The Making of Memories

So-? Did we have fun? Was it worth the effort?
Let the pictures answer.

Les

Some shots from Sharon Storer Shearer and her Husband Greg Shearer


Vince, John & Bernetta



Then comes Colleen and John,


Then below


Pat DeCaen and Richard Rankin - Then Greg Shearer and Deb Hanney

Just A Few Shots to Start With ... There will be more...



Eileen Henemann & Katee Timm Dave Glass



What an absolute success! Thanks to Lynda Young Chapleau, John Saunders, Rick Rankin, Colleen Hillock. and of course the band , SECOND BILLING (s). (Roddy McManus, Rickey Rice, Mark Stafford, Dave Poirier, Rick McCallum, Boyd Pellow, David Glass, Hopeton D'Aguilar and Jim Williams - they even let me in for "Satisfaction".) The power of organization, live music, good friends like you and a dream!John Saunders R.Rice,M.Stafford, D.Poirier LM





Glass Hallway Revisited













Lynda Young Chapleau L.Cutway, Annette Maclean, Jacquie Ross

JR and Debbie Hannie

The Alibi Resto-Pub.


There was a time I thought that Dilallo's had the best burgers. But that has long changed. The Alibi Resto-Pub has some of the finest ale on tap complimented with some excellent choices in lunch and dinner fare.
My favorite is the Alibi Burger plate - fantastic! You might think, "why is Les getting so excited about a humburger for?" - Well ask for it by name- Alibi burger", on a fresh bun, hot off the grill sizzling hamburger with mozzarella, bacon, onions, steak sauce and a dash of hot pepper with a cold beer! Take a bite and there's no looking back. Heaven!

Now I am really picky. So when I say the food is good- I mean it.

Then you have the people -Carolyn (Fewtrell) and her husband Brian Finnerty (- owners). You might run into Carolyn's sister Cheryl or her husband Glen Currie.

At lunch time during the week you might be lucky enough to see Bruce Bennett Sr. and Bruce Bennett Jr. They are always good for a smile and some intelligent conversation.

In short - its a people place. OUR People place - a solid piece of HOME. Chateauguay! I will be there on Saturday for Lunch...and you know what I'm having. Just ask Darlene Hunt - she'll tell you. And she should be working that day too. Good Food, Good People, Good Prices!

(On Friday and Saturday look on D'Anjou Blvd. for the Welcome Reunion 72 and Friends Banner.)

Friday 18th before Reunion

Karen Addison / Rick Kilpatrick

Party
BYOB and BYOF (food)
BYO Guitar

After 7:00 PM
169 Gilmour
Chateauguay Heights

Thank you Rick.
Les

Which is greater...the journey or the destination?

What is a school, but part of our journey.
Those who go forth beyond the circle of home... they hold our future.
And in their return stories of a greater beginning ... beyond.

Of Certain Valour


In the graduating years 1971 and 1972, just as in other years, there were many fine people. But there is one type of person I was particularly fascinated with, because the teachers themselves, as well as many students depended upon their expertise and dexterity in the most crucial situations and under great duress.


These special souls were different. From a technical appreciation standpoint they were far advanced than those of us who were more concerned with the mundane- of who was going out with who, or who was developing at a faster physical rate than whomever.

Oh don't get me wrong, these people were just as normal and hormonal as you or me. But they were stars in another arena less recognized than the basketball court, the rink, the stage, or the academic realm.

Again, these people were comparable in most of these arenas to some degree or another. However, to me they were the forerunners of today's behind the scene stars like Bill Gates.

These people were technically advanced. They knew about circuitry, lights, the running of cameras and projectors. I believe, if the truth be told, they were not recognized as much as they could have been simply because they were ahead of their time.

I knew these gentlemen as as fine young men with good personalities and capabilities who did not suffer fools easily, but were too well brought up to tell some of us where to get off.

Today, I take my hat off to these gentlemen. While one kind soul amongst them is no longer with us, he is sorely missed.

