TO: Wilson Area High School Class of 1971 Alumni

SUBJECT:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

February 6, 2023

This may be a bit early or a tad late, but . . .  HAPPY 70^TH BIRTHDAY!  We hope this heartfelt greeting finds you and your family happy, healthy and looking forward to enjoying your eighth decade.

If you’ve received this letter via your friendly U.S. Postal Service carrier, one or more of your Wilson High classmates has tracked down a current or recent mailing address for you on one or more of those “people search” websites.  If you have memories, fond or otherwise, of Topp’s Pizza, the Starlite Drive-In, The Boulevard, a giant Dixie cup, Mr. Kuna’s Latin class or detention with Mr. Hicks, we’ve been successful in reaching you.  If you have no idea what we’re talking about, sorry to bother you and have a nice day.

It’s been six years since we last sent a mass mailing and enjoyed a large class gathering – the 2017 picnic at Louise Moore Park.  Unfortunately, our plans for a 50^th class reunion in 2021 fell victim to the COVID shutdowns. In the meantime, many of us have been able to keep in touch through our dedicated class website (whs1971.com) and our Facebook group (Wilson High School).  We’ve also had several Zoom gatherings that have allowed us to link up “face to face” with some of our more distant classmates throughout the country who have stayed in touch.

Since last June, classmates within driving distance have been meeting monthly for breakfast at (ironically for WHS alums) the Nazareth Diner.  These “First Thursday” get-togethers have attracted more than 30 classmates and a sprinkling of guests from as far away as 90 miles.  Which brings us back to the whole birthday theme . . .

Rather than allowing another milestone anniversary to go un-celebrated, the consensus of our monthly breakfasters was to commemorate everyone’s recently transpired or soon approaching 70^th birthday with a weekend of revelry and reunion.  For the highlight of the weekend, we’ve reserved The Pavilion at Flynn’s in Phillipsburg for Saturday afternoon, September 30, 2023 for the ’71 Turns 70 Reunion Picnic and would love it if you would join us.  There’ll be food, drink, music, games and plenty of reminiscing and catching up – a chance to “meet some new friends, all over again.”  Oh yeah, cake and candles, too!

The planning committee and other volunteers will be hard at work over the next several months arranging an event that will be worth traveling for.  (We’ve already heard from a recently tracked-down classmate who’ll be making the trip from Alaska!)  We want to keep you up to date on our progress and give you all the information you’ll need to decide whether or not to join in on the celebration.  We will need your help, however, as we have no way of knowing if you’ve received this letter unless you respond – regardless of whether or not you think you’ll attend our celebration – with your email address or text-capable phone number. 

The six-cent postage stamp disappeared with our locker combinations in 1971.  With one click we can reach you and everyone else who’s registered on our website – at no cost.  Keeping in touch through snail mail is no longer viable.  We hope you’ll take a few minutes to send us your email address by using one of the options on the enclosed Keep in Touch With ’71 instructions. More details on the September celebration will be available at the end of this month, so please take one or more of these steps by February 24 in order to stay updated.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in September.  (Cue The Happenings!)

Regards,

The  ’71 Turns 70  Committee

Terry Bieber Balcavage          Bob Seiple

Donna Howey Bysher            Kathy Raessner Smith

Betty Chroust                         Mike Snyder

Joy Garren Hemming             Debbie Hoover Statler

Marti Ott Sebring                 

 

WAHS Class of 1971 by the Numbers

Total Classmates                                         208

Deceased                                                      42

Registered on whs1971.com                        61

Postal address only                                      97

No address                                                     6

Removed by request                                      2

 

Members of Facebook Group                      46

 

We have no postal or email addresses for the following:

Halden Ballek           Jill Guzzo      Loretta Lee   

Carolina Groff           Bob Helm      Debra Werkheiser

 

 

Keep In Touch With ‘71

ONE

Register on the Class Website

This is our preferred option, allowing us to email all registered classmates with a single click, allowing you to email or interact with any other registered classmate without exposing email addresses or any other personal information that you choose to keep private and allowing us to run surveys.

-  Go to whs1971.com

-  From the menu on the left side of the homepage select First Time Here?

-  Follow the steps to register by email address and password

-  Make any necessary changes to the information in your profile
 

TWO

Join the Facebook Group

-  If you use Facebook you can also search Groups for Wilson High School

-  Select Join Group to get access to posts and chat threads
 

THREE

Email or Text

If you’d prefer not to register on whs1971.com you can still get other updates and communications by email.  Send your email address to Bob Seiple (ras343@cornell.edu) or Joy Garren Hemming (jhemming2014@gmail.com) or via text  (908-347-2193) by February 24.
 

FOUR

“Radio Silence”

We respect your privacy. If you’d prefer to have your name and other information removed from our lists, email Bob or Joy or text your preferences to 908-347-2193.