The years keep rolling by, reminding us as they go of the people who remain dearest to us. Old friendships often fall into that category. We asked our classmates about connecting with long-distance school friends in 2024 and got some nice replies.
Pamela Conn Hyde is someone who seems especially faithful to friends of long standing and two she welcomed to her home base in Florida were Barb Angell and Camille Procassini, escaping the end of a Michigan winter. The three of them met up in the quaint town of Mt. Dora with two other class members: part-time Floridian Patty Schneider Mannor and permanent resident Jim Reed.
Pamela was on the move herself and while in Texas on a family visit went over to see Pamela Purdy Stephens at her home in the Woodlands near Houston.
In June, Ohioan Mike Bradley and his son, David, met his longtime friend, Dan Kett, in Mackinaw City near the Ketts’ summer home at Mullet Lake. They drove across the Mackinac Bridge to the annual St. Ignace Car Show with its beautiful antique and classic cars. In December, they saw each other again when Mike and his wife, Lana, visited Dan and his wife, Susan, at their home in Englewood, Florida.
Scott Johnson and Sandy Jones Johnson had an unexpected chance to see Bill Merchant and his wife, Sue, over Thanksgiving. The Johnsons ended up at their daughter’s home in St. Petersburg due to changes in their travel schedule because of the hurricanes in that area. “We called Bill and Sue and on short notice got together for lunch the Monday before Thanksgiving.”
There were a lot of meet-ups in September. Evan (Garth in our school days) Black wrote that he and Rob Ideson and their wives met for dinner in Chelsea near where the Idesons live.
Sharon Ralph Gingras and her husband, Don, drove from their home in Saline to Ohio to take Cindy Burke Elder to lunch for her birthday. “It was such a special time”, Cindy said. In early April, Cheryl Meyer Sartori had stopped to see Cindy and her now late-husband, Ken Elders, on their way back to Michigan from Florida.
Seven Ann Arbor Girls from three states had a fun multi-day gathering in northern Michigan, cooking, shopping, taking walks, touring Charlevoix’s famous Mushroom Houses, and catching up. Ann Ratliff Bernard came from Colorado and Carol Martin from Ohio to join Michigan friends, some dating back to elementary school: Sally Fawcett Peet, Bobbie Goddard Lam, Nancy McArtor, Francie Smillie, and Pam Ufer Wood.
Mike Bradley had another memorable classmate connection to close out the year: he and Lana went to Columbus for Bill Kirchen’s annual Honky Tonk Holiday show. Every year Bill wraps up a long tour just in time to get home to Austin for Christmas. The show includes what Bill calls “underappreciated holiday classics such as ‘Silent Surfin' Night’, ‘Truckin' Trees for Christmas,’ and ‘Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’.”
With the 60-year reunion coming up, hopefully there will be more long-distance meet-ups right in Ann Arbor.
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