As for the other two, I sincerely hope they come to our reunion and let me buy them a drink, shake their hands and thank them for their patience and good will in high-school for I remember them fondly as many of you do too.

Should they not come and join us this last time in life - I here and now wish to recognize them as fine people. I know they do not need this recognition, but I need to do this. Bill and John - You were appreciated and liked. Your laughter, jokes, and technical wizardry along with buddy Steve Bates were true assets to our class mates. Thank you.

Communications This Weekend
( Steve Poirier would be telling me to get a life, I'm sure. But hey! This is it and I like it!)

Eileen H. asked for a class picture if I had one.
Well I had two, from one year to the next 'as it were'.
But I could not get a class picture of her graduating year since graduates are photographed separately with Probable Destination etc.

But have a look at the interesting features of these two photographs.

And I had a call from Anja (shown below).
When I see "Probable Destinations" in the grad pictures, I have this terrible curiosity to find out what they do now. I bet Colleen and John have an activity for the Saturday Bash which explores this angle.

Resonance and Future Echoes

I spoke with someone from "High-School-days" this evening - just before dinner.

She told me things in passing, which had a strange and profound resonance within me; things I would have acted upon back in those days of youth and folly. And I thought, how many people could or might have said similar nice things to me if I had given them a half a chance back then. And how many would know what I have thought of them - my personal observances of their fine natures.

At this juncture -this late stage in life, I can at least, meet with some at the reunion and tell them. No-not overly romantic, but no less significant; perhaps something they never realized, that they can carry with them into the future; private messages they would not otherwise have known, without this occasion, things that accrue in true life-value as we age.

I could tell Barry Jones, how I loved having tea with his mother- she had such a smile and gleam in her eye- and how for a time he was the closest thing to a brother I had ever known and sometimes he still is.

I could tell Margaret how lovely she was - how her spirit, joy and rippling brook laughter have given me such wonderful memories at different times in my life - just by thinking upon her smile or looking at the dam.

I could tell Debbie Kaye Phillipowski that she and Garth are respected and admired by many who still remember them -even if from afar and that the apple does not fall far from the tree. -Chateaugauy is blessed to have such families.

I could tell Jane Spratt that tears of Joy and Sorrow, even in grade five were never wasted and her presence was ever felt and appreciated all through high school- but like pearls before swine, little boys for the most part are, invariably, lacking in good graces and are lucky should they acquire them in the passage of time.


And then there is the angelic and maybe not so angelic Louise Lacey - loved by all her friends. Here is- how we still see her in our mind's eye- from a time of wonder, a time of magic, indeed- a time of light.


So Chateaugauy is beginning to heat up now - Kahnawake too, with so many planning on converging.

Seventeen days left to REUNION.

Friday at the hotel in the "Greeting Suite" on the second floor of the Hotel - Richard, Lynda and I will be welcoming incoming travelers. Perhaps Jane Ashley -my wife- may join me.

Louise, her crew and I will put up some pictures at the school in the afternoon but then I'll head back to the suite at the hotel.

Meanwhile there are numerous parties planned Friday night, in and around Chateauguay and at the Alibi.

Then next day -Saturday Kick-off is at 11:00 a.m. since there may be "work" being done on the bridge, so the key idea is to come out and see the school and visit some friends but then head on back in by 3:00PM or 4:00PM to get ready for the Bash at the Dorval Hilton in the evening commencing around 7:00.

You just need to be paid-up in advance and on our list. (Pay instantly at the hsbalumni.com site.)

You may buy a ticket (now) for the morning Kick-Off at the school for $25 if you plan on doing something else during the rest of the day or if you prefer not coming to the school - drop by in the evening after dinner at the Hotel for around 10:00PM for the music and Social reunion dancing and music $35 (paid in advance). Of course there is greater value in attending the morning, the dinner and the bash $100 which includes the MC activities of John Saunders and Colleen Hillock between 7:00PM - 10:00 and perhaps more thereafter. I think I'll bring a video camera for that!

