Entering My 60th Class Reunion

More videos and photos of my 60th high school class reunion which was held in Downingtown, Pennsylvania on June 8th, 2019 at St. Anthony's Lodge.

Pat (my Canadian Travel Buddy) took this video thus the portrait mode of the camera (I wish he would use the landscape mode but he's more comfortable using the portrait mode).  I am glad he took it upon himself to take the video though.  For once I have video of goofy me instead of me always taking the videos and photos. 




I'm always surprised at how weird I look in videos. It was appropriate that I was wearing my custom made Spo shirt of giraffes because, with my arthritic neck and back, I looked like a giraffe entering the room.  However, to be fair I think most of us aren't pleased with how we look in videos or photos, especially as we age.

I let my beard go au natural and I have to say I didn't like it.  My beard turned white during my 35th class reunion, I've been coloring it with Just For Men ever since, of and on.  Prior to this reunion I decided that I would stop coloring it.  Big mistake.  I look so OLD.  Well folks, I actually am OLD but I don't have to encourage it.  I'm back to coloring my beard.  

I really enjoyed attending my reunion.





I've attended many of my class reunions over the years.  However, I fear this will probably be the last formal class reunion because so many of us are dying off.  We had one hundred and fourteen members of our high school class.  I think the most who ever attended our reunions was maybe fifty, not counting spouses. 

I took portrait photos of each individual classmate but I forgot to take one of myself!  I'll see what I can manage by freeze framing one of the videos where my mug is prominently displayed. I'm not sure though what with my white beard and tired eyes. I guess there is no hiding the fact that I am approaching my eightieth decade.  

As with past reunions, I felt I didn't have enough time to talk to everyone as much as I wanted to. We did have some free time to mingle but much of the time was taken up by a talk from former Eagle's coach Dick Vermeil who is a friend of one of my former classmates.  He talked about growing up in the Forties and Fifties as most of us at the reunion could identify with.  His funniest line was talking about his father and how strict his father was.  He said he didn't know until he was nine years old that he name wasn't "dumb bastard."  Ah, this were the days.  I remember one Thanksgiving dinner when my father paused between stuffing slabs of turkey in his mouth to look around the table at me and my two younger brothers and proclaim "I have the dumbest bunch of kids."  Gee, thanks Pop!  Yep, those were the days which Dick Vermeil reminded us of.  

Downingtown High School Class of 1959 35th Class Reunion

November 26th, 1994 I drug my huge VHS, shoulder balanced tape recorder to my 35th class reunion and recorded this hour and a half (approximate) tape. 

Now here is a test for my longtime blog followers, are you willing to sit through an hour and a half of a video watching people you don't know? Unfortunately, you don't see much of me because I'm the one video taping the festivities.  You do see me long distance for the Chicken Dance and the skit with the monster masks sitting on the balloons (yes, we really did do something that silly).  I'm the one in the silver sequined top hat.
  

(from left to right) Patty Daller Beaton, Ron Beaton (decd), Jane More Hersehy (decd), Bob Hershey
(back row left to right) Jean Timmerman Swisher, me (Ron Tipton in top hat), Pat West Ensor
November 26, 1994

Which by the way I'm trying to get one for our 60th class reunion which will be held next year at St. Anthony's Italian Social Club in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. the site of our original graduation party in June of 1959.  Back in those pre digital times all I took was a roll of black and white film of which I am in none of the pictures.  I didn't think to ask anyone to take pictures of me back then, I was Humble Ron back then. It was all I could do in my shyness to take pictures of my fellow classmates. 

Me with my custom made class reunion tie - very cool!

Watching this video of my 35th class reunion brings back many fond memories because at least a third of my former classmates in this video have passed on.  But, I'm still here and ready and raring to take another video of my 60th class reunion next June.  Pat will be with me and I'll ask him to take video with me in them. Now to get that fabulous sequined top hat, which I'm having trouble finding even on Amazon.com.  All they have are the cheap Made in China hats.  

