From Nancy: Reunion Photos and News

Dear Fall 68, Spring 69 and Fall 69 classmate friends,

Take a look at our wonderful reunion photos compiled by Pat Soberanis:http://tinyurl.com/ygqfkjn


You can load your photos on too. Just register with Picassa.

We hope you had a wonderful time at the reunion! The reunion committee enjoyed themselves immensely too. So we have decided not to disband, but to organize a 45th reunion! Therefore, we would appreciate any feedback you can give us so that we can make the 45th even better.

Meanwhile we will maintain our blog and keep you updated on our plans. You can also post news about yourselves, for example announcing a new job, new email address, etc. We will have a link to the photos there too.http://lowell40reunion.blogspot.com

Also, if you would like to get in touch with a classmate, send me an email and I will forward it on to that classmate.

Within a month we hope to have the biographies compiled into one electronic document that we can send to all of you. So if you haven't sent in a biography and attached a photo, please do so now and include any contact info you want given out at the bottom of the email. (You can send in revisions too.)

If you would like to make a donation to Lowell through the Alumni Association, the online donation site iswww.lowellalumni.org

You should also notify the alumni office of any changes in your address at that site. Please send me an email too.

We still have about 40 of the Fall 69 senior movie and the CD of 60s music left, so if you forgot to pick up those two grad gifts, send me an email with your address.

If one of you left your yearbook at a cafe in North Beach, contact me.

Finally, in the Memorial poster we mistakenly placed a photo of Alan Quan, who is still very much with us. It was our classmate, Roland Quan, who passed away and there is a memorial scholarship in his name. We very much regret the error and apologize to Alan's friends and family. (If you look at the Spring 1969 senior pictures in the 1969 yearbook Alan is misidentified as the first Roland Quan on your left.)

Thanks again to the committee: Mike Adelson, Russ Button, Barbara Loos Soochon, Ginger Hamilton, Kathy Plyer Moritz, Pat. Soberanis, Ken Giusti, Jamie Murray Carlson, Tess Albin-Smith, Miriam Wax Mackey and to St. Francis Winery http://www.stfranciswinery.com

See you all in five years!

Very fondly, Nancy Ligon de Ita

S69 Class Speaker's Reunion Message

Again, in case you missed it, here is Russ Button's reunion speech on behalf of the Class of Spring '69 (love the emphasis on love!):

How many of you got up this morning like I did, looked in the bathroom mirror and asked, "What the heck happened?"

I was asked to speak tonight for the Class of 69 and I have to tell you I have no idea what the Class of 69 wants to say other than...

Sock it to me 69!!!

What I really want to talk about is why we are here tonight.

Tonight is about more than just seeing old friends and telling stories.

When we graduated from Lowell, we had been blessed with the finest education on the planet. High school is a time where we are beginning to explore who we are. But it was also a time when everywhere you looked someone was putting you down. And so you coped by building friendships and helping each other. For many those friendships endured and continue to endure.

Friendship is just another word for love, and love is why we are here tonight. It is the love we have for our friends and what we remember Lowell to be.

Love is what we bring to our job each time we do it well. Love is the reason we cook a great dinner. Love is why we make families. Love is why we donate to charity, why we get up every day and do whatever we can to make the world a better place.

We graduated from Lowell and went on to live life as well as we could. And we did so based upon the example set for us by our parents and teachers. They showed us what it was to be grown-ups. They gave us expectations. They gave us the ability to see a better future.

If you haven't got a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?!

And now it's our turn to be that same example for those who are now looking to make their mark in the world. It is up to us to set an example for them and the key to that is to spend your life loving as much as you can.

Love is the reason we are here tonight. Tonight everyone is a winner!

Sock it to me 69!

Thank you.

Russ Button

Origins of Our Reunion

In the rush of the last-minute preparations, I asked core planner Mike Adelson how our reunion came about in the first place. I knew that as late as early April, no one had stepped up to the plate. And I knew how much work it took, because in March, a handful of us (inexperienced) F68 classmates looked into it - and dropped the idea. So, here's Mike's very short history of how it came to be:

It was Nancy and me at the graduation ceremonies at ATT Park for the '09

grads this year. They allowed any year multiple of 0 or 5 of your grad year

to walk with the current grads, so I sat next to Nancy and we decided we

better do something because no one else was going to. We called Russ later

to help. My job was to find the venue, and that is what I did and made the

deal with the restaurant. Nancy did the accounting and name lists and

emailing etc. Terry at the LAA was very helpful also. Russ and Katie had

great ideas. Everyone had been very helpful. This thing was put together in

a hurry.

