1969 Ripley grads still enjoying the journey

The Ripley Central School Class of 1969 members turned or will turn 75 this year. To celebrate this three-quarter century event, I decided to have a birthday party for us, aided by Patricia Hunt Albaugh. How cool, eh?

From a class of less than 40 people, on July 18 22 classmates and spouses converged on Westfield, New York, for drinks at Grace & Abe's, a tour of the Barcelona Lighthouse, and a catered dinner, provided by Parkview Restaurant, at Noble Winery.

It was a blast! It's been a few years since our class got together, but I think everyone is still recognizable albeit a lot of white/gray hair, or lack thereof may have fooled some of us. There was a lot of chatter on the veranda at Noble's, mostly about how we're dealing with retirement, for those who have, grandkids, and a few unforgettable moments when we were young and invincible and still in high school.

I provided name tags for everyone with sentiments such as "Old Geezer," "Over the Hill," "Certified Antique," and eighteen other endearments for old people. Pat Albaugh brought quiz questions with her along the lines of "who remembers who said..."

Not many of us had as good a memory as Pat. I supplied a quiz asking for numbers, such as "how many times have you been married," "how many countries have you visited," and how many progenies to you have. That stumped most people, progeny being a word many hadn't used. In any case, two gift certificates were given, one for smallest total number, the Homebody among us; and one for the Go-getter with the highest total number.

I wanted an antique car for us to gather around for the obligatory group shot. 'Lo and behold, upperclassman Dave Bower has a 1969 Charger that he was willing to let us use, if it didn't rain. It poured. When the rain stopped, I called Dave to see if he was willing to take his baby out, but alas, he said no. It would take hours to clean the car up after driving on the wet roads. Hmm, Plan 2 revolved around a ladder. Maybe. A couple of hours later, as we were dining, someone shouted, "Robyn, some guy is here with a car." There was Dave, standing in front of his Charger, grinning. The roads had dried up and he brought that beauty to Noble Winery. I can't thank him enough for coming through for the Class of '69.

The evening ended with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to Us" and our old Alma Mater, written by Coach Wally Johnson. Compliments were given about the food, promises made to keep in touch, and hugs and kisses all 'round.

Great to see you all! Don't be a stranger.

Robyn Near Albright is a Ripley resident.