Sunday evening was the 21st day of March in the 21st year of the 21st century.  So it seems appropriate that 21 classmates from the Wilson High Class of 1971 found their way to the first event of the 50th Anniversary year of our graduation - coming together via the internet on the Zoom platform that has become such an indispensible tool over the past year.

The 21 came from all over the country.  From the West Coast to the East Coast to the Deep South.  The majority, fifteen, were Pennsylvanians, as we all once were - thirteen from various communities in the Lehigh Valley (including the three W's - Wilson, West Easton and Williams Township) and two who've migrated to other regions of the Keystone State.  The other six attendees now hail from New Jersey, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, California and Washington..

Joining this first class gathering of this Blue and Golden Anniversary year were Bob Agosta, Rosalie (Amato) Strouse, Carolyn (Arnold) Powers, Terry (Bieber) Balcavage, Jerry Crivellaro, Rachel (Dreisbach) Wissner, Patti Jo (Forrer) Bodden, Joy (Garren) Hemming, Diane (Hester) Albert, Donna  (Howey) Bysher, Martha (Ott) Sebring, Janet (Rath) Nicholas, Carol (Rogora) Reese, Scott Schaffer, Bob Seiple, Mickey Snyder, Sally (Terzino) Lagman, Debbie (Vogel) Bossert, Patti Wagner and Leo Wismer.

There were the usual Zoom technical hurdles, which were cleared early on, and the group then managed to impressively compress 21 X 50 years of life experiences into a couple hours of exchanges, interactions, reconnections, lots of smiles and laughs and a few bittersweet remembrances.

We heard of trips (taken and planned), a book that's been written and one that's on its way, careers completed or still going strong, and lots and lots of grandchildren being showered with lots and lots of love and returning an even greater amount of joy  And we only scratched the surface. 

We even had a brief guest appearance by two beloved characters from our younger days (everyone remember WFIL Channel 6) who led the group in a rousing, if slightly out-of-sync, rendition of Happy Birthday for Joy (Garren) Hemming.

Regarding the business end of the gathering, we briefly discussed some options for events to be spread out over the remainder of the year - which we all hope will eventually evolve from the virtual variety to whatever the accepted  protocol will be in the longed-for post-distancing world. 

Attendance as honored guests at an as-of-yet unscheduled Class of 2021 Commencement, a classic dinner-dance format event and/or another picnic in September were all brought up as ideas.  There was also a concensus during and after the gathering that more Zoom events, perhaps with game night themes, should be in the offing.  A survey, run through email and the WHS1971.com website, will be used to get inputs from the class.

Finally, we discussed efforts that we all can make to reach out to classmates who couldn't make Sunday's event or who have fallen off the radar and have not registered on the class site.  For those of you who were not among the 21 on the 21st, we hope to hear from you and see you, on a screen or, with a little luck, in person this year.

For the 21 who did join us, thanks for a great evening!