RECREATING HISTORY
Class of ‘76 gathers for 40th reunion
SARATOGA SPRINGS >> In the fall of 1975, renowned Spa City photographer George Bolster took a picture of Saratoga Springs High School seniors gathered around the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park.
The photo was featured prominently in the 1976 yearbook.
Recently, almost 90 alumni recreated the scene when the Class of ’76 gathered for its 40th reunion.
“Everyone contributed in a valuable way,” said Mary (Baber) Cerone, of Saratoga Springs. “We started planning almost two years ago. We met at each others’ homes and really connected. People came from as far away as California.” The class had 365 members. Other reunion highlights included a dinner at the National Museum of Dance for 151 people, including guests and spouses. Nine alumni from the former St. Peter’s High School, now Saratoga Central Catholic, also attended.
The weekend started with a Friday night gathering of more than 100 Saratoga High and St. Peter’s alumni at Gaffney’s.
“Caroline Street was the perfect place for this,” Cerone said. “It was a familiar place for many of us after high school. It is ‘still Caroline Street’ as one class member put it. It has changed for sure, but much has remained the same.”
Many other things about the city have undergone drastic changes during the past four decades, including the development of numerous downtown hotels, where out-of-town visitors stayed.
In 1976, the Holiday Inn was the only major hotel in town.
“Social media helped us connect with some classmates we couldn’t find in the past,” Cerone said. “Searching Facebook was a great tool. There was so much involved — finding contact information on classmates, brainstorming ideas, organizing, phone calls, networking, local business connections, creating invitations and legwork.”
In addition to Cerone, many people helped with the effort including Krista Baruzzi Wareing, Diane Derlick Russell, Debra Eggleston, Terri Martin Kindl, Kathy McCann Bango, Tom Thomas, T.R. Pennell, Gina Farone Scavone, Keith Manz and Carol Petrosky Costen from Saratoga High, and Susan Swantek Rowland and Maureen Smith from St. Peter’s.
Likewise, a great deal of effort went into reunion activities.
Mark Sutton provided invitations and name tags; Alison Sano (Krista Wareing’s daughter) designed invitations, set up the Facebook page and photography at the Dance Museum; Alison Robbens (Terri Kindl’s daughter) helped greet and register people at the Dance Museum; and James Picket (Leisa Waterhouse’s son) took the new photo at the Spirit of Life.
Those who were in the original photo stood in their same places in the new photo.
Large posters of the original photo were displayed at the entrance of the Dance Museum dinner reunion for everyone to see.
“The Spirit of Life has been beautifully restored,” Cerone said.
After the new photo was taken, Eva Dolan walked through Congress Park and saw Ralph Grasso III’s ice cream truck. It brought back fond memories, which she shared on social media.
“That is three generations of Ralph Grasso’s who have scooped lemon ices for me,” Dolan said. “This is a memory — the grandfather smoking a cigar while he scooped or presented spumoni; the father who kept prices so low my son could always get his Italian ice after a long, hot day at Camp Saradac; and now the son (Ralph III) keeping up a precious Saratoga tradition.”
Ralph Grasso III graduated from St. Peter’s in 1976 and attended the Dance Museum reunion dinner.
“Overall, comments about the changes to Saratoga were positive,” Cerone said. “Downtown is vibrant and thriving, though some of the old stores are missed like Mr. Jacks, Glickman’s and Raymond’s.”
The reunion dinner had one especially poignant element, a Memorial Book for the 17 Saratoga High and two St. Peter’s students who have passed away since 1976.
Saratoga High 1976 Class President Candy Crocker Warren, who lives in Connecticut, was not able to attend the reunion, but shared what she’s doing now in a message to Cerone.
“I work for a division of TMBI, which used to be Reader’s Digest, as a developer of novelty children’s books for brands like Disney, Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop,” she said. “My husband and I have two grown sons and two delightful grandchildren. I teach Sunday school at my church and am also involved with our local community food pantry.”
The reunion and social media have helped classmates reconnect after many years and some have already made plans to get together.
Numerous reunion photos and names of class members can be found at the Facebook page: Saratoga Springs High School Class of 1976.