Me, the video photographer November 26, 1994

Enjoy the video folks!

Class Reunion Movie!

Good morning folks!  

I'm posting again so soon after yesterday's post of the Monster in the White House.  I don't want to let that face looking at my blog followers for more than a day.

Today I'm posting the first iMovie that I made of one of my class reunions. I have hundreds of photos and videos that I have to put in this format and post before I make my Grand Exit.  

The photos in this video were taken June 22, 2002 at my classmate Dave Fidler's farm in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Dave and his family adopted the Mennonite way many years ago.  

I graduated from Downingtown High School in 1959. We have class reunions every year.  In the odd years we have informal class reunions at a classmate's home or local restaurant. On the five year increments (10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, etc) we have a formal class reunion at a country club or some such other posh and formal location.

This particular class reunion was special because our classmate Steve Pope, to whom this video is dedicated. 

Steve had never attended any of our previous reunions.  I'm often on the reunion committee and one of my goals prior to our reunions was trying to look up former class members who had lost touch with our class. When I found Steve he said "I've been looking for someone from my class." Steve told me he had diagnosed with brain cancer (he had already lost an eye) and didn't have long to live and wanted to see his former classmates one more time. 

Steve was a very popular member of our class so this was a perfect alignment of the planets him looking for us and me finding him.  Steve had quite a history after he left school. Even though he was one of the brainiest members of our class (Student Council, Academic course) he had a very interesting work history. For a time he was a cabdriver in Chicago. During the Vietnam war he was in the Coast Guard and commanded a boat in the waters off of Viet Nam. After the war he was a Buddhist monk for a while. He told me he had purchased a hut in Bali Hai which he still owned. Steve is a perfect example of why I find my class reunions so enjoyable. 

A few months after our reunion was held, Steve died peacefully with his wife by his side.  His wife told me that Steve died exactly as he wished. He was sitting up in his bed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She said both of his hands were resting on his legs. He slowly closed his eyes and left us.

When Steve first told me he had terminal cancer and not long to live I replied to him "I don't know what to say."  Steve told me "Oh, I'm alright with this. I've always wanted to know what was on the other side."  Now that I am approaching my dwindling days on this earthly plane, I too am wondering what is on the other side. Know what? I don't think there is anything but if there is, wouldn't that be wonderful? Maybe I'll have another reunion with Steve.

Steve Pope
1941 - 2002

Class Reunion

Once upon a time there were about one hundred young people who lived in the small Pennsylvania town called Downingtown.  The year was 1959.  These kids were the last class of the Fifties.

They graduated June 2, 1959 on a grassy high school football field behind their school.  They were full of hope and aspiration for what the future would hold.

Fast forward fifty-three years.  These "kids" were now in their early 70's.  Perhaps old of body but still young of mind as they gathered together at the Chicago Bar and Grill restaurant in Lionville, Pennsylvania for their 53rd class reunion.

This is a iMovie that I made of that gathering of those former classmates.  All of the photos were taken by my blogger buddy Mark H. of "Our Simple Lives......"  One photo was taken by me which in included because Mark the photographer is in the photo.  See if you can spot him.

Thank you Mark and thank you fellow classmates for making our reunion such a wonderful occasion.

See you all next year!

Ronald W. Tipton, DHS Graduate 1959

Weekly Roundup

Another busy week folks!

Sunday I traveled to Lionville, Pennsylvania for my 53rd high school class reunion which was held at the Chicago Bar and Grill.  I'm one of those class members who likes to go to the class reunions.  Actually, I only like to go to my high school class reunion because I know everybody.   I don't go to my college class reunion because I wouldn't know a soul there.  I went to night school at Peirce College in Philadelphia on the G.I. Bill for three nights a week for four years.  My fellow class members were just a blur to me.  But my former high school class members, we're all friends and keep in touch over the years.

