by David Flint
Robert Burns, New Lebanon High School Class of 1949, had a goal some years ago – to increase the turnout for the annual Alumni Reunion Dinner to at least 200. So he began picking up the tab each year for the entire Dinner. On Saturday, July 28, with Burns playing host at the Stephentown Fire Hall for the seventh year in a row, the attendance was over 220 including about 152 graduates representing the Class of 1935 through the Class of 2007.
[private]Organizer for the Dinner, Mary Godfroy Young, Class of 1967, said that Burns had succeeded in turning the New Lebanon Reunion into “an event with dining, dancing and visiting with many people that we all look forward to.”
Godfroy announced that Bud Schell, representing the Class of 1935, was the elder of the group. Schell also paid once again to have Paul Slusar of Philmont, the “One Man Band,” provide music for the event.
The Class of 1962, celebrating their 50th anniversary, was represented by 15 graduates out of a total of about 53. The Class of 1967, with 17 graduates celebrating their 45th anniversary, had the most people present. The 60th anniversary Class, that of 1952, was not too shabby with 10 graduates attending. Maria Sime, Class of 2007, represented the most recent graduating class. David Newell and Richard Deming, Class of 1967, got the Long Distance award, having come up from Florida to attend the reunion.
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