Thanks for the offer (and BTW I loved your "not the Christmas card version" post!). Printed invitations from the nuns should be in the mail this week, and we're just tweaking the Evite for our event, should send today/tomorrow. Maribeth has been working on the list -- we're especially trying to get email addresses, so far with pretty good success.
THIS WAS A NOTE FROM JANET FREIBERT PARRILLI ON 11/7/14
Susie's Forever, Thank you so very much for all of you did to make our 50th Reunion such a very special occasion. Getting together with so many that we haven't seen or been with for eons was spectacular. Thank you for the Profile that connects us with those who weren't able to join us. I know hours and hours were involved in putting the weekend together. THANK You one and all. If I have forgotten anyone on you committee please forward my thanks. Most sincerely, Janet Freibert Parrilli
Here's my story. I admit, I was a little nervous to go to Chicago that weekend. I wasn't a "star" in high school; didn't have a lot of friends and yes, there were some unhappy times too. We all had them, didn't we? But I thought fifty years! That was a hallmark in my life I didn't want to miss out on. I braced myself for something - I don't even know what. So there was no one more surprised at the kindness and affection that I experienced than me. I didn't think anyone would remember me, but remember they did. From the minute the reunion began, I smiled all of the time, talking to girls I didn't even know in school, having a wonderful time getting to know everyone again. And when I left the lunch on Sunday, and all those lovely, lovely girls came over to say goodbye - well, I didn't stop smiling all the way back to Iowa. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your love, for your interest and most of all, for being a part of one of the best reunions anyone could imagine. We must do this again - and often. St. Scholastica lives on in the hearts of many.
Sue, I felt the same way. What I had hoped for, came true. That there would just be a group of women who had matured and who no longer cared what clique you were in. I felt love all over the place. We are bonded together in so many ways...Kennedy's dealth....the arrival of the Beatles....the onset of the Baby Boomers. And I'm sure that many of us were lost at sea during our high school years and this reunion put that to rest. We know who we are now. Thank you so much for working so hard to make our weekend the success that it was.
I didn't know what to expect either. The sights and sounds were overwhelming. So many faces, so many names known and some not.
It would be nice if the groups of people in the various states would try to get together locally at least once a year, maybe to celebrate each others birthdays and maybe once every 5 years we could all converge again, perhaps getting even more to join the festivities.
Let's face it, in less than 2 years we are all celebrating 7 decades. Age is just a number, so let's continue to celebrate like it's 1964.
Yes, it was SO great to meet people again, after all these years -- many people I didn't know that well in high school -- and hear their stories, and see all the things they'd done, all the things they'd survived, all the ways they valued the education we shared. I had such great conversations with people. And Gerrie's right, we were way beyond the old cliques, the old insecurities, now with a sense of who we are. I was on a high for several days afterwards. Other classmates I've talked to had similar reactions. I'm hoping we can get more people to put up profiles and widen the circle. Cheers!
Please put your photos on our "PICTURES OF SUSIES" section. Janet Freibert Parrilli added ours shortly after our reunion. I'd like to see more. Thank you. And have a splendid 2015.
Is it too early to plan something for spring/winter/fall for 2015? I could come to Chicago for a weekend, and we don't even have to plan anything speicial, just hand out! Who wants to come?
Hi Carol. I had been living at the Grand Canyon for about 12 years before I moved back to Terre Haute Indiana in 2013. I worked for Xanterra, and was the manager of the Activity Desks in all the hotels, and sold mule rides to Phantom Ranch. If you were there during this time, you might have encountered me. I also worked at the front desks in all the hotels, and ended up at the concierrge at the El Tovar Hotel (my desk was directly outside the ET bar, in the main lobby) Then I took some time off to work at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, where I was the front desk supervisor and worked on the "Teton Conference" which was a huge meeting for the Federal Reserve. Because I have some languages, it was easier for me to assist guests with directions and suggestions for restaurants and such. Had I known you were there I would have made arrangements for us to have coffee somewhere. I like driving around the entire state, and have friends living in Mesa, Apache Junction, and other places. And I have driven through Yuma several times on my way to Mexico. I envy your warm environment right now...but HATE it in the summer. Let's keep in touch. I intend to return to GCNP. Kathy Schwar Murphy
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your love, for your interest and most of all, for being a part of one of the best reunions anyone could imagine. We must do this again - and often. St. Scholastica lives on in the hearts of many.
