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William Messick ’68, the reunion chair for his class, remembers planning for class reunions almost as fondly as the reunions themselves.
“We look forward to getting together every five years for the reunion planning,” he says. Perhaps that’s the reason the original planning committee has remained intact since the class’ fifth-year reunion.
As much as the committee enjoys reuniting, the excitement for the planning meetings is nothing compared to the excitement for the event itself. There’s even a clock on the class webpage counting down to the second until the 40th reunion. Messick believes the weekend will serve as a chance to reconnect with his classmates and reminisce about their years on campus.
“I am interested in what my classmates are doing, their families, their lives. Remembering old stories and events embellished as they are,” he says. “Gathering on campus this time of year always is an inspiring event.”
Messick recalls that in 1973, the class viewed old films of football games. He remembers Reunion parades, especially the parade cars like the 1960 Ford Edsel, the Maroon Mustang, as well as the live band party at the old Delta Upsilon house on the Quad, the tour of Chateau Chavaniac, and pub night socials. Although these moments stand out for Messick, he says that nothing compares to the opportunity to spend time with old friends and former classmates.
Although Messick has maintained strong ties to the Lafayette community and visits often, he sees the reunion as an opportunity to see classmates who have not been back to campus recently. He hopes that classmates hesitant to attend Reunion will “come to reconnect with classmates and the college.” Messick mentions that Reunion will be a wonderful opportunity for his classmates to see how the campus has changed in the past 40 years. “See the campus as it has evolved,” he says. “Visit for either day if time is an issue.”
He also mentions that the committee has assembled a collection of class memorabilia, which will provide alumni with a trip back in time during Reunion Weekend.
Reunion will serve as a testament to the strength of the Lafayette community. Messick explains that Lafayette Reunions are “a great uplifting event to see several thousand positive people gathered.”