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01/01/25 02:51 PM #1839    

 

Lisa Yee (Abrams)

It's great catching up with everyone on the message forum. Glad those who have retired are enjoying it. I logged in to see the interest in getting the 50th year reunion plans for 2026. I frequent Facebook because I post about my restaurant events every week because we have weekend impersonators which the customers really enjoy so I'll do my best on catching up with news here. Have a very happy healthy and peaceful new year 2025!


01/02/25 12:15 AM #1840    

 

Edward Mc Carthy

Holiday wishes to you all.  Retired now two years.  Life is good however when you love what you did and your career, you find yourself missing some aspects of the 'work days'.  We are now snow birds ( year two ) and winter in Florida.  Drove over to Orlando to watch the Illini play.  Wife and I are alums.  Rocked in 2025 in Orlando too.  Now (tomorrow ) heading back to New Smryna Beach until April.  Be well all.  Hopefully as we usher in a new year, it is also a start to countrywide economic improvements and a more kind and gentler future.for us all.  Good to see and hear from you all.


01/02/25 10:54 AM #1841    

 

Timmy Wong

Happy New Year to my fellow 76ers!! Grace and Andrew, unfortunately, I do not have plans to visit Hot August Nights this year but I do appreciate the offers.  Can I take a raincheck?  It is a great time so Andrew and all fellow gearheads, it should be on your bucket list to see!  This year is my 40th anniversary so I am under pressure to make big plans!  Also, I have been retired for 5 years now and thoroughly enjoying it.  I do stay busy helping my daughter with her wedding dress business at Grace and Ivory.  I handle the shipping and receiving or, as I like to tell my friends, I am the "mail room guy".  Hahaha!!  Check out www.graceandivory.com.  I was also primary care giver for my parents but they have both passed in 2024 at 90 years old.  A long and happy life together so I was very blessed that I had them for so long and they got to know their grandchildren very well.  Now, hope 2025 brings good health and happiness for us all and this will be the Chinese Year of the Snake on January 29th.  Wishing you an early Gung hay fat choy to all!!


01/02/25 12:04 PM #1842    

 

Gregory Calvimontes

Timmy, we are hitting 40 in June as well. Planning a 10 day tour of food and wine in southern Italy in May.

01/02/25 08:54 PM #1843    

 

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

I got a retirement announcement from one of my favorite colleagues this morning and realized it's almost 10 years since I retired from my industry. Wow! I am lucky... I had a great 34-year run and I still talk to ex coworkers and clients who are like family to me, but now I can use my will and skill to do something I'm passionate about... Lane!  I guess you can take the pom poms away but the Go Lane Go survives.

Now what do we want to do for our 50th? I can't plan it but I can help in a big way including the school tour and opening up the alumni office for a free Open House. Should we go fancy or down and dirty? Who wants to help plan? We've already conquered the hardest part, (finding everyone and figuring out a way to communicate).

We just need to decide what we want to do as a group. Plenty of time. Opinions anyone?


01/03/25 01:24 PM #1844    

 

Robert Cole

I'm all in favor of the way it was done for the 40th. Sort of "semi-formal." Not formal, expensive, dancing, etc. But, better than getting together at a bar. The golf club location, or someting like it, was great. The tables setup for memorabilia was cool, too.


01/03/25 05:59 PM #1845    

 

Lisa Yee (Abrams)

I like seeing all the responses about the 50th reunion. I like Bob's idea of keeping it less formal and not at a bar, but also not formal like in a ballroom either. 

Greg Groeper started a group on facebook for the 1976ers and was interested in what time of the year to have the event or events. I chose August or September since the snowbirds will still be in town and the weather is not usually as hot as it is in July, but with global warming it isn't easy to predict anymore. 

I'd like some recommendations about possible venues and I can check out places if you need someone to do the legwork. 

I'd didn't attend the 30th or 40th reunion, but I liked the 20th reunion where we gathered photo pins of "then photos" to help us recognize our classmates. 

Lisa


01/04/25 02:46 PM #1846    

 

Peter Hong

The challenge is getting a venue to hold a space without a firm commitment.  I have a suggestion for consideration, as follows:

- Announce the reunion event by February 1, 2025.

- Get a credit card deposit of $50 per person to cover dinner (food of $40 and $10 gratuity) by July 31, 2025 for a Saturday event in late August or early September.  The deposit would be non-refundable on August 1.  Presumably, $50 would be deemed reasonable.

- Drinks would be an additional cost paid by each individual.

- We need to get such non-refundable commitments from a minimum of 100 individuals.  That would give the ability to lock in a venue.

Lisa A - Would Chef Shangri-La be a possible venue for a funded commitment of $50 per person for a minimum of 100 people?  Would $40 food and $10 gratuity be sufficient for the restaurant to provide a sit-down buffet-service event?  