There are still some sitting on the fence and some I consider key pieces of our mosaic who seem to be choosing to side step the event - money, insecurity, incapacity or letharic spirit-whatever the reason, in the end it will be their loss. You know you'll get into it once you get there. The talk is going round now, the momentum is building.

There are many now, who make up the best parts of our collective past committed to attend. There is still time yet -but not much.

On The Bright Side

In High School there were a number of us who were just a little too clever. But then there were those who were gifted with the sense that our parents wished we all could have.
They knew better than to make snarky remarks in class when the teacher was in listening distance. This wasn't because they were flying below the radar or were sneaky. No.
They just had 'sense'.
Well at least to me they did.

Peter Wares, Richard Beauchamp and David Murdoch were three such people. I just hope they can let that guard down a bit now and come for a visit.

By the way Peter -say 'Hi' to Lois and the kids for Me and Jane... we miss you both.
Oh yes- Richard still looks this good!

And David??? It's been years -love to see him again. Is he still with Anne?
L

At least three of this line-up will be there and one said she would...but.





Four out of eight from this picture below are scheduled to show.

Can you guess who will be there?
The absent ones are still absent...so far.




At least two of those on this team will be there.
Guess who.











And one for sure on this team will be there. Another even approached me in the super market and asked expressly for all the info and said she would... but -oh well .....

Rick Rice In His Element






So I made my way over to Kahnawake yesterday and picked up Rick and then we booted into the City to pick up Mark Stafford at CHOM FM.
I hadn't realized that these two, who used to blaze the contemporary 'troubadour trail' with Roddy McManus, had not seen each other since 1972/73.
But there was something I sensed in this meeting-the bond - the music -'the life', those with the magic we used to see and hear- the humour, was still there.
I think -with a little luck, we'll be in for a treat once Dave Glass pulls into town.

Oh - and Karen Green wants me to let you all know (as she has discovered) that it is not too late to sign up.
Damn! Did I go and leave that door open?
Oh well use it now, you never know when it will close.

Before we cracked through the '100-people-paid' mark, the concept was to keep things
'all-inclusive', but now, since we are at 135 or so, we can afford to have a little more latitude.

So, I suspect that by the beginning of next week, those who have not yet paid because they only want to go to the school but not the main evening event, may be able to pay on-line for a '$25 Morning-Kick -Off' ticket, to attend the big kick-off on the Saturday morning to gain admittance to the Moshure Auditorium.

Also for those who want to avoid the main Dinner and Social Event, but perhaps swing by for drinks, blend in with the crowd and perhaps hear some live music in the bargain (AFTER 10:00 PM) - well, - we could have the 'After Dinner Tickets' on sale for $35 on-line or paid in advance by cheque also by the end of this week or beginning of next.

But be forewarned, (as one of my teachers used to say with index finger raised) if you wait to pay at the door, prices will be raised above these levels, so please do us all an administrative favor to prevent us having to collect money at the door- pay on line or by cheque in advance to keep your price low.

All considered though, the savings and value of the whole event including dinner and wine etc. at $100 per person or $175 per spousal couple is still the best value for the dollar -especially when adding on the hotel discount for rooms and free parking for the "all-in" ticket.
L

Name Game

I have been asking people the question..."What motivates you to join in a reunion?"

Some of the responses have been:
1) nostalgia .
2) enjoyment of social occasions.
3) curiosity.
4) coming home and looking around.
5) for those who still live here, simply seeing who is willing to come back to this little spot on the map.
6) for some who had strong networks in high-school-times but feel marginalized by life to some degree now, the magnet pull of the old gang "feel" just one more time.
7) the possibility of seeing 'the one(s) who got away'.