The Downingtown High School Class of 1959 - 53 years later Sept. 23, 2012

This year I asked my friend and fellow blogger Mark of "Our Simple Lives" to take photos for me.  I asked him at the last minute almost.  Fortunately Mark obliged and took some great photos which I am now sharing with my classmates and will post on future blogs.

Jean Timmerman and Ron Tipton - I always sat behind Jean in class back in those alphabetical class seating days.  

Notice that we're color coordinated.  No, we didn't call each other the night before the reunion to check.

Jean - 1959 graduation photo

Ron - 1959 graduation photo

I really enjoyed seeing all of my OLD classmates and am looking forward to next year's reunion.

Monday morning I had an early dental appointment (7:30 am).  I got my teeth (and partial dentures) cleaned and came out clean without any new cavities.  There's no room left for cavities in my mouth!

Wednesday I had the big stress test.  THAT took about three hours.  I don't want to go through another one of those anytime soon.  They don't call it a STRESS TEST for nothing.  My electrocardiogram indicates an extra "blip", that is why I've been undergoing a series of heart test the past few weeks.  While I was on the treadmill the doctor said the "blip" disappeared.  However I am still getting those little whiffs of highs (lightheadedness) all day long. I think that has something to do with the "blips."  We'll see, my appointment with my cardiologist is next week and he will go over the findings with me. Funs time folks!.  Maybe this old body is slowing down.  Do you think?

I'm working Mondays and Tuesdays at the hotel.  My new days work out fine.  I feel like I have a longer week by having the rest of the week off.  Previously I worked Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I felt like I had a shortened week.  These days work better for me too because all my appointments and other activities seem to occur later in the week.  The only downside to my new days is that I don't make as many reservations because the beginning of the week is usually considered the slow time in the hotel business.

Bill and I had a little issue with the car.  He can't help himself, he's an inveterate backseat driver.  We now have a New Rule.  Whenever we go someplace together, he will drive.  We were hoping to buy our friend's car but that doesn't look like that's going to happen in our lifetime.  This is the friend who has dementia and his partner can't make a decision.  The hubcaps on his car already has spider webs.  I guess then mold appears on the car they'll be ready to sell.  It's just as well.  We don't have room to store another car anyway.

Downingtown High School - many fond memories

Bonnie

Time: October 1953

Place: East Ward Elementary School, Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Event: Appointment hall monitor

Bonnie, fifth back, third row with white sash

My sixth grade classmate Bonnie and I are appointed hall monitors. We are each given a white canvas belt to wear that indicates we are hall monitors. The white canvas belts are a status symbol because it indicates that, along with the other hall monitors, we are above average in our grades and attendance and thus given this honor. Both of us are thrilled to be honored in such a way. Coincidentally Bonnie is seated directly in front of me in our sixth grade class. Ironically, on the day this sixth grade class picture was taken I was absent (my classmate the little Bill B. sat in my seat instead.) Back in the “good old days”, the Fifties we were seated in class alphabetically and according to height. I understand this practice has been discontinued because it stigmatizes some of the kids.





Time: October 1957

Place: Downingtown High School, Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Event: Soph Hop Dance



I ask Bonnie to go to the Soph Hop with me. A popular song at the time was “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation” by Marty Robbins. It is my first formal date. I rented a white sport coat and bought a pink carnation ($5.00 at the local florist) and I am excited because I wanted to be one of the cool guys (adolescent peer pressure.) I expected to borrow my father’s car to pick up Bonnie and arrive at the Soph Hop the Cool Dude and impress my classmates. Alas, it was not to be. Even though I had just gotten my driver’s license he refused to loan be his car. Instead he drove us to the Soph Hop. I was mortified. That’s all I remember about the Soph Hop. I don’t even remember dancing. I’m glad Bonnie was my date though. I felt comfortable with Bonnie. No pressure from either one of us.