Mike

Thank you, Mike, Nancy, and Russ!

So you can see why Mike, Nancy, and Russ earned very special gifts. Speaking of their gifts, many thanks to everyone who chipped in $5 or more to cover the cost of the gifts. The cost was covered quickly - donations came so thick and fast, in fact, that I lost track of who gave what, which I'm sorry about - and I know many more would have contributed had they known about it (it was a secret!).

On the very bright side, the tidal wave of donations covered the gifts plus $50 more, which I mailed this week to the Lowell Alumni Association on behalf of the Classes of F68, S69, and F69.

Thank you, one and all, for your overwhelming generosity.

~Pat Soberanis, F68

F68 Class Speaker's Reunion Message

For those who missed the reunion (or couldn't hear the speaker), here is Kathy (Plyer) Moritz's great speech:

Welcome to everyone. I am Kathy Plyer Moritz from the Class of Fall 68. The class that painted the first block “L” in the football bleachers!

I wanted to briefly reflect on how far we have all come over the last 40 years.

Things were simple and less complicated 40 years ago. It was a time . . .

When we wrote letters with a ballpoint pen;

When the phone rang, you had to be at home to answer it;

When we had wall calendars to remember important dates;

When a Blackberry and an Apple were just fruit;

When our fingers actually did the walking through the Yellow Pages;

When we listened to music in our rooms from the sound of our record players;

When we did math in our heads;

When saving energy meant that your mom told you to turn off the lights before you left the room;

When we took the bus;

When saving the environment simply meant no littering, no graffiti;

When green was just a color;

When gym class was exercise;

When a cool car was a 57 Chevy, a GTO, a Road Runner or a 442;

When a ticket to a Lowell football game meant you got out of school early;

When movies on TV always had commercials;

When we had only had five TV stations to choose from;

When TV screens were curved instead of flat;

When video games were unheard of;

When we actually visited our neighborhood library to do our homework;

When we understood the Dewey Decimal System;

When we used a dictionary and the Encyclopedia;

When the space shuttle and the space station were only written about in science fiction novels;

When we never heard of Cap and Trade, Stimulus Packages, TARP Funds, Bailouts, texting, twittering, blogging, Google, Yahoo, Facebook or MySpace;

When everything and anything we did had nothing at all to do with computers, cell phones, I-Pods, rap music, Netflix, CDs, DVDs, high cholesterol, transfats, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars or Oprah;

And when 9/11 was just another day in September. . . .

See Photos of the Best Reunion Ever!

Who knew a reunion could be this much fun? Great vibes, great food, great time!

http://picasaweb.google.com/pat.soberanis/Lowell40thReunion?authkey=Gv1sRgCMO0x4bgh-D9GQ#

More to come! Enjoy!

Only Two More Days!

We have 200 people coming! So see you at 5:30 p.m.at Fishermen's Grotto #9 at 2849 Taylor St., SF.

We have the entire second floor! So please bring lots of $5 bills for drinks and to order the reunion video and lots of $1 to tip the bartenders.

Parking across the street and under the Pier next door is validated for 3 hours free.
At prepaid registration pick up your nametags first, then go get your menu tickets. Grads only, pick up your two gifts.

There will be lots of appetizers and a no host bar until midnight.

During dinner, iced tea, coffee and hot tea are free.

Bring your senior sweaters, wear your senior rings and bring your photo albums and other memorabilia for the display table.

We will have a list of the names and photos of those who have passed on, displayed.I will have your comments and memories in a binder with the bios.

I'm bringing my yearbook, so I hope you all will sign it. I feel like I have 200 new friends. It has been lots of fun organizing this, particularly due to the volunteers on the reunion committee: Miriam Wax Mackey, Pat Soberanis, Mike Adelson, Ken Giusti, Kathy Moritz, Russ Button, Joanna Felder, Barbara Loos Suchon, Cecilia Libby Reyes, Ginger Hamilton, Carol Coleman, Jennifer Ward, Esther Koch, Tessie Albin-Smith, Jamie Murray Carlson, and Nancy Kulvin Frahm.

