Nancy Schroeder

Holly you wrote such a wonderful post and I totally agree with you. Also it was funny about the spouses tale. I don't know if you remember a old reunion my late husband Bill asked you to dance because he loved the way you moved on the dance floor. He then looked for you at the next reunion and you weren't there. I thought you would get a chuckle out of that. Look so forward to seeing everyone. 

In regard to some of the bad things that happened when we were in school, I feel that noone seems to care. Rermember when you had to be in a certain group or on a certain team. None of that maters anymore. We have all gone thru ups and downs and we have survived. This web site was such a wonderful idea as is the reunion.  Thanks to all that took the time to put it together and to let us get to know some long lost friends that we had lost. I can't wait to see everyone and hopefully recognize them.

Travel safe and see you very soon

Joan Hirshman

I've enjoyed this site so much, even though I haven't posted much. Thank you to everyone involved in creating such a terrific way to connect with each other! I'm looking forward to seeing so many of you and sharing memories and hugs!  

Ruth Gross

Let's face it, the class of '64 is a class unto itself!  We rocked then, and we rock (no pun intended) now.

Mark Goldman

As I was heading out this morning to play golf with my son, and after reading all the comments about the death of Roy Gutman, I couldn't help but think how lucky I am and how precious our lives are.. Any one of us could have had an early demise like Roy, but for the grace of God here we all are. We should live our lives to their fullest since we never know when our time on this earth will be up.

Fred Brostoff

Preston,

My wife wants to have a long discussion with yours and join the support group.  The only thing that's saving me is that her Niles East 50th Reunion is the week after ours...and she's on her reunion committee...so I've had the chance to be her supporting spouse.

Preston Cook

Fred,

Well...this complicates things, with both of you playing duel rolls.  Maybe the double reunions cancels you two out for intervention!  I need to talk to my wife.  She is playing it safe, sending me alone for Friday and showing up for Saturday dinner.

Terry Levine (Rose)

Too funny, Preston!  I love it.  Holly, I remember you being in my third or fourth grade class at Oakton....yes, this has brought up a lot of memories for me, too.

Donna Salamon (Bree)

Fred, love the count-down on the home page.... as of right now, it is 10 days, 22 hours, and some odd minutes and seconds.  Guess I need to go pack!  Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Dale Madson

Me,I'm still on the fence, as I was gone for my freshman year and back for my sophmore and half of my junior then gone again I'm thinking with whom do I speak. Then my wife (southern bell) says she's out and.... Then my daughter says she'll go and i'm wondering what a twenty someting is going to do... I have, however, enjoyed reading about those I can still remember and their misspent youth.

Dear Ruth (Gross),

Rock on gal, i'm a little further south of you these days.

Dale C.

Vernon Neece (Neece)

In addition to our 50th ETHS reunion the weekend on 12-13 Sep, the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion Association (the unit I served with in Viet Nam) is having their annual gathering in Indianapolis that same weekend.  So, I will be in Indianapolis on Friday and Evanston on Saturday.  Even though my wife blames her work for having to stay home,  I think wife is secretly sort of glad not to be accompanying me.  A bonus for me is I get to celebrate my younger sister's (Becky) birthday with her on 15 Sep.

Susan Chausow (Southam)

One more person needs to attend on Friday so there will be 200!!!  C'mon Wildkits, there's still time!

Wendy (Wynn) Garber

Mike, 

I really appreciate your honesty. I, too, feel some ambivalence about the reunion, especially going on the tour of ETHS. Those hallowed halls do not hold a wellspring of happy memories for me. A smaller high school with fewer social pressures would have suited me a lot better. But joining the website has made a big difference in the way I feel about the reunion. Reading the comments, stories and tributes to classmates who are no longer with us has been, in turn, funny, engaging, poignant and deeply moving. And it has given me the chance to connect with old friends and discover new connections with classmates I hardly knew or never knew before. Joining the website has been fun and compelling. It has brought me into the present moment and given me a deep appreciation of our class as a whole. My deepest thanks to Fred and to all those who have made this reunion--both virtual and real--possible.

Linda Hayward (Niedermeier)

Wendy, it's interesting about your comments of a smaller school.  My kids grew up in Macomb, IL and each had classes of about 180.  They too had challenges which I always blamed on smaller schools.  At least at Evanston, we had the smaller home rooms and our classes were of average size.  I'm looking forward to this but have had my own battles of coming alone.  My husband died 9 years ago.  He was at the last reunion.  So I actually have another friend of mine another widow) who's never been to Chicago and we're flying in this coming Sunday.  We'll spend a few days downtown Chicago before going up to Evanston.  She's from a very small town and is looking forward to seeing such a large school like what we had.  I guess the bottom line is that wherever we went we had challenges.  My ETHS memories are good ones and I look forward to going.   I hope to see you there.