 

 

 


01/04/25 11:22 PM #1847    

 

Lisa Yee (Abrams)

Peter,

I don't know if you've been here before. The restaurant has a capacity for over 150 and I would need a commitment of at least 100 people. I would close the restaurant for the evening from 6pm to closing which is generally 11pm. I could arrange a Luau style party with a roast pig and a full dinner menu, of course, but we don't have to if people are not familiar with it. The entertainment would be an additional cost if desired. 
 

The restaurant is Polynesian designed, but the food is Cantonese American. It's located a few miles from Brookfield Zoo. It's pretty casual and we've been here since I graduated, literally a month after graduation. 

There's also a country club across the street from the restaurant because I thought it might be low key as well. It's the Riverside Country Club I think. I haven't been there but I can look into that as well.

 


 

 


01/05/25 12:36 PM #1848    

 

Peter Hong

Hi, Lisa,

I have not had the pleasure of visiting the restaurant.  I will make an effort to do so when I make a trip to Chicago.  Nonetheless, the venue and potential menu sounds nice to me.  

Let's see how our former classmates react to:

- The $50 per person cost for dinner.  If my recollection is correct, the 1976 prom was over $100 per couple (recognizing a live band was included).  The fifty years of inflation alone makes the $50 per person cost look modest. 

- Getting 100 individuals committed via the non-refundable deposit.

 

Classmates - Any reactions?

 


01/05/25 02:12 PM #1849    

 

Christopher Math

I actually was at Chef Shangri-la about a month ago.  The food is decent and the drinks are pretty exotic and potent.   I have not been to the country club but hear it is very nice but costly as well.  But I am not sure what that means these days.   I would hope that 100 individuals out of a massive graduating class would attend.


01/05/25 03:32 PM #1850    

 

John P Zupko

I love the idea of having our 50th reunion at Chef Shangri-La.  It is a wonderful restaurant.  

And $50 a person is a great price for this historic event.


01/05/25 05:03 PM #1851    

 

Lisa Yee (Abrams)

It's nice to hear that John and Christopher have been to the Chef. I do believe at the country clubs around the cost is more likely over $100 per person. I'll post on Facebook to see what they think.


01/06/25 06:49 PM #1852    

 

Andrew Flor

Hi Chris, You like it because it's 5 minutes from home! 😆 Joking aside, sounds like a good deal and I'm sure it would be a great venue. If you can get the Rod Stewart guy and Chris does a duet with him, I'm in! I'm always in favor of supporting LT businesses before all else. Would geography be a consideration? Who lives where in the Chicago area? I'm 26 miles and 50 minutes away from Riverside on a good day. Ridgemoor was about the same for me. In my mind, I would think Rosemont would make sense from a geography standpoint and plenty of close by hotels for out of towners. Plus the Rivers Casino is nearby for the after party for Bob and Grace to blow their retirement savings on the crap table. 😆 🎲 🎲

01/06/25 08:42 PM #1853    

 

Robert Cole

The restaurant sounds great but is it big enough? I don't know what the turnout was at our 40th. I remember I thought the turnout was pretty good.
My wife just had a very successful 50th and she was on the organizing committee. Let me pass on some of their advice.
1. It's all about MINGLING. You need to have the space to mingle. People aren't there for dinner. Not for dancing. So make sure your venue has enough room and the right layout for mingling.
2. They had an event venue that gave them 2 rooms and an outdoor patio for expansion. The main room held tables and chairs for 135 with plenty of room for mingling. It also held the buffet tables.
3. The second room was smaller with tables holding memorabilia and blowup photos. Also some tables and chairs.
4. Food was heavy appetizers. Less costly and conducive to mingling.
5. Their graduating class was just under 400. They had 155 show up at the reunion. Some spouses, but mostly graduates. Remember... our graduating class was almost 3 times the size of theirs.

The last thing we want is to have more people than we have space for. Or be too crowded for good mingling.

Maybe the restaurant is better suited for an informal get together the night before. And, the restaurant wouldn't have to be closed. We probably had 40 people at an informal gathering at the 40th reunion.

01/06/25 09:33 PM #1854    

 

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Wowie! Great enthusiasm but we are way ahead of schedule here when it comes to locking in a venue. The class of '75 just signed their contract for October 2025. 

After our 40th, we kept this site going based on classmate interest. In those 8 years, we have maintained connections and even expanded our database of Bicentennials to 1195 (probably a couple duplicates in there), and 38 deceased classmates. 

In addition to daily connections on the Message Forum, this site allows us to send out a survey to all contacts which I believe we should do, to gauge the preferred time of year for the event, the main event venue with considerations like parking, accessibility, food & bev preferences, etc., price range, and additional activities like school tour, Lane ball games and things to do around the City.  Our site also allows for regular announcements, the photo gallery, and an ecommerce site. Those of you who participated in our 40th will recall we sold tickets directly through this site. (BTW they were $90 per person).

