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Batavia High’s Qass of ’49 has golden galaFifty-three members of Batavia High School’s Class of 1949 celebrated the golden anniversary of graduation during a recent weekend at the Geneva Golf Club,A total of 84 people — 53 graduates and 31 spouses — attended the gala dinner. Those attending were greeted by a bagpiper in authentic kilt, class member Richard Wagner of Batavia.They then posed for photos in front of a 1931 Ford Model A touring car with a license plate reading 31 A DL 0 owned by Richard Larson of Geneva, another class member. The car’s model and license plate were significant because most class members were born in 1931. The photographer was Mary Benson Glynn of Rockford, a class member.Old photographs of class members during their elementary and high school days were displayed just inside the golf club entrance.Master of ceremonies Jack Wa-terfield pointed out that 87 class members received diplomas at the 1949 commencement.The names of the 23 who died were read and a moment of silence observed. The most recent death was Betty Jean Humbles Thomas who died Aug. 22 this year in Chicago.The first was Arthur Trentt, who enlisted in the Army just before graduating and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korea in September 1950.Waterfield also welcomed four class members attending a reunion for the first time: RitaVickroy Adams of Powder Springs, Ga.; Bernard Carlson of Irving, Texas; Geraldine Moutray Dara-ban of North Aurora; Marguerite Flodstrom Larson of Nepean, Ontario, Canada. The class has had reunions about every five years since graduating. For the past 15 years, the class has had an annual picnic at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve each September.A musical program, presented by the Batavia High School Swing Singers, directed by Wes Bettch-er, received a standing ovation from the audience.Those attending received “scrolls” with snippets of Batavia High School history prepared by the committee. Memories included first birthday for the Huddle, the long-time Batavia teen center, in 1946; the dedication of the high school athletic field on Illinois Avenue as Memorial Field on July 27,1946, recognizing the sacrifices of Batavia High School graduates and students who served in World War II; and the fact that the first helicopter landed in Batavia at Memorial Field on Oct. 1,1946.On Sunday morning, class members gathered for brunch at the Lincoln Inn to continue the visits and reminiscences that had begun the previous evening.The reunion committee included Joyce Hagemann, Dolores Karas, Donald Kraft, Richard Larson, Andrew Liedberg, John Markuson, Norman McCrimmon, Dolores Nelson, Mary Lou Pierson, Harvey Sweigert, Richard Wagner, Jack Waterfield and Corliss Weaver.Members of the Class of 1949 gather for the reunion picture (maiden names are itaiicized for women who use a different last name). Front row kneeling: Cyril Bradley, from left, Wayne Benson, John Lundborg and Norman McCrimmon. Seated: Jacqueline Johnson Shanahan, from left, Beatrice Petraitis Porch, Jackqulyn Shank/and Williams, Mary Benson Glynn, Marilyn Thryselius, Dolores Johnson Karas, Carmen Stran Anderson, Lorraine Koubenec Zembinski, Arlene Porath Vanderhei, Joanne Weber Lundborg, Corliss Andrews Weaver and Kay Bowron Anderson. Third row: Joyce Fitch Hagemann, from left, Katherine Kouzes Langford, Barbara Moos Lenz, Olivia Wolfcott Monroney, Mary Lou Hamingson Pierson, Donna Hendrickson Neely, Betty Lee King Burkitt, Betty Jackson Larson, Maureen Nelson Fcchner, Claire Eck/und Watgen, Alice Carlson Swan, Randi Beymert Olsen, Marguarite Flodstrom Larson, Virginia Kraff Scatterday, Helen Jane Johnson Peterson, Donna Schiedler Read, Kay B. Graves Arneson and Dolores Schiedier Nelson. Back row: Richard Porch, John Markuson, George Gould, Bernard Carlson, Richard Wagner, Andrew Liedberg, Richard Thryselius, Harold Holbrook, Donald Kraft, Geraldine Moutray Daraban, Mary F/fch Tincknell, Rita V/ckroy Adams, Harvey Sweigert, James Mair, Alan Read, Donald Weaver, Robert McConnaughy, Jack Waterfield and Richard Larson.
Newspaper Details
Arlington Heights Daily Herald Suburban Chicago
Arlington Heights, Illinois, US
Mon, Oct 04, 1999
Page 159
Full Page
Clipped by
Jon P.
USA 19 Jul 2018
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