See you Saturday night!

Best, Nancy Ligon de Ita

Latest News from the Reunion Coordinator

Dear Classmates:

Our Reunion committee is looking forward to seeing you all next Saturday night to celebrate the earthquake that got rid of the Embarcadero freeway and 40 years of adulthood for us. Thank you so much for sending in your fascinating personal bios.

Just some general reminders regarding the reunion:

• It's on October 17th at Fishermen's Grotto #9 at 2849 Taylor St, SF (Fisherman's Wharf).

• The 2 closest parking lots give restaurant patrons 3 hours free parking.

• Traffic around there is congested, so give yourself plenty of time to arrive at 5:30.

• The best elevator is in the gift shop.

• Pick up your nametag and menu tickets (to display) and gifts (for Lowell grads only).

• There will be lots of delicious hors d'oeuvres.

• There is a no host bar until midnight. The well drinks (alcohol) are discounted to $5 (including soft drinks) for those with nametags.

• Iced tea, hot tea and coffee are the free drinks at dinner, which begins at 7:15.

• We will be videotaping the reunion, so please stop by in front of the camera to say hello and to give us your name (including maiden name). To have a copy of the video mailed to you, you will need to fill out an Avery mailing label and paperclip $5 to it.

• There will be a speaker from each class, after dinner, then an open mike for you to share funny stories.

• Also the new Executive Director of the Lowell Alumni Association, Terry Abad, will speak briefly and will be accepting checks for donations to the school, so if you can, please bring a check to present to him. I've already received checks from a couple of you. You can designate if you want your money to go to orchestra, band, football, etc., though they prefer checks without limitations.

• Bring lots of $5 bills for drinks (and $1 for tips).

If you have any questions feel free to call me. There is still room for 20 more people, so make sure all your old friends are coming. Have them email me for last minute registration. You can also check the reunion blog for late updates: http://lowell40reunion.blogspot.com.

See you there!

Best,

Nancy Ligon de Ita 650-347-0132

Oct. 17 Is Also the 20th Earthquake Anniversary!

We'll be in town just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake - in fact, the exact time of the anniversary is 5:04 p.m., just minutes before our great gathering begins at 5:30!

If you're in town early and looking for something to do, take a look at the city-sponsored Big Rumble Web site:

http://www.thebigrumble.org

Can't get much more San Franciscan than an earthquake! Have fun!

Latest Update from Reunion Committee

Here is the latest update from our intrepid reunion planner, Nancy Ligon de Ita, Spring '69:

October 1, 2009

Dear Classmates:

There is a slight delay in our set up of yahoogroups. You can expect to see several autobios next Tuesday. The cutoff for accepting autobios for inclusion in a booklet will be October 15th. So send them in, as we are all enjoying them.

Meanwhile we have about 170 people from the Fall 68 & 69, and spring 69 classes, coming and would like 50 more people so we can take over the upstairs of the restaurant completely. So invite your Lincoln friends, your football rivals, your kids and their significant others, your neighbors, your parents, anyone you know who would enjoy celebrating the 20th anniversary of the earthquake with a bunch of baby boomers!

Best,

Nancy Ligon de Ita

Our intrepid reunion committee, hard at work - at our reunion site, Fisherman's Grotto #9.

Left to right: Mike Adelson, Katie Rieke (Button), Russ Button, Nancy Ligon de Ita, and Mike's wife Amy Adelson.

Archives of the Lowell Newspaper

In his bio, Greg Hook, Fall '68, writes: " For those who may not know, archives of the Lowell newspaper are available at http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/185/52/. Scroll down, way down, to find our years."

Thanks, Greg!

What Was Your Senior Ambition?

Here's a sampling of ambitions we had in our 1969 senior yearbook:

• Art and dance
• Law
• Merchandising
• Psychology
• Work with children
• Psychology
• To expand my consciousness
• Find happiness
• Peace Corps or stewardess
• Architect
• Social worker
• Aeronautical engineer
• History professor or emperor
• Dental technician
• To find truth
• To become another Helen Karlsberg
• To achieve peace of mind
  

Makes you want to know if anyone's ambitions came true, doesn't it? Come to the reunion and find out!

