65th Birthday Party Report

by Hank Greenwald

April 8, 2010

Click collage to see a slideshow.

Our fourth gathering in seven years…Wow!

Your Reunion Committee had often talked about a party at Rock ‘N Bowl. But, the old neighborhood (and the stairs) wasn’t very appealing. After Katrina, the Rock ‘N Bowl owner, John Blancher couldn’t come to lease terms with the landlord, and eventually decided to build a new Rock ‘N Bowl on his own property. Since he also owned Ye Ole College Inn, he bought some other property on that block at Carrollton and Earhart and up went the all-new Rock ‘N Bowl.

So, one Wednesday night, Cynthia and I decided to have dinner at College Inn and then check out my cousin’s swing band, that was playing at the new Rock ‘N Bowl. Many friends had told us what a great party place it was. After dinner (chicken-fried steak sandwiches, of course), we walked across the parking lot to see what all the fuss was about. As soon as we saw the inside of the huge building, we knew we were in for some fun. The entire building’s floor was beautifully finished wood dance floor. The murals were there from the old place, a huge bar, and twenty brand new bowling lanes. Wednesday night is Swing Dance Night. My cousin’s band was excellent. And, lots of impressive swing dancing was going on. We immediately spotted Bonnie and Val Dansereau who were also checking out Rock ‘N Bowl as a place for a possible Class of ’63 gathering. The owner, John Blancher, showed us around.

At the next meeting of your wonderful Reunion Committee, Bonnie and I told everyone about Rock ‘N Bowl and how it seemed perfect for a Class of ’63 party. I think it was at that meeting that someone reminded us all that this year would be our 65th birthday….and the party was on!

As always, the planning and execution were a true team effort by your Reunion Committee. Bonnie handled everything with Rock ‘N Bowl. John Hickman again did an outstanding job as chair of the Contact Committee. And, how can we ever thank Ben Mathews? Does any high school class in the USA have a better website than ours… with an interactive database that holds all of our contact information?  Many classmates thank me…but it is your outstanding Reunion Committee that deserves the thanks. It is a group of twenty dedicated friends with amazing talents that serve you so well.

Again, many classmates came from out of town. They came from Colorado, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, and Texas. It’s interesting where our lives have taken us. The majority of us still live in the Greater New Orleans area, but large percentages live in Baton Rouge, Mississippi, Texas and Florida. Many of those who have moved from the GNO area still have family in the area and visit often. Family comes first in our lives. Our parents taught us that.
On the evening of March 20th, Dee Dee’s Welcome Committee checked in 100 at the Rock ‘N Bowl door. And the fun was just beginning. Two and a half hours to talk before the band started was perfect.

Everyone was amazed at the artistic birthday cake. There’s a story about the cake. My Cynthia (Class of ’64) had seen several cakes created by one of her “Moms” (a student’s mother) Melanie Kennedy.  I gave Melanie some ideas about traditions that are important to our Class of ’63. But I never imagined that she could incorporate the “In A Class By Itself” insignia, the fight song, and the street entrance signs onto the cake. But she did! I think it might be the most photographed birthday cake ever.

John Blancher and Rock ‘N Bowl really came through for us with the choice of the band, which is not part of the Rock ‘N Bowl package. We had simply asked John to consider that he would have a large group of 65-year-olds there, and he came up with Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles Tribute. Perfect! They were as much a stage show as a band for dancing.  They did four sets, each with the costumes representing The Beatles transformation from their early days in Liverpool, to their Mop Top first big hits, to the outlandish Sgt Pepper’s garb, to their more mature final days. Classmates danced late into the night.

Seeing you all having so much fun never gets old for me. We have started plans for our big 50th Reunion in 2013, probably in the late summer or early fall so we can take advantage of lower hotel rates. We might even have another smaller event before then.
Always keep in mind that the website is the key to attendance at future events. If your street address, phone number, or e-mail address changes, please “Update Your Info” on the website. The Reunion Committee’s biggest concern is that a classmate will be sitting at home missing an event because they didn’t know about it. Other than your visits to our website, E-mails are our first line of contact with you. Postcards are not as reliable and cost about $150 for each mailing.
Thanks to all of you classmates who came and enjoyed the 65th Birthday Party.

There’s still a lot more fun to come in the years ahead.

Fortier Forever,

Hank