July 25, 2002
Lee High School's class of 1972 gathered under the eminence of Sonny and Cher, letter jackets and old black and white snapshots of life around Springfield back then to rekindle old friendships at their 30th reunion.
There was lots of hugging and laughter as reunion organizers June Dunn and Jan Urbanski drifted among the crowd at the Springfield Hilton, Saturday, July 20. Dunn talked about their efforts which led to the nostalgic decorations and the contact of 360 people out of the 410 in the Class of '72.
"I was doing a lot of internet research. Once word got out, it went like wildfire," she said.
Susan Cathcart Diamantes was part of the effort which took 18 months. She noted the difference in the school now compared to then.
"They allowed kids to smoke outside the school," she said in disbelief. "We had one lunch, it came with milk and was semi-healthy," she added.
Diamantes did talk with a few alumni that weren't as excited about a reunion.
"We had a couple 'I didn't like it then, I don't like it now'," she said.
Steve Urbanski sat on the sidelines while his wife Jan was immersed in the reunion activities for months. She worked on the 10- and 20-year reunion also.
"For a year and a half, she's been working on it, I get her back tomorrow," he said.
He was chatting with everyone like he knew them for years. Thirty years, to be exact.
"I enjoy her reunions more than I enjoy my own. This is the biggest one they've had," he said.
Lynn Van Orsdale and Kathy Sparks Badger were a pair in high school that went through several adventures as students and then years later when both were diagnosed with breast cancer.
"We're both breast cancer survivors, she was a real inspiration," Van Orsdale said.
In both their cases, the cancer was detected in time. Distance meant nothing as Badger lived in Atlanta, Georgia and Van Orsdale was in Pennsylvania.
"We were constantly in touch, we're both doing great," Badger said.
OTHERS HAD different experiences over the past 30 years. Bob McGinty became one with his motorcycle and after years of working in various businesses, he travels around the country on two wheels. He doesn't call one particular place home but likes the freedom a motorcycle gives. "Get on and go," is his philosophy.
"It's all about freedom. Go where you want to go, when you want to go and how you want to go. We were free spirits, I just wouldn't sell out," he said.
Tom Holaday is a high school teacher in the Tidewater area who spends his springs and summers as a comedian on the comedy circuit. He travels up and down the east coast with the Comedy Zone, a booking agent.
"All year long, if something funny happens I write it down. Everything is based on a true story, I twist it and tune it a little bit," he said.
Although he was scared to death of public speaking as a teen, he got up in front of his classmates 30 years later for a few jokes that evening.
ONE SET OF PICTURES depicted those who went to elementary school in the area. Springfield Estates, Lynbrook, and Crestwood were elementary schools that fed into Lee. One section with obituaries of students was more somber. Sandra Gillespie Levesque read about a friend that died of a brain ailment. Her husband Andre was by her side.
"He was my buddy," she said.
Julie Dunn, 19, and Ashley Cypher, 18, were the chaperones at the registration desk for the evening. Dunn was hired by her mother for the spot but also looked at her own experience in high school. She graduated last year.
"It's really weird thinking about us doing that. Even in one year, people have changed so much," she said.