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The 2007 Reunion Weekend outdoor class cocktail parties and dinners lacked something that their predecessors had in abundance.
But no one was complaining.
Dark skies and a messy, muddy Quad had become the norm over the past several years.
But this year, despite a looming weather threat that caused alumni to prepare for the worst, Saturday’s events went off with nary a raindrop to be found. The result was no ruined shoes or party dresses, no slop trudged through the tent where the dinner took place – and plenty of happy faces to go around.
“It’s wonderful, just a beautiful day,” said Cole Vastine, who was visiting for the weekend with his wife, Carla Douglass Vastine ’87. “Everything was taken care of – and a beverage on a hot day is a good thing.”
They were joined by scores of alumni who strolled around the grounds, chatting up old friends, making new ones, and generally taking in the ambience of what turned out to be a spectacular day.
While the attire ranged from shorts and sandals to blue jeans to semi-formal evening wear, the Quad itself was dressed to the nines.
One huge tent accommodated most of the attendees, while another was set aside for the Class of ’77 and still another for the evening’s live entertainment. Unlike last year, when the band played in the dinner tent, the music and dance floor were given their own venue.
Patty DeAngelis Szipszky ’87 and Julie Martin ’87 joked about the joys of sleeping in McKeen Hall this weekend. Still, no one was complaining.
“The campus looks amazing,” Martin said. “I can’t believe the changes.”
“We’re having a fabulous time,” Szipszky added.
For Martin, coming back to campus was a bit of a hike from her home in Massachusetts.
But for Kevin Doyle ’97, he just had to shoot down Route 22 from his home near Allentown.
“It’s been great just hanging out with old buddies. It’s really what I come back for,” Doyle said as he stood in line waiting to refresh his refreshment. “The campus is looking good.”
If you attend enough Reunion and Homecoming events, many of the faces start to look familiar. But you probably wouldn’t have recognized David Fisher ’82 if you saw him Saturday.
That’s because the Chi Phi brother hadn’t been back to school since he graduated. Obviously, much had changed, but not the camaraderie among fraternity brothers.
“So far everything has been great,” he said. “It was a good turnout for our class. Three-quarters of our class was back.”
Nancy Turner Hollendonner ’82 also was enjoying the chance to reacquaint with old friends. Like her other visits back to campus, this was time well spent.
“We came up this year for the Lafayette-Lehigh game. The stadium was awesome,” she said.
Ted Gailer ’60, who had made the drive up from Atlanta, said he was having a great time. He had marched earlier in the annual parade on College Hill, somehow convinced by Glenn Grube ’57 to carry the banner for the Class of 1957.
Why did Gailer attend his first Reunion during an off year for his class? His Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers had coordinated with alumni affairs to organize their own reunion over the weekend, and he was pleased to see about 60 DTD alumni attend, including roughly a dozen from his own era.
Speaking of fraternities, Bill Faust ’02 and his wife, Laura Hrshock Faust ’02, both enjoyed the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Phi Psi house. They were joined at their table by Mike Balboni ’02, who was relishing the chance to “just see old friends and hang out.”
Pamela Auble ’97 had taken the opportunity to hear some of Friday’s Reunion College lectures and enjoyed them immensely. As for Saturday: “We’re having a great time.”
Tri-Delta sister Heather Werner ’02, who lives in Germany, said she was using much of the weekend to catch up with her sorority mates.
And Gladys Moniba ’97 said she was using the alumni office’s guide for the weekend as her roadmap for fun.
“We’re having a great time doing everything [those] guys put in the brochure,” she said. “It’s a great event.”