The RHS class of 1962 held its 55-year reunion in early September 2017. The reunion centered on three events: a golf outing at the Painesville Country Club Friday morning , an informal get-together and cocktail party at Pickle Bill’s in Grand River Friday evening with special guest Loretta Vandervort from the RHSAA, and dinner and drinks at the Elks Club in Painesville Saturday evening.
Prior to the kickoff of events on Friday, the twelve member reunion planning committee got together Thursday night for a final review of assignments and a relaxing dinner at Hellriegel’s Inn.
In addition to our contingent of reunion attendees from Painesville, Concord, Perry and Madison, other classmates came from as far away as Arizona and California. While some did come up from Florida, severe weather in the south and west at that time did have an impact on attendance. Thankfully, to our knowledge, none of our classmates was significantly affected by those terrible storms.
Some of those in attendance had seen each other at get-togethers in Florida each year. For others, it was revisiting classmates that they had not seen since the 50th reunion in 2012. Attendance did not come close to equaling that very successful 50th reunion, but it was gratifying to see classmates who were attending one of our reunions for the first time.
A visit from Kathy Riley of the RHS Alumni Association was one of the highlights of our final evening together. She passed along information about the Association and membership as well as the Riverside High School Hall of Fame. However, the most moving part of the night was when our Emcee, Ray McGee, read the names of our fellow classmates who were no longer with us.
What is clear from the feedback that the Reunion Committee has received is that this reunion was a success for those who attended and future events would be most welcomed.
(Submitted by Riverside Class of 1962)
