The 50th Reunion

To the GRAND Class of 1969:

As I said in my comments before the Class Dinner in the new Athletics Complex, we have transitioned as a Class from being merely Great to being truly Grand. Nearly half the living alumni in the Class attended as did two erstwhile Classmates who left before graduation.

Those who were at the Reunion know that it was a magical weekend under perfect weather conditions. The anecdotal feedback has confirmed that the weekend exceeded the expectations of many who had returned in trepidation, which was particularly gratifying to those of us who had spent so much of the last two years cultivating attendance and planning events. In many ways we remained true to form as products of an iconoclastic era and chose the road not taken by our elders at previous 50th reunions:

• We chose as our Class Gift the restoration of the Soldier on the Civil War Memorial at the entrance to the Academy and had our Class photo taken there rather than on the steps of the Memorial Building. The unconventional gift served as an acknowledgment of the unique bond between the Academy and the Town after which it is named. A PowerPoint video documenting the restoration of the Soldier is accessible to members of the Class on our Google site Albany Road Redux;

• We honored the twenty members of the Class no longer with us in unprecedented detail at a Service of Remembrance in the Brick Church that made them a part of the weekend. The program as well as the complete collection of remembrances also have been posted on Albany Road Redux; 

• We heard presentations by nine Classmates - a new record since the format of the weekend was changed several years ago - on medicine, the arts, religion, law and volunteerism - that showcased their interests and considerable skills; and

• We rewrote history at the clambake on Saturday night by admitting Margarita Curtis - the retiring Head of School who also graduated from high school in 1969 - as an Honorary member of the Class, thereby achieving co-education ex post facto, something previously accomplished only by the Class of 1957. 

It was a grand time for a Grand Class. For those who did not attend, I hope you will take the opportunity to return for a future reunion or, if just passing through Deerfield, to admire the Soldier who will be gazing down on Old Main Street long after we are all gone thanks to the generosity of the Class of 1969.

DWS