Welcome to 0ur 50th Reunion
August 27th, 2016
The turn-out is phenomenal....Over 174 reservations were made.... Over 130 Classmates attending the reunion from 18 states in the USA and over 40 cities and towns in Minnesota and one classmate attending the reunion from Mevasseret Zion, Israel (6213 miles one way) thanks for coming out to the 50th Michael & Edna Guggenheimer.... I'd like to recognize all our Vietnam Vets this weekend.....We love you all. Also, it is an honor and privilege to see a former teacher Gary Parker Related Arts and tennis coach from NHS. Thank you so much for your patience and wisdom. Let's observe a moment of silence this reunion weekend for the 77 classmates who have left this world in the past 50 years...
They came this way but once. Yet, they touched our lives in many ways while they were here. We shall remain eternally grateful for their friendship and for the influence each bestowed upon us.
When we entered our Freshman year in Sept. of 1963, the Number 1 hit song on the music charts was "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels, in June of '66 the Number 1 hit was "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge. Fast forward 50 years to 2016 the number 1 hit is "Cheap Thrills" by Sia.
How times have changed in the world of music. On a more personal note, it's my honor to be your webmaster for the past 6 years, to be able to take you down Memory Lane for a few moments in time on the class website.... This is how it was back in 1966: a new home cost $14,200, your average parents income was $6,900 a year "maybe" and a new car cost $2,650. Do you remember Long Hair, Bell Bottoms & Mini Skirts were in. Do you remember NHS Fire Drills and can you remember our Sadie Hawkins Dance and Senior Skip Day... How times have changed.
Hats off to all of us who were born in the late 40's. We survived being born to mothers who may have smoked or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes. They put us to sleep on our tummies in dangerous baby cribs. We survived colored lead-based paints. We had no child proof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we wore baseball caps, not helmets. We rode in the car with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, and no air bags.
Riding in the back of your Dad's pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and we shared one soft drink with four friends, and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread that stuck to the roof of our mouths, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with white sugar. We didn't have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes, and there were no video games, no cable TV, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms....we had neighborhood buddies and we played outside all day, and sometimes we didn't come home until the sun went down and no one worried about where we were or what we were doing. We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits. We got spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one called child services to report abuse. We got BB guns for our birthday and made up games with sticks and tennis balls. Little League had try-outs and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. Imagine that. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of....they actually sided with the cops. We were born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbee's and the pill. There were no credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon. We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, electric typewriters, yogurt or guys wearing earrings. Pizza Hut, McDonald's and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, and soda pop were all a nickel. Our generation produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
These days we're called senior citizens, old fogies, and geezers. We walk a little slower and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were. We are the "over the hill" gang. We remember the days of telephone party lines, 25 cent gasoline, and milk being delivered to our home. We were so lucky to be raised in the 50's. The most important things you looked forward to were the Friday afternoon pep rally, the game and the after game dance. We had our own dance band that played for us. We didn't need limos, tuxedos, or expensive gowns to make those dances special. The guys spent hours washing and cleaning their cars, while the gals washed and set their own hair in brush rollers, and sat under a plastic bonnet connected to a portable hair dryer that had a hose connected to a little machine that put out enough heat to burn your neck. Our special dates included a corsage or boutonniere made of carnations, and most of us didn't even know how or where to pin them. Thank goodness your mom was home to help, and if you were lucky, the family's Brownie camera had film and a flashbulb so she could take your picture which was the only picture you had of that special time. Most of us didn't have our own car, but somehow we managed. We got our learner's permit at age 15 1/2 and could hardly wait to finish driver's training so we could get our license at 16. I can't remember my folks talking about their insurance rates going sky-high when I started driving..gosh, I wonder if they even had insurance. We were really lucky to live in Minneapolis in the 60's. We were guaranteed a summer job back in the 60's and you could make enough money to buy school clothes for the next year. Some of us had after school jobs at the corner gas station, Helen's Cafe, Merwin Drug or local coffee shop. Somehow we managed school, work, sports, and extra-curricular activities. Some of us still walked to high school. We saw nothing wrong with that, unless your friend had a car or could borrow one. We went to the library to study after school and research special reports using the Encyclopedia Britannica. Life was simple, but so much fun. School lunch was 35 cents or you could eat in the a la carte line where you could get a big scoop of mashed potatoes with hamburger gravy, a lettuce salad with thousand island dressing, and a fresh bakery dinner roll. For dessert, there was raised glazed donuts and maple bars or an orange juice or lemonade. If you were brave enough to eat at the High School. Do you remember Sputnik bubble gum? It was a bright blue gum ball rolled in sparkling sugar. I guess we thought we were chewing something special from outer space.
Those who could walk fast, and eat even faster, could go home to eat, or eat at The Clock or Woolworth's lunch counter. The girls wore dresses, or skirts and blouses and the guys had to wear shirts, no t-shirts. We actually looked decent and would never have considered wearing anything that was cut low or too short. In my Senior year I had perfect attendance. I can't tell you how often I dragged myself to school, sick as a dog, so I could have perfect attendance. We all knew the words to the "Star Spangled Banner", "America" and "America the Beautiful" by heart. My English teacher, Mr. Johnson, even had me write the Star Spangled Banner. It was hard to sing that song silently in your head. No one got that assignment correct. North High School was a school we were proud of. We had great teachers and mentors. We were in good hands at North High School and our life successes began there. Those who served in the US Military in Vietnam from the class of '66, let's give them a big hand this weekend • Anyone at this reunion who has all their natural teeth and who weighs the same as they did in high school I'll give you a big hand this weekend • Anyone attending a class reunion for the first time thanks for coming out • Anyone who married their high school sweetheart thanks for coming out to the 50th reunion • And anyone who should have married their high school sweetheart thanks for coming out • The reunion committee worked really hard on this reunion. Thanks for all the hard work, Terry & Penny Tompkins, Davidene Walensky-Weinberg, Kathy Pemberton-Heikke, Carol Pagel-Haider, David Haider, Mary Rivers-Smith, Ron Hunter, Susan Wehr, Linda Ruggles, Pennie Schmitzer-Shapiro, William "Billy" Binder & Ron Jones. Thank You for the great reunion..... And thanks for bringing the class of '66 back to a happier time with all the displays, memory boards and table decorations. The Committee has been working on this event since 2014. I'd like to extend a special thanks to Terry Tompkins & Carol Pagel-Haider for all the hard work over the last two years. And to all my classmates, who were unable to attend, maybe I'll see you at the next reunion, God Willing... Please check out the class of '66 web site.You can link the site at: www.nhs66.com and enjoy all the postings. All of the 50th reunion photos will be on the site soon for those unable to attend... And thanks to all who signed up on the Class Facebook page.
It's My Honor to be Your Webmaster,
Floyd Ruggles
What Makes North High School Great!
"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today"
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