I have reached out to Greg Groeper to invite him to be part of a committee through this site rather than reinvent the wheel or duplicate efforts, making good use of the investment we’ve made in this tool. We can also assemble a proper committee. Any takers? 40th Reunion Committee members? Message me if you’re not comfortable using the message forum feature. I am happy to share what we learned from last time and what I’ve seen that’s valuable in my role with the Alumni Association in coordinating other reunions, (7 just this year). Then pass the baton to a new group and help with the website.


01/19/25 04:41 PM #1855    

Michael Bentley

Heyo,

Happy New Year!

I understand several more are now retired, congratulations! Alice Bentley (nee Insley, LTHS '77) and I aren't likely to voluntarily retire soon, although I currently only work part-time.

We live on an island called Vashon in the Puget Sound near Seattle. If you are flying into SEATAC airport, it's that heavily wooded thing just west of the control tower. You need to ride a ferry (or helicopter) to get here. We moved here in 2004; I've been working as a remote developer since before COVID because commuting from here to anywhere and back is the pits. We had a heck of a time moving from Chicago because Seattle real estate prices were eye-watering, but houses (*cough* homes) here on the island were cheaper. The operative term here is "were" as the estimated value of this house tripled since 2004; some but not all of this was due to the sudden interest by people who needed to move the heck out of Seattle during COVID. It has been our best purchase ever. Alas, it's a small island, so the restaurant options are specific; the best is May's Kitchen, a brilliant 4-star Thai restaurant. Pizza? Ha ha hee ho ha haaaaa. *snif*

Alice works at the Bone Factory (aka Pacific Laboratories), here on Vashon. They make...bones. Some are for medical training (including ultrasound), and others are for legal purposes (the fracture is just like so). There's a slightly defective clear plastic human spine lying flat on my dresser that Alice wants to turn into a planter.

I still write software; back in the 80s I started to write books and got one published. Software development paid better, so I hadn't worked on others past test chapters and outlines. But, you know, I currently work only part-time. Hmm.

We're still paying a mortgage here, so we need to stay busy. Could we cash out and find someplace warmer and cheaper? Aye, but this place is nice. It sees an average of a whopping 3" of snow a year. When it snows, YOU STAY INSIDE AND WAIT TIL IT MELTS, because this place has a Z axis, roads go up and down, plowing/salting/sanding here is not straightforward, and guard rails in front of 60' drops are disturbingly optional.

Why, yes, I do have the domain called "secretislandlaboratories.com" :)

-Mike


01/28/25 05:50 PM #1856    

 

Grace Tanaka (Danziger)

Hello Friends and fellow alums I'm looking forward to meeting, sorry for my silence for about a month. A belated Happy New Year, and Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate it, I guess starting tomorrow? Part of my slience, besides struggling through a bad cold, has been deep sadness over the passing of my sweet kitty on January 12th. At least this one, due to my retirement, took her last breath in my arms. Earlier kitties unfortunately passed while Marc and I were at work, or had to be put down due to severe illness. A strange new thing here in Reno is the ground is too hard in our small backyard to dig, so she had to be cremated. Back in California, all our pets who passed were buried in our backyard with private goodbyes (usually a son digging, me crying). I'll get over this black cloud, but it'll take a bit of time.

I'm glad new alumni from '76 have been joining this Forum. I really don't want to bounce back and forth from Facebook, though I use it for other things, and I hope Greg G and others will agree that it's better to coordinate our 50th all together in here.

Along Bob's line of questioning, I'd pose the question to Lisa A "how many 'more than 150'" can her restarant handle? I would presume (and hope) that a 50th will bring out many more alumni than even the 20th (was there a 25th? I only attended the 40th, if I recall correctly...but Marc's nickname for me is "Dori").

Congrats to the friends celebrating 40 years of marriage in 2025 - wow! a bit envious. Bet it is special to have known your forever soulmate so early in life.

Timmy, you are definitely welcome to visit us for Hot August Nights in Reno. They are moving it to the campus of UNR (University of Nevada, Reno) starting this year, so I don't think anyone knows what to expect!


02/03/25 08:51 PM #1857    

 

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Attention Bicentennials!

Lots going on.

1. First... the Class of '76 will be the most represented class at the Alumni Association's Spring Training in Mesa on March 2nd with 10 attendees. while we have guaranteed our headcount and paid Sloan Park, I have four tickets set aside for latecomers and want to give our class dibs.  Let me know by Friday if you are interested in a ticket or two, (Milan and Arnie). After that they go out to the public on social media. Thanks to Georgette for coordinating another awesome post-game party. Should be a great time.