Time: November 1994

Place: Italian Social Club, West Chester, Pennsylvania

Event: 35th Class Reunion of DHS Class of 1959



I’m sitting at the reception desk passing out name tags with my classmate Patsisue when a buxom woman approaches me. I look at her trying to identify her. She says “Hi Ronnie!” Note: I am known as “Ronnie” by most people in my previous life. When I graduated from high school and joined the Army I identified myself as “Ron.” Now whenever anyone calls my name if it is “Ronnie”, it is from my Previous Life and “Ron” is from ATA (after the Army.)

I look at the woman, trying to identify her. She smiles and says “You don’t know who I am do you Ronnie?” I have to admit, no I don’t. I am embarrassed. Actually, I am mortified again. She says “I’m Bonnie!” I look, and look and yet I still don’t see the “Bonnie” that I knew that I took to the Soph Hop. By the way, that was the last date I took Bonnie on, not that I didn’t like Bonnie but we went our different ways during high school for reasons that will be explained later. Rather than prolong this embarrassment I concede and say “Ah yes, Bonnie!” and I give to her a name sticker. I still didn't recognize her but I'm taking her word for it.




Later on, as the reunion was winding down (I was busy taking videos), I took Bonnie aside and we talked. I told Bonnie I was gay and reminded her of our “date” for the Soph Hop. I thanked her for not “jumping me” on our date (joking of course.) She said that would not have happened because she is gay too! To be truthful wasn’t surprised with this news. During school Bonnie was the typical girl’s hockey player and she was always the tomboy. Bonnie did express surprise that I was gay. She said she would never have guessed. I told her I was gay back then during our Soph Hop days but I thought I was the only one in the world.

We ended the night after having a long and enjoyable and funny reminiscing about our lives since then. There were some surprising revelations (which teachers we had a crush on) from both of us that I will not talk about here because some of our former classmates will read this blog. Needless to say that if we knew then what we knew now, our high school lives would have been dramatically different. Maybe it is just as well we were all dumb and stupid back in the Fifties.





Time: October 2009

Place: Whitford County Club, Whitford, Pennsylvania

Event: 50th Class Reunion of DHS Class of 1959



I meet up with Bonnie again. She seemed tired. I was busy again recording the class reunion, this time by taking several hundred digital pictures. I didn’t have much of an opportunity to spend alone with Bonnie. We talked for a little while and Bonnie posed for a picture with me but time was flying by and I wanted to get as many pictures as possible before everyone left. Before I knew it the night had come to an end and Bonnie was gone. I made a mental note to call her when she got home to Michigan. A few weeks later I called but got the message her phone was disconnected. I tried to send an e-mail but received no response. I never followed up on trying to contact her.

Time: March 17, 2010

Place: Detroit, Michigan

Event: Bonnie passes away



I received an e-mail on this date from another classmate that Bonnie had died. I am shocked. Bonnie is one of those people who you think will always be around.

I always felt a special connection with Bonnie not only because of our shared sexual identity but because we were very compatible as friends.



Now she was gone. Just like that. I called her younger brother this morning to get the details. He told me that Bonnie died in her sleep at 3 am in the morning of March 17th from an apparent cardiac arrest.



I am very saddened by her death. I liked Bonnie a lot. Although we were not in touch that much over the years (we did have one two hour phone conversation after the 35th class reunion), I feel like another part of me has died.



In the past few years I have lost more friends, former co-workers and relatives that I have in all my previous years of my life. I feel like life is musical chairs. When the music stops, who is next?



I will always have fond memories of our special friendship and I will never forget those innocent times of the Fifties when life was so much simpler and a small event like being award hall monitor status was a huge thrill. I will also never forget that date to the Soph Hop with me in my rented white sport coat and pink carnation and you in your many layered white crinoline dress. I was so proud of you. We did make a stunning couple when we entered the high school gymnasium even though we were chauffeured by Pop. Looking back on it now I don’t think anyone even noticed.

You may be gone Bonnie but your memory will live on. Rest in peace my dear Bonnie.