Susan Holsten (Blumer)

What great comments from everyone. I think this will be the best reunion ever! Fred has done such an awesome job. Fred,we all applaud you for your countless hours, dedication,and genius talent of coordination of keeping the site up and running. Looking so forward to connecting with everyone. A really big highlight of 2014 is anout to begin 10 days from now. Our paths are leading once again to ETHS and Evanston. See you there!!!!

Rosanne Bass (Keynan)

I love Preston's "support group" post.

Rosanne Bass (Keynan)

Wynn/Wendy -- I, too, have been touched by the forthright and poignant remarks written by our classmates. So many people I didn't know well have become seasoned teachers, artists, scientists, peace corps volunteers, world travelers. And so many served in the military (though no one whose profile I read has elaborated on that). I am also struck by the empathetic and kind interchanges online which might have been the tenor of dialogue during our high school years. We turned out to be an interesting crop of individuals, products of our time and, for better or worse, of our years at ETHS. I know that my year in AP English class with Mrs. (Barbara) Panwitt had a huge impact on me, shaping ability to think critically and sparking my fascination with literary exegesis (a blessing and a curse). And, of course, I'll never forget the day she walked into the classroom as we were finishing up an essay test and announced, "The President has been shot." It's late and I'm rambling. 'Nuff said for now.

Perry Fisher

Even though I am not going to the reunion I have been enjoying all the pics and comments from our classmates. Unfortunately our family will be getting together in Myrtle Beach on the same weekend. My brother and I, who are avid Bears fans, will be going to the Dec. 4th game against the Cowboys and that will be the first time I've been back to the area for years. Special thanks to Tom Starck for getting me in touch with our shipmates on the USS CONSERVER from our Viet Nam days.

Vernon Neece (Neece)

Noting Roseanne's comments above is there any interest in setting up a forum for classmates who served in the military to share/dicsuss their experiences?

Preston Cook

Vernon, Thanks for bringing up the idea of a Vietnam era forum on this site.   It's a great idea. Many of us who served would likely use it to share experiences.  The 1950's and 1960's were not good times for veterans, as they received little recognition or credit for their service to our country due to the unpopularity of Korea and Vietnam.  People still mix up supporting troops versus supporting war.  We should always support the troops, no matter how we feel about war. Eighty-one graduates of 399 who have  created a profile on this site state they served in the military, equalling about 20%.  I suggest you contact Fred Brostoff to determine the feasibility in establishing such a category.  As a vet and reunion committee member, I am in full suppoort.  See you soon, we can share some stories.  Preston

Marty Campbell

Vernon, Preston, Fred, classmates.  i wonder if such a Viet Nam era forum could include those of us who served our country intentionally and conscientiously outside of the Military as well.  including many women's hearts.  there has been a little introduction to each other and discussion of this amongst these those of us spawned entirely out of this here precious website of ours.  different stories, but i suggest all of our class were deeply there, in one brave way or another.

Mike Barnes

Vernon,

I'd also love to see a Vets page.  Vets in our era were highly disdained.  Not welcomed back home, like the Veterans of today.  I contributed with the USAF in Europe, helping to establish the Incirlik AF base in Turkey, that today supports the whole Mideast.  This was just after we had to close up house, and move everything out of Libya, when Khadafi took power.  The base I was headquartered at in England is also the one that flew the missions going after Khadafi, in the 70's.

Betty Gardner (Destowet)

I had planned to attend this year's reunion but unfortunately circumstances beyond my control prevent me from doing so.  There were several of us that grew up in the same vicinity and I had wanted to reconnect with those individuals and other classmates that I met while at ETHS.  I'm sure a great time will be had by all; just sorry I had to miss this reunion.  

Rosanne Bass (Keynan)

A Veterans' Forum would be a very important addition to our website. As I wrote to Vernon, I was surprised to see how little our Vets wrote about their experiences. The Vietnam War was a HUGE factor in all of our lives, een the women's. I believe that despite different opinions that each of us may have held during the Sixties, and perhaps still hold, we are capable now of conducting a civil and respectful dialogue.

Rosanne Bass (Keynan)

P.S. Now I have read the previous postings, and I heartily endorse including posts from those who did alternative service, moved to Canada or elsewhere, etc.

Richard Winokur

The Vietnam War was a HUGE factor in all of our lives, as Vernon had stated. Regardless whether we were in the service or not, it had a major influence on all of us. I agree it should be included. I lost many friends in that conflict.