But it was suggested to me recently that I should list a few of the key names of people who are paid-up and going since no one likes feeling left out. And, if one's friends are seen as "going" -well ... I guess this would be a subtle form of peer pressure, in that one might not want to have left oneself out -cutting of the nose despite one's face (as it were).

OK so let's have a look at a modest and incomplete list of names of just some of those who we know for sure are paid up and going (in no particular order)- "Yeah, I guess this counts as name dropping, so tough, - these are people I am very proud to know.":

John Saunders, Rick Rankin, Susan Deliva, Margaret Kavenagh, Susan Davis, Mark Stafford, Anne Christine Gurholt, Joanne Beda-Tansey, Carol Mates, Barry Jones, Rickey Rice, Irene Grant-Smith, Yens Harnest, Bruce Craig, Ron Enros, Mr.Mcrea (teahcer), Rick Jones, Cheryl Mates-Jones, Kathie Parsons-Harnest, Bobbie Houston, Vincent Murphy, Roddy McManus, Bernetta Starkey(Mclean), Jimmy Williams, Anne Kavenagh, Seleda Williams, David Glass, Ingrid Gurholt, Stephan Fuchs, Gabrielle Kerth-Houston, Judy Vokey-Mutch, Mike 'to ski or not to ski' Voizard, Barbara Trampf-Zimmerman, Les McConnell, Joe Doucet, David Poirier, Susan Walsh, Lorraine Robichaud-D'Aguilar, Andrew Mutch, Colleen Hillock, Garth Phillipowsky, Gervase Bushe, Debbie Hanney, Barry Stevens, Rick McCallum, Doug MacKenzie, Carol Anne Robichaud, Robin Moody, Steve Devlin, Debbie Yeudall, Lynda Young, Daniel Zimmerman, Tom Heggisson, Pat DuCaen, Eileen Henneman, Hopeton D'Aguilar, Debbie Kaye and many more.

I would list a lot more, but it's time to go out and do the groceries. I am telling you this is getting good.

By note to Rickey Rice and Mark Stafford and Roddy McManus - remember we meet sometime this coming week to discuss the possibility of the Saturday Night set of songs to play (Live Rock and Roll) in addition to the recorded music that will be played. I will be copying in Dave Glass and Jack Kennedy on our discussions. I wonder if Dave or Steve Poirier might be into this aspect of the Reunion? Steve as usual is hanging back.

As I discovered the hard way with the "passing" of one of our old friends last week- there are sometimes good reasons other than shyness or other less than serious reasons to not be interested in one significant life marker time.

Sure would be neat if Sonja and Rodger were to respond but...ah...'hard to get'...come on - you know you want to come.

Someone please call Danny Lee and Marty Calligan get them into this. I do not have their numbers.

AND I LIKE IT ! YES I DO!

I guess the only question to ask would be - other than dire medical and financial reasons, why not reunion?

Fear? Fear of what people might think or say of what we look like now? - or I am not a success yet and I'll feel small by those who seem to have success... wel if these last two are the ones you hold tight to... then yes - please stay home.

Those of us who are attending simply don't care about that stuff. All of us with bags under our eyes, scars, lack of hair, extra mega pounds of fat, still not millionaires yet- well, we know what we know and see our own deficiencies in our own lives, we are going to the reunion to hug people we haven't seen in ages, to have a good time and celebrate what we do have - an inclusive community. If you choose to leave yourself out, then perhaps you are doing us a favour. But chances are you are undervaluing yourself needlessly and not even giving us or yourself a chance. As long as you pay the fee like everyone else ...then just as in those summer memories and school times - consider yourself at home, part of our family. Everything is good. And we do miss you. Come on down.

Mark Stafford.

Earlier in the blog -months ago there is a picture, black and white of Mark, Roddy and Romy in the control room of the student radio station.

Well here is Mark Stafford in his control room at CHOM FM/CJFM. He is still tall with hypnotizing eyes and mellow tones. The essential Mark, gentleman and scholar of life , is still there.

Just don't ask about snow-boarding.