The World as It Was in 1968 and 1969

To give you a better sense of what the world was like in 1968 and 1969, here are some resources.

Time Magazine has digitized all of its archives going back to 1923. Here are two starting points:

• June 7, 1968 issue; cover story: "The Graduate 1968"
• June 20, 1969 issue; cover story: "Starting to Come Home" [from Vietnam]

Information Please almanac:

• 1968: Tet Offensive and My Lai incident in Vietnam; Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
• 1969: Withdrawal begins in Vietnam War; Woodstock and Altamont music festivals; first walk on the moon

Wikipedia's detailed list of events:

• 1968
• 1969

Whew! Kind of hard to read this stuff.

Academy Awards, 1968 and 1969

What movies were we watching in 1968 and 1969?

Here are the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture for 1969 (for films released in 1968):

• Oliver! (Winner)
• Funny Girl
• Rachel, Rachel
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Lion in Winter

• Nominees for all categories

Here are the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture for 1970 (for films released in 1969):

• Midnight Cowboy (Winner)
• Anne of the Thousand Days
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Hello, Dolly! [starring Lowell alum Carol Channing]
• Z

• Nominees for all categories

Top ALBUMS of 1969!

The Beatles' White Album is still on the Billboard Top Albums list for 1969. Here's the list - with covers! - courtesy of the Now Channel. (Wikipedia breaks it down by week, but without cover artwork.) To see what songs are on each album, just click on the album's title, which will take you to Amazon.com's listing.

1969: 13 Weeks		Hair - Original Cast
1968: 1 Week 1969: 8 Weeks		The Beatles (White Album) - The Beatles
1969: 8 Weeks 1970: 3 Weeks		Abbey Road - The Beatles
1969: 7 Weeks		Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears
1968: 1 Week 1969: 4 Weeks		Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
1969: 4 Weeks		Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival
1969: 4 Weeks		At San Quentin - Johnny Cash
1969: 2 Weeks		Blind Faith - Blind Faith
1969: 1 Week 1970: 6 Weeks		Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
1969: 1 Week		TCB - Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations

Top 10 ALBUMS of 1968!

Were you wondering where the Beatles were on the list of Top 10 Hits of 1968 and 1969? Well, they're here, on the Billboard Top Albums of 1968 and 1969. The White Album, remember?

Here's 1968's Top Albums - with covers! - courtesy of the Now Channel. (Wikipedia breaks it down by week - but no cover artwork.) To find what songs are on each album, just click on the album's title, which will take you to Amazon.com's listing.

1968: 9 Weeks		The Graduate - Simon & Garfunkel/Soundtrack
1968: 8 Weeks		Cheap Thrills - Big Brother and the Holding Company
1968: 8 Weeks		Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
1968: 7 Weeks		Bookends - Simon & Garfunkel
1968: 5 Weeks		Blooming Hits - Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra
1968: 4 Weeks		Waiting for the Sun - The Doors
1968: 4 Weeks		Wheels of Fire - Cream
1968: 2 Weeks		Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix Experience
1968: 2 Weeks		The Beat of the Brass - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
1968: 1 Week 1969: 8 Weeks		The Beatles (White Album) - The Beatles
1968: 1 Week 1969: 4 Weeks		Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
1968: 1 Week		Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits - The Rascals

Update from Reunion Planners

Note: Reunion planner Nancy Ligon de Ita sent this message to everyone who has signed up for the reunion so far. As a reminder, the original announcement is on the Lowell Alumni Association Web site:

http://www.lowellalumni.org/reunions.shtml#1969. Tell your friends!

Aug. 31, 2009

Dear Classmates:

We have 140 people so far! If we can get 80 more people we can take over the entire upstairs of the restaurant. By the way there are two elevators. The best one that avoids any steps is inside the gift shop.

We will be setting up the room in tables of ten. We would like to have a yearbook at each table, so please put a label on your yearbooks with your name on it, and bring them to share. Also feel free to wear your Varsity sweater, Band sweatshirt, scroll cap, cheerleader outfit, or just red and white.

We would like to know if you would like the event to be videotaped and whether you would want to pre-order a copy of the DVD for $10 or so. Just email me so I can get an idea of whether to hire the videographer.

Best,

Nancy Ligon de Ita

nancydeita[at]aol.com [substitute the @ sign]

[Substitution made to prevent spam.]