2. Pre-reunion planning. Getting people off their duffs is the biggest challenge for any reunion.  The Class of '74 had 160 people at their reunion. That's the largest I've seen in my involvement with the Alumni Association, but we can beat that...

While we have a huge roster of classmates on this site, only about 20% are in this system with valid contact information.  So I am asking all of us to mobilize. Click on "missing classmates" in the menu bar on the left and check out the list. See who you know and hunt them down. Get them to sign up or get their permission to at minimum, add their emails to the list so we can tell them what's going on. 

3. We'll be sending out a survey soon, (hopefully after we've accomplished #2 and have a lot more emails), to canvass classmates on what they want included in the 50th reunion. If you have a specific topic you'd like addressed, let me know at michelle_wnr@yahoo.com. 

That is all for now.

Go Lane Go!

 


02/04/25 03:39 PM #1858    

 

Grace Tanaka (Danziger)

Not sure I'm using "hoist by my own pitard" correctly here, but after encouraging '76 alumni to use this official Forum instead of the unofficial Facebook public group (I think that's how it got into trouble), I was fooled by someone posting there to purchase "1976 LTHS Alumni" garments. I feel like an idiot. Who knows if they will show up and what they will look like. More fool me. As I messaged Milan directly, I'm not going to visit the Facebook group any longer, and hope others will follow suit and stick to this official Forum, run by our faithful Alumni Office Executive Director, Michelle Weiner. 

Just yesterday, I reached out by text to two women I know since elementary school to ask them to join this Forum for 50th Reunion news if they are interested. I hope I hear back from them, or they confirm that they are here and have simply been quiet. Reach out, everyone, let's have the largest turnout ever for a 50th LTHS Reunion!


02/05/25 05:15 PM #1859    

 

Edward Mc Carthy

Grace.....I know the sorrow and heartbreak of losing a kitty.  Losing any pet.  And we have been lucky to have our own private back yard cemetaries every where we have lived.    Since our lake home has been a constant for over 40 years, most of the family pets are at peace up therre. Cats have been our pet of choice since childhood.  Had/have plenty of them.  Can't refuse a rescue.   Same for dogs. Plenty of pups too.   And  they all get along.  Perhaps it is the nature of a rescue to be so good natured.  Luckily my incredible  wife is also an animal enthusiist and lover.  Pets can bring such joy.  Having kids brings immesurable joy too but I must say pets dont seem to complain as much!!!!   LOL.  Still can't imagine life without beasts running around the homestead.  Since wintering in Florida is our new norm, we are fortunate that our youngest still lives at home and is a proven pet sitter.  Frankly, we love that he is still residing at home.  He is a great young man and helps us understand the younger generations out there.  We boomers grew up in a different world..........


02/05/25 09:37 PM #1860    

 

Gregory Groeper

Hi Grace & All!

In Re: Facebook group.

As the "volunteer" creator of the Lane Tech Class of 1976 Facebook Group decades ago, I also was bothered by individuals "poaching" our alums by trying to use it as a sales platform for "their" merch for profit, with no benefit back to any class of Lane '76 causes.

In addition to the required sign-up questions, I took the time to establish "Filters" now provided by Facebook to stop sales ads and links to outside websites. I hope they are working now.  There is also a front-end "warning" that abuse of the page will result in suspension or removal.

Nothing iz perfct (haha), so please do not besmirch the existence or use of our Facebook page, it has served many of us well.

Further, I've been speaking with Michelle about coordinating messaging across both platforms, so that we have common data and announcements. I provide directions to this "class creator" alumni page, too. This is not a competition, it is an alliance. Even if you choose not to participate in the Facebook page, please don't discourage others from joining.

As an editor's note, I'm amazed at how many Lane 76ers either don't know the correct answers for the Facebook sign-in or refuse to complete them. I don't let just anyone join the page. I personally approve each request to join, whenever possible, cross checking them back to the full alumni list.

I look forward to our work in organizing and producing our fantastic 50th reunion in the year of our nation's "Semiquincentennial" (250th) anniversary.

Thanks for your kindness & understanding!

Go Lane Go!

greg groeper (872.230.7135) txt or call

Science/Math/Music '76


02/06/25 04:32 PM #1861    

 

Per C Pearson

I saw the garments as well and thought, Cool! They used the Indian. Then it hit me with the political correctness only our original articles of clothing would pass now. Its sad you have to be so defensive for scams. 

I'm excited and look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. 50 years is quite something. 


02/07/25 01:27 PM #1862    

 

Robert Cole

Yeah... and how are you going to put a Champion on a sweatshirt now, anyway?


02/07/25 03:36 PM #1863    

 

Gregory Calvimontes

Gregory, I didn't even know we had a FB group. Just signed up.

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