This great article was written for The Acclaim* by Sylvia Landry-Cloutier
*The Acclaim is the Venice High School Alumni Associations quarterly Paper.
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VENICE
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES OF 1955
50
YEAR REUNION - 2005
It’s hard to believe it has been half a century
since we graduated from Venice High School in 1955. On Saturday, May 7, 2005, at the Hacienda Hotel in El
Segundo, approximately 240 alumni from the W’55 (D’Artagnans) and S’55
(Decathlons) classes came together – many of us from out of state -- to
celebrate our 50th high school reunion and enjoy a magical night as
the years melted away while we renewed old friendships, enjoyed dinner, danced a
bit, and just had a marvelous time.
The magic began as we were greeted by a 50th
Reunion Poster and escorted to the Crystal Ballroom by beautiful bouquets of
bright blue and white balloons gently waving in the breeze and lining the way.
As we arrived in the foyer we were greeted by several “old” friends
who gave us our welcome packages, which included a souvenir 50 Year Reunion pen,
picture name tags for both alumni and guests (alumni who were camera shy in 1955
and their guests had pictures of either James Dean or Natalie Wood), a copy of
the evening’s program, a raffle ticket from the Alumni Association, copies of The
Acclaim, meal tickets, and a coupon for a formal photograph.
There were also 50 Year Reunion ball caps for those who had purchased
them. We were then directed to the
photographer for our memory book photographs.
As we waited in line for our photos we were able to reminisce at a table
in the foyer displaying memorabilia from our days at Venice High – class
sweaters from W’55 and S’55, a Lettergirl sweater, an angora sweater, a
poodle skirt, penny loafers, class insignias, and a pair of (look like) angora
dice.
The decorations in the ballroom were elegant: round
tables for eight, covered with royal blue cloths and white napkins, and
exquisite centerpieces of tall, narrow blue vases with white tulips, blue iris,
and garnished with just the right amount of greenery. The table center pieces were creatively designed to give
unobstructed viewing to the other side of the table so we could see who we were
talking with. Along the walls were
mounted poster boards of our high school days.
There were graduating class pictures of both W’55 and S’55 from VHS,
Palms Jr. High, and Mark Twain Jr. High; a collage of pictures from Broadway
Elementary School where many of our alumni began their educations; collages of
VHS school clubs, sports, dances, and just plain fun snapshots.
Our Hollywood star, Yoshi
Tomita (W’55), was given a special section to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of “Blackboard Jungle,” the movie he appeared in with Glenn
Ford, Sidney Poitier, etc. A poster
of Craig Bowman (W’55) -Breedlove’s “Spirit of America” racing car was
prominently displayed. There were
collages of the three largest piers in Santa Monica and Venice and an early
photo of Curries Ice Cream Parlor – home of the “Mile-High” cone. Prominently displayed, right inside the entrance to the
ballroom, was a special memorial set up to show those friends we have lost these
past 50 years. Sadly, there were
way too many names on that display.
Around 6:30, after we had about an hour to mingle
among the party goers, glimpse old pictures of ourselves, visit the open-host
bar, find those friends we had not seen for so long, catch up a bit on their
lives since Venice High and what they are doing now, we all sat down to a lovely
dinner of grilled New York steak, baked salmon, or a vegetarian dish.
Most of us were too excited to eat, we were so busy discussing times gone
by.
The program was opened by Master of Ceremonies Vance
Schafer, President, S’55 class who gave the welcome and benediction.
Berton Brinker, President, W’55 class, John Falk, S’55, and Saul
Rowinsky- Rowen, ASB President, W’55 rounded out the program which was not
long but very well done. Saul gave
us a great list of comparisons of then and now – such as remembering when
“windows” were simply panes of glass to gaze through. As someone noted –
the length of the program kept right in line with our diminishing attention
spans.
We cannot express enough grateful thanks to
those who actually made this night happen.
Co-chairs Vance Schafer, John Falk, and Berton Brinker, along with Yvonne
Dunn (W’55), and Bill Martin (S’55) have been working on this event for over
two years and they should be very proud of their hard work. After all the time
spent in locating alumni, putting together the information and working with the
venue, their efforts paid off to the fullest.
Several alumni assisted them on the following
committees: Classmate Search
was completed by John Falk, assisted by Yvonne Dunn, Bill Martin, and Sharon
Goodner (S’53), who provided some incredible help in locating our missing
classmates; Mailings, Data Base,
Web Site and Badges were prepared by John Falk and Bill Martin; Decoration
Coordinator & Display Photos, by Berton Brinker ; Decorations &
Center Pieces by Francine Juhan
(S’55), and Joline Chastain (S’55), assisted by Yvonne Dunn, Sylvia Landry
(W’55), Barbara Wilson (W’55), Yoshi Tomita (W’55), Barbara Voegeli
(W’55), and Betty Juhan (S’59); Registration/Greeting by Pauline
Scarcella (W’55), with Saul Rowinsky-Rowen (W’55), Marie Shortell (W’55),
Margie Kaehler (S’55), Wilma Escher (S’55), Sylvia Landry, and Francine
Juhan; Souvenir Caps and Pens and
Program Design by Vance Schafer and John Falk; Reunion Photography
was done by John Falk Jr.
Our DJ for the evening had a rotating glass ball much
like the one that shone down on us those many years ago at our school dances.
That great “50s” music we listened and danced to was provided by
Vance Schafer. He had carefully put together several CDs of our favorite
music from the 50s, which included the Four Aces, Joni James, Teresa Brewer,
Doris Day, Kaye Starr and all those wonderful groups from the fifties.
Although our footwork has slowed a little over the years, the feeling was
still there and it was wonderful seeing that we still like to dance and have
fun. The evening’s music ended
with our old time favorite which ended all our school dances, “Dream,” by
the Pied Pipers. Remember
when “Lucky Lager Dance Time” (the radio program that played during the 50s
from San Francisco to San Diego) ended their program every midnight with
“Dream?” When we heard that
song we knew it was time to hurry home (at least those of us who were allowed to
stay out until midnight). Last
Saturday night we were all 18 again – if only for a brief magical evening.
Long gone are those wonderful old days when we came
to school all fresh and eager to learn about life to come -- in our pony tails,
angora (or Lana mere) sweaters, and saddle shoes or our duck-tail hairdos,
leather club jackets, and penny loafers. Gone
are the days when we could admire Myrna Loy in her lily pond (complete with all
her fingers and toes – not to mention her head).
Gone too are the days when we were so proud we could finally step over
that forbidden, imaginary line that provided entry to the “Senior Court” –
where we could, at least for a short while, feel we were really important on
campus – and could hang around with our friends.
Sadly too, gone are many of our very best friends who were unable to make
it this far. They will be long
remembered in our hearts. We, who could make it to this lovely, magical night to
remember, are the survivors but we will always have our loving memories of those
who couldn’t be with us any longer.
Thanks to all of us who came to participate in a very
memorable evening – and therefore ensuring our 50th Reunion to be a
total success.
(Sylvia Landry-Cloutier)