What a night!

It was back to the 1970s for hundreds of people last night. The venue was full, with people in the main room, in the hallways and pretty much every other cubbyhole they could find at one point. People with badges on claiming to be from graduating classes as early as 1966 that i saw though most were the 70s. I saw a handful of people that i hadn't seen in years, mainly to hug and say hi, not to really catch up too much. One guy was someone i had gone to vocational school with and worked with at my first job. He was married to an alumna and he's retired now.

There was a large video screen in two rooms and they showed slideshows of yearbook and then/now photos. Someone put a huge amount of work into that, scanning all those old photos.

There was a band at first, then later an alumnus did a medley of songs from the 70s while another slide show of loads of pics played. During the band set, one little dude was dancing by himself and asked me to dance. I did because i hadn't really been watching him before that. He turned out to be one of those guys that bounces around you like a whirlygig, arms and legs going in all directions, none at the same time and not a lot in time to the music. Yeah. I'll just stand here and let you do your stuff, shall i? lol! Well at least he was enjoying himself. This other guy i saw a couple of times, he really enjoyed the music. He was a beefy bald guy and would pass by the band every so often and would stop and bop in front of the band and raise the horns \M/ when there was a particularly good song he liked, one by the Who as i recall, had him nearly jumping on the stage he was so enthusiastic. The difference between the two was that the first guy was non-stop bouncing around like Tigger and this guy was just an occasional mosher lol I said to someone, i like that guy. I have no idea who he is but i *like* him!

Before the main act came on, there was a memorial slide show, all the "fallen Spartans" that they knew of (All the sports teams were "Spartans"). These were students that had died over the years since school. There are some missing, one or two that i know that have died and more I'm sure, but someone has to pass on the information, don't they, or you won't know. That was very moving. The slide show played to Free Bird which added to the emotion, i thought, and every single person in that room stood up while it was playing. I suppose in the back of the room with people standing in front of tables, you might not be able to see it but I took it more as a sign of respect. The screen was fairly high on the wall of the large room. I admit i had tears running down my face seeing the faces of some of my school friends that had gone. They meant for it to be a celebration of their life but it's still sad.

The main act was local legend Sam Moon who wore his long caftan and had bare feet. I don't think he usually peforms like that anymore but he did for years in the bars and at the high school dances back in the 70s. He plays rock and blues type music and has been on the local music scene as long as i can remember. He knows how to pack a dance floor and the accompanying band are very good too, and a couple of them are alumni too, i think, though Sam isn't.

Our old high school crowd met up before the dance at the hotel suite of one of the guys. That's the thing, most of my closest friends from school are people i've always kept in touch with so it hasn't been that long since i've seen most of them. It was nice to run into some familiar faces from school, though. My year's student council president, David Woods, seemed to be holding court, there were so many people coming up to him. I'm sure he didn't remember a lot of them but he did remember me as we had a couple of classes together. He was very popular and is now an artist, poet, activist and playwriter.

As many people as were in the huge room, the hallway areas just outside the door were like non-violent mosh pits! Good heavens! One of the bars was outside one side of the room and one was on the other and people were thronged in the hallways chatting or waiting for the bar. It was a bit of a bottleneck getting in and out of the main room but once in it, it wasn't so bad. It was the best place for running into people, though, because you could see. The lights were down low in the main room with candles on the table and the lights from the stage of course. Our group all managed to get a table and hauled over extra chairs but most of us were up and down all night walking around seeing who we could find. You'd walk into the bright hall and outer rooms and by the time you managed to get through the crowd en route to the loo or just a place where it was a bit cooler, you'd run into at least 3 or 4 people you used to know!

I just can't get over how hugely successful it was and how much work went into it all. So many people came from away to attend the dance and other events, too, and some from quite a distance. All the profit from the events is going to a fund that will be set up as a scholarship fund for a Dartmouth High student. A very good idea. The whole reunion started with one woman, Joanne Thomas Yaccato and it grew and grew. She lives in Ontario and had a dozen people on the ground helping to organize it from here and they all did a fantastic job. You couldn't do all that alone, for sure, but she was the instigator. I don't think any other reunion, if anyone had the inclination to organize one, will ever come up to this one!

So the reunion week is done and i'm done too! Am hoarse this morning from talking and hollering over the music and i'll never forget it!
Photos