Would you like to see these yearly events continue?  We would like to try and and keep as many of us connected as possible leading up to our next big event – the big 45 – our 45th reunion July 25-27,  2014.  Post a comment here if you have an opinion, suggestion or if you just want to say “Hi.”

We would also like to start using social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, etc to reach even more Celtics who have somehow remained unfound!  If anyone wishes to help out with this, post a comment here and you will be put to work bringing the Class of 69 into the 21st Century!  If you know the whereabouts of any lost Celtics, you can also let us know via the comments section in this post.

Enjoy this group picture from the party, courtesy of Velan Chapin.  Recognize anyone? More pictures to come, so check back soon!

WHEN:
Saturday, August 20,  2011 – 6:30pm to 10:30pm

WHERE:
Marion Room in The Grand Hotel – map
201 Liberty Street SE
Adjacent to the Salem Conference Center
Salem , Oregon 97301
www.grandhotelsalem.com

PRICE
$10 in advance (by August 1) or $15 at the door

PAYMENT INFORMATION
Go to www.mcnaryclassof69.com and click on “Contact” tab or…

Mail checks to:
McNary Class of 69
c/o 9965 Wheatland Road N
Keizer OR 97303

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!

Click to view slideshow.

Thanks to Bruce and Velan Chapin for the great photos in this slideshow… Please leave comments, thoughts about the reunion, guesses as to who is in a photo or just a note to say HI!

WHEN:
Saturday, Sep 11 2010 6:00pm to 11:00pm

WHERE:
Downtown Salem Conference Center and Phoenix Inn
200 Commercial Street SE
Salem, OR 97301 Map

PRICE:
$10.00 at the door for finger food, no-host bar, and great conversation

ORGANIZER:
Gil Reynolds
Please visit the classmates.com reunion page to RSVP

Hope to see you there!

She says hi to everyone and wishes she could come. Was planning to, but we lost our Dad in May so she came then.

Julie’s been living in Alaska since 1981. She works as a Special Ed. assistant for Anchorage School Dist. She has three grandchildren.

She’d love to hear from people, you can contact her through me at this email address. I’ll pass it on.

Have a GREAT TIME! I love the school tour idea.

Toni Gottfried
Class of 76
tsgottfried@earthlink.net

Friday, July 24, 2009

When: 7:00 – 11:00 PM
Where: Downtown Salem Conference Center & Phoenix Inn 200 Commercial St. SE, Salem, 97301 Meeting Room next to Bentley’s Restaurant entrance
What: Grads only night – With Ken Gierloff as MC, lot’s of 60’s and 70’s recorded music, acoustic jam session, 1968 state championship basketball game video, finger foods, no -host bar, lot’s of catching up on 40 years of life after HS.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Where: Keizer Renaissance Inn & Conference Center 5188 Wittenberg Lane NE Keizer, OR 97303-4442
When & What: 4:00 – 6:00 PM Acoustic jam for all who want to bring an instrument (and lyrics!)
6:00 – 6:30 PM Reception, no host bar
6:30 – 10:30 Buffet dinner, brief program with Dave Bull as MC, group photo, live music and dancing with our own Gil Reynolds and Deep Blue (shown below)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

When: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Claggett Creek Park at the South Shelter Between Chemawa Rd NE and Dearborn Ave NE on 13th Ave NE
What: Picnic Lunch, acoustic jam, open to grads of other McNary classes and other Salem high schools, kids, friends, etc.

After finding our yearbook packed away on a closet shelf, I studied the pictures of the 400+ of us who left the ‘60’s behind, ready to take on the world. That reminded me of some fun times during Mr. Shaw’s geometry class, Mr. Runner’s physics experiments, and Mrs. Beal’s senior English discussions, the excitement of the state basketball tournaments, and live bands playing in the school cafeteria and at the Salem Armory. I haven’t been back to McNary to walk those hallowed halls that were big and brand new when we enrolled as 9th graders – I think sometimes things are better left to the mind’s eye. I wonder: does Shakey’s Pizza Parlor still exist? Remember those part root beer, part milk concoctions they served? What a terrific place that was to go after a game or a ‘possum hunt, or to cruise past in an American made car or a VW bug. (It seems to me that Hondas were just tin cans back then, and I don’t recall that Toyotas had even been imported yet.)

But enough of the nostalgia. How do you catch up with folks you haven’t seen for years without boring them to death? Briefly, in my opinion. The essence of these four decades for me goes like this: graduated from OSU in ‘73 … six days later married a terrific girl (Kathie and I celebrated our 36th anniversary last month) … spent four years with the Army in Germany (and another 26 in the Reserve) … attended grad school at the UofO (still bleed orange and black though) … signed on with the Wildish sand & gravel and construction companies here in Track Town, USA, and have managed land, environmental and safety matters for the past 30 years (there’s never been a dull moment). I get to relive certain aspects of high school every day as Kathie is an assistant high school principal (surely, we must have been much better behaved in the old days). The two of us were euphoric when our two sons graduated from college and became gainfully employed (they’re still single, so no grandkids). We do our best to stay young by jogging, biking, hiking and x-country skiing, and very much enjoy travelling and wine (finally, a practical application for Madame Zupo’s French lessons).

I suppose these milestone anniversaries are intended to make us pause and reflect on days (years) gone by. I can’t complain at all about my life since donning that blue robe and mortar board. As loosely woven and thin as the threads might be that form the fabric of our graduating class, it’s still good to check in from time to time with those who had some degree of influence on how we all turned out. Let’s hope for 40 more years of Celtic Spirit!

Randy Hledik