For the class of 1960, the year 2020 would be a ‘banner year.’ And then, well, you know.
What once sounded like an unbelievable year, 2020, for the 1960 graduating class of Gary Emerson High School eventually offered hopes of becoming a “banner year.” And then, well, you know.
In the blink of 60 years, the surviving grads from that class went from high school seniors to senior citizens. They had been eyeing 2020 as a landmark milestone in their lives, six full decades after receiving their diplomas and embarking on their dreams.
“We all remember walking down Broadway, grabbing a show at the Palace, perhaps buying a sweater in Gordon’s, and just having a great time in the peaceful city center,” said Bill Gerhardt, a member of the reunion committee from that historic class. “Gary was well on its way to becoming the envy of other towns in the country struggling to grab a piece of the post-war market.”
Gerhardt grew up in Gary, spent time in the Marine Corps, lived for 15 years in Chesterton, and then relocated to Illinois 30 years ago. He now resides in Lake Barrington, Illinois.
Along with most of his fellow Emerson grads, he eventually grabbed a piece of the American dream.
In January of this year, when COVID-19 was a rumor and the word “pandemic” was a history lesson from 1918, Gerhardt emailed me. He asked if I would speak at his class’s 60-year reunion on Oct. 10 at Innsbruck Country Club in Merrillville.
“A luncheon with a group of about 80 ‘wild and crazy’ alum,” Gerhardt wrote.
“Sure thing,” I replied. At that point, October seemed a world away from January. This typical reaction from me about future plans turned out to be true this year. January now feels like a history lesson in casual normalcy.
“Jerry, we have a meeting in April and should be able to firm up some issues,” Gerhardt wrote.
His reunion committee, including Rosemary Arreola Fanning, Diana Duncan Silvasi, Mike Popa and Jim Terry, continued its long-anticipated plans. This included featuring a “reminiscing speaker” to share memories of the good ol’ days, invited to wear either “peggers or a puddle skirt” to the event.
It sounded like a lovely reunion.
In May, Gerhardt sent me an email update: “The committee remains overly optimistic that the virus has met its match and returning to normal is in our very near future.”
And then, well, you know.
Like countless other scheduled plans for this year, their reunion had to be postponed until May.
“Honestly, I worry about losing other classmates before May,” Diana Silvasi, of Portage, told me.
Their class, which once upon a time had nearly 200 grads, has since lost 57 of them.
“That we know of,” Silvasi said.
Their reunion committee initially planned for 60 guests, including spouses. By the time COVID-19 hit, that number hovered closer to 30.
“We have since heard from some out of towners who are planning on trying to make it,” Silvasi said. “We have actually heard from more people since COVID, which is interesting. I just pray we all make it until May. I know that’s kind of a downer but it’s something you think about at our age. Those of us who are healthy are truly blessed.”
Maybe their attitude touches on a hidden blessing about this lingering pandemic. It has prompted us to place a higher premium on the value of time – with loved ones, with dear friends, with former classmates who still mean so much to us.
I realized this last Friday while attending an informal luncheon with a handful of the reunion committee members. They met at Teibel’s Family Restaurant in Schererville and invited me to join them. They hadn’t all been together for months after being self-quarantined and dutifully respectful of social distancing mandates.
“We have only seen each other on Zoom since March,” Silvasi said.
She is likely one of the few Emerson grads from that class who wasn’t born and raised in Gary. She was born in England, arriving in this country in 1955.
“I had a British accent until I attended Emerson,” she joked.
At Emerson, a K-12 school at that time, Silvasi went straight into 8th grade.
“I was 11 and if I had stayed in England I would have gone into high school. They have less grade school over there,” she explained. “Needless to say, I was the youngest in my graduating class. I was 16! They call me the baby of the class.”
At Teibel’s, it was fun watching the old classmates interact with each other. Their personalities likely haven’t changed too dramatically over the course of 60 years. If I looked them in the eye, I caught a glimpse of the teenage graduate still inside, only now framed by wrinkles, gray hair and health concerns.
“These days, our schedule is based around doctor’s appointments,” one of them joked.
They laughed like carefree kids. At one point, they pulled out their cellphones like kids, too.
“Are you on Facebook? I’ll send you an invite to our group,” one of the grads, Jim Terry, asked me.
“On Facebook? I think I’m addicted to it,” I joked.
He later sent me an invite, I accepted it, and later that night I enjoyed the group’s old photos and new updates. I noticed one black-and-white photo of Terry with a group of his former male classmates. It was taken in June 1960, on graduation night.
They dressed dapper. They had a swagger. Their hair was perfect.
I zoomed onto their faces. Hopeful. Confident. Eager. All captured in the momentary flash of someone’s camera.
The year 2020 must have seemed so distant, so futuristic, so… unbelievable.
And then, well, you know.