 1959, we had no racial problems. We really DID all get along. What affected Germantown the most, however, was nearby Central High for boys, which drew the brightest guys citywide. Consequently, advanced (honors) classes had more girls; many became our class leaders. We were fortunate to have top notch teachers encouraging them. Many of those girls later moved away, leaving no apparent reunion-minded graduates. In fact, the main organizers of our event lived in Vermont, Virginia, Florida and New Jersey. Party Time! …We arrived in Philly in nasty, cold, pouring-down rain. Thursday was warmer, and by Saturday we arrived at Whitemarsh Country Club in brilliant 83 degree sunshine. We had our photos taken near the double curving stairway straight out of “Gone with the Wind.” No dress code meant we wore everything from dressy business attire to fancier duds. And, unlike stories I’ve heard of early reunions, no one dressed to impress with eye-popping cleavage or over-the-top jewelry. At 67, we were just glad to see each other. One friend became a lawyer, another ran an adoption agency for orphans of war-torn countries and another designs stained glass. We were, overall, a good-looking, vigorous group. The buffet was terrific. Afterward, our table had fun remembering Philly’s doo-wop singing groups and radio’s “Georgie Woods, the guy with the goods.” Later we danced– some couples, but lots of us just got up and all danced together. It was wonderful. Here’s to our 60th!
