Holy Redeemer High School Class of 1968 50th Reunion

Fifty years…this was the big one!

The class of 1968’s 50^th reunion was held Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Woodlands of Van Buren Golf Course and Banquet Center.

Reunion was a blast - 120 classmates and their guests were there (9 classmates that planned to come couldn't make it at the last minute) .

Woodlands' did an exemplary job including planning, preparing and serving. The menu was above board than is typically served at a reunion and included Crudités at the start, dinner, and late hour Amuse-bouche provided complimentary of the Chef.

Classmates were welcomed at the door. All classmates received their Keepsake Booklet as they registered; all attendees found a souvenir Class of '68 memory/goofy pen with purple hair resting in their linen napkin.

Female classmates and guests each received a single yellow rose - the class flower. The program was emcee'd by Marty Colbeck and began with a welcome from Don Grybb and then a group photo taken by Chris Bickes which was a task all its own considering the amount of classmates and that it had to be done inside as it had begun to rain.

This was followed by an Opening Prayer by Mary Benedict. Mary's twin sister Martha also read an Opening Poem. Dinner buffet was next which moved much more quickly than anticipated due to Woodland's providing multiple buffet paths. They told us they could move us quickly through the buffet; we were doubtful but they did :-). It's a wonder too - as the buffet area was beautifully decorated in a fall theme of gourds, pumpkins, etc.; it was tough not to spend time looking it over while standing in line.

The Harvest Dinner was wonderful and included Pork Tenderloin, Grilled Salmon, Chicken, Roasted Vegetables, Rice Pilaf and Salad. The Chef accommodated those that needed to be gluten and/or dairy free. Don Grybb gave a 50 year toast to the classmates after everyone was seated.

Dessert was cake which was provided by Terry Malloy. The Big RE cake had a bit of an accident on its way but both cakes were beautifully decorated and scrumptious!

After dinner, Maggie Malone led the class and guests singing the class song "Let There Be Peace on Earth" - lots of tears flowed...even some of the Woodlands' staff. The tears continued during the moment of silence given in memory of the classmates that have passed and then the readings of their names by the two class officers at the reunion - Cheryl Foucher and Terry Salazar and the student council president, Steve Banko.

There was a 50/50 drawing held by Joe Grech which resulted in $505 to the Holy Redeemer Grade School for scholarships - the remainder was split as winnings by Ron Connors and Kitty Tosqui. Curtis the Turtle made his presence at the reunion with the help of Dar Ziolkowski; a drawing was held as he needed a new home in his retiring years - he is now residing in Theresa Neihoff's house as her name was drawn as the winner.

From there, the rest of the night was left for reminiscing. No one seemed to be able to get enough of it!!! The committee had been able to pull together quite a bit of memorabilia that was displayed...this included the Great Wall of the 50th Reunion put together by Dar Ziolkowski which had old (did I say old?) pictures and the class composite in its front and then some of the old (again did I say old?) clothing that had been worn during our high school years - the guys especially enjoyed checking these out and seeing if they could still fit in a letter jacket, or so and some of them could!

There was also a class video put together by MaryAnn Gabrysh and a set of class picture slides by Dar Ziolkowski displayed for further reminiscing.

Everyone enjoyed taking pictures. Ken Hebert had created large picture frames that multiple people could stand behind - these were a great hit! And then there was the huge, greater than life-sized picture of a lion that was a great back-drop for classmates to pose for pictures. Lots of selfies were taken of course as well.

As the night began to close, the Chef brought out Amuse-bouche - yes that's a word. Amuse-bouche is a small delectable provided complimentary of the Chef. Woodlands' Chef provided mini Coneys which suspiciously tasted just like Duly's.

Mary Sue Gallagher then read an Irish Farewell Prayer. Classmates were reticent to leave even as the close time arrived, even though staff had begun clearing the banquet room.

It was definitely a memorable event. We're hoping to meet more frequently in the future rather than just waiting for a reunion. Margie Stout provided a sign-in book for those that would like to meet together as a class. Many signed this. The first is planned at the Senate in Northville on Haggerty Rd. on April 7, 2019 at 1pm. Reminders will be given via the Message Forum and Facebook.

Your Reunion Committee

Don Grybb, Theresa Neihoff, Darlene Ziolkowski, Ken Hebert, Terry Malloy, Linda Rykwalder, Lola Saez, Margie Stout, Laura Schell, Terry Salazar, Jim Eckman, Joe Grech, Rich Krisciunas, Marty Colbeck, John Axiak , Dennis Wasik, MaryAnn Gabrysh

It was great fun to reconnect...!!!

Reunion Website

The "The Way We Were" page has been updated to include the Class of 68 nostalgia movie video and the photo slideshow that were displayed at the reunion. There is a new page - "The Reunion" that has photo slideshows from the day before and the day of the reunion. There are over 170 pictures taken by classmates during the reunion included in the slides.