The Big 3-0 a Reunion to Remember!
by Mike Holder
DHS 1975 Reunion Committee, DHSClassOf1975.com Webmaster
and Chief Llama Wrangler
(click on images below to enlarge)
Strolling into the Holiday Inn - Fairlane Friday afternoon, hand cart
loaded to the max with sound equipment, I needed some confirmation that
this was going to be a great reunion. A reunion like none other
before it. An event to rival all previous events. One that
didn't suck. I needed a sign - some irrefutable evidentiary omen
that this reunion was going to be better that the ones before it.
As I walked up to McKenna's to say hi to Laura (Bruhn) Tolbert, Joyce 
(Burns)
Graylish and Sherry (Bassett) Muller, there it was. The unmistakable,
undeniable confirmation I needed. It was the Red
Hat Society - elderly ladies over 30 strong - with their red hats,
purple dresses, and red hat accessories (one even had an umbrella adorned
with dozens of miniature red hats). From that moment on I not only
knew that this reunion was going to be one to remember, but that I had
to reexamine my faith in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Detroit
Lions (well, two out of three ain't bad).
The Friday night Happy Hours welcome reception at the Holiday Inn proved
to be one of the biggest in quite awile - since at least 1995. 
Over
100 classmates came out to keep this traditional event alive. Dean
Jenner kept the "Everclear Cherries" tradition alive as well
("Sign a name tag and get a cherry."). The cherries were
my nemesis, since 150+ proof alcohol and yelling over the noise to get
everyone's attention proved to be a bad combination for the old vocal
cords. You know you have a noisy crowd when 200-watts of audio power
is dwarfed by everyone having a great time! The 50/50 raffle was
a success as well with over $500 of ticket sales. Big thanks to
John Lewy and Sherry (Bassett) Muller for their ticket sales finesse.
Congrats to Jeff Gniewek for having the winning ticket, though we were
all bummed he didn't buy a round for the house (we got over it, though). And,
last but not least, a big thank you John Leone and David Snabes for getting
an additional round of pizzas for the crowd (the veggie pie was surpurb!).
Saturday
began with a group of classmates who could drag themselves out of bed
by 10 AM and meet in front of Dearborn High for a group photo in front
of the old place. We had company at our group photo session at DHS
- the DHS Cheerleaders were there having a car wash to raise money for
new uniforms (I guess they are still using the ones from back
when
we were there in the '70s). Several of the group stepped up and
had their cars washed to help out the cause (though I think some of the
guys in the group had ulterior motives). While we were there we
met the 
cheerleading
coach, who just happens to be DHS 1975 classmate Sharon (Baughman) Hoff's
sister-in-law (Hey, Sharon, your sister-in-law wants to know why you didn't
come to the reunion?). She was very helpful and grabbed several
classmate cameras to take our picture in front of the sign at the entrance
by the auditorium.
Then
it was off to Dearborn Hills for the Golf Scramble/Lunch. I did
not go because I had to set up equipment at Park Place, but Carl Meyers
ensured me that the Scramble was a big success. 36+ golfers went
at it competing for longest drive, closest to the pin, and straightest
shot while under the influence of cherries (Man, those things get around!). After
a fun round of golf, everyone retired to the clubhouse for liquid refreshments
(and yes, more cherries!).
Then,
after a shower and change of clothes, it was time for the main event of
the weekend - The Big 3-0 Big Bash at Park Place. Owner Gary Kuhlman
was very accommodating and many thanks for all his help and hospitality
(my Dad says hello from L.A.!). The old place was so much bigger
than we remember it with all the additions and remodeling. The food
was spectacular with burgers, dogs, sausages, salads, fruits, and, of
course, the world famous Park Place Chicken.
Click
here to hear a message to the class from WOMC-FM's Dick Purtan (MP3)
After dinner, the reminiscing began. It was a treat seeing Keith
Gregor somewhere other 
than
an L.L. Bean catalog and seeing and hearing Dave Parker (A.K.A. "Daba")
in the flesh instead of in a Big Boy radio ad or my DVD copy of "Escanaba
In Da Moonlight"! So many old 'mates - Jon Sherman, John Leone,
Susan Ashton, Roland Bauer, Barb Beale, Ginny Daly, Debbie Gorski, Bill
Lancaster, Dan "The Man" Price, Jan Merkle, Colleen Lough. It
was too cool seeing Chris Bodurow again after all these years, and even
cooler she brought her sister Constance with her :-) (DHS
1977).
Then it was raffle time - Big Bash style. Over $600 was raised
for the DHS 1975 Reunion Committee. Char (Finley) Reese-Oxford did
a spectacular job organizing the Big Bash 
Raffle,
getting some great prize donations. Mucho thanks to prize doners
and wranglers Charles Flynn, Dan Wood, John Lewy, Leslie (Mayer) Davis,
Debbie (Murphy) Knurek, Marty Roberts, Char (Finley) Reese-Oxford, Dan
Oxford, Ken Melcher, Bill "The Spice-Man" Kokas, the DHS 1975
Reunion Committee, Polk
Audio, XM Satellite
Radio, and Colleen
Croxall and her husband Dave. (Sorry about the "goats milk soup" thing. I
had the Rolling Stones' "Goats Head Soup" album on my mind earlier.) Congrats
to all the winners!
Then
back to more reminiscing and the traditional taking of the elementary
/ junior high class group shots (I didn't know Daba and I had so many
transfers in the Dearborn Public School system). The Red Hat ladies
Friday night were a true sign - so many classmates came up to Diane and
I thanking us for our efforts and telling us what a great time they had!
Then it was on to Trail Bar for the afterglow / nightcap before we all
made our journeys back home.
All in all, it was truly a weekend to remember! On behalf of Diane
and myself, thank you to all of you who came out and helped make The Big
3-0 Reunion Weekend a wonderful event and a great success by attending
and participating. For those of you who didn't come back to Dearborn
for the DHS Class Of 1975 Big 3-0 Year Reunion Weekend, you sure missed
one helluva party! And at our next reunion, I will be sure to invite
the Red Hat Society.
See you all the next go 'round!
P.S: I know there were quite a bit of you with digital
cameras clicking away during the Big 3-0 Weekend, so how about sharing
your pictures with the class in the DHSClassOf1975.com Photo Galleries? Normally,
I would have taken more pics myself, but Diane made me promise her that
I'd actually enjoy this reunion. So, click
here to find out how you can share those digital
pics with everyone.