Ruminations About the Class Reunion

Well, here it is a week later already and my 50th class reunion is now history. This time last week, my neighbors and friends Jack and Judy (Judy being a former classmate) and I were barreling our way up Rt. 1 and I-95 to Pennsylvania in Jack's Lexus. Last weekend a Nor'easter hit the east coast and I was reluctant to drive in that wind and rain. I posted a Facebook comment to that effect. Judy saw it and offered me a ride up with them. Of course I accepted immediately. I am so thankful to have such wonderful and gracious friends as Jack and Judy. This is just another reason why I love living in Delaware.

Arriving in Pennsylvania, we decided it was best that I stay where Jack and Judy were staying, with another one of our former classmates whose name is also Judy. I'm telling you, I'm blessed to have such friends.

I'll jump right to the reunion. I'm one of these people who have absolutely no reluctance about going to my class reunions. I think all of my friends (other than some of my former classmates) have never gone to any of their reunions. They all give the same reason. Each one of them has had some bad experience while they were in high school and they don't want top revisit that time. This is something I don't understand. Who hasn't had a bad experience in high school? I certainly had my share of experiences that I wish had not happened. But that is all in the past. I guess we're all different. I try not to let the past dictate how I act in the present. But that's just me. There is a lot I "don't get." I don't lose much sleep over it though. In fact, I don't lose ANY sleep over past wrongs.



Our class had 114 graduating members. We also invited to our reunion former classmates who spent most of their school years with us but didn't graduate from our high school because they had moved to another school district.

Of the 114 graduating members of our class there are 20 that we know have died. There are 12 that are missing. 40 class members and 3 non graduating class members attended the reunion, most with their spouses or Significant Others. My Significant Other (aka Bill Kelly) chose not to attend.....again.



All of the class members had a wonderful time! This was the best class reunion I've ever attended.

The class reunions in the past that I've attended were:



20th Class Reunion held at St. Anthony’s Lodge in Downingtown, Pennsylvania



This reunion was a blur to me because it was so crowded and noisy (with the guest DJ), that I only had a chance to talk to the classmates who sat next to me at the dining table.



25th Class reunion held at the Waynebrook Inn in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania



Again, this was another very noisy class reunion that I had to shout to talk to anyone. The DJ was painfully loud. What was with that anyway?



35th Class Reunion held at the Italian Social Club in West Chester, Pennsylvania



This was a fun class reunion. The room was big and we had time to walk around and become acquainted with our former classmates. We also had a DJ but he didn't dominate the proceedings like the previous two class reunions.



40th Class Reunion held at the Downingtown Country Club in Downingtown, Pennsylvania



This was an "Okay" class reunion. I personally felt too much time was spent by the organizers thanking one another and giving out prizes. I wasn't sure whether I was at the one of those self aggrandizing awards ceremonies that the Hollywood stars give each other or a class reunion. We had some time to mingle with our former classmates but way too much time was spent giving out those prizes (like "best buns." Again, what was that all about?)



45th Class Reunion held at the Sheraton Hotel in Frazer, Pennsylvania



Up until the class reunion last week, this is the reunion I liked the most. The accommodations were great (I stayed overnight at the hotel in very comfortable room and bed) and we had plenty of time to wander around the room and reacquaint ourselves with our former classmates. In fact, I don't remember any "prizes" being handed out at all (thank goodness.)



50th Class Reunion held at the Whitford Country Club in Exton, Pennsylvania.



This reunion was the best! We had classmates come from great distances to be reunited with former classmates that they had not seen in fifty years. There was Jane and Marlene from Florida. Fred came in from Illinois. Ted came in from Oregon. Kathy came in from Las Vegas, Nevada. Don and Jeanne came in from upper New York State. Duer and Nanci came in from Tennessee. John came up from Virginia. And Bonnie, my first date (Soph Hop 1956) came in from Detroit, Michigan. The rest of the classmates came from the Downingtown area or nearby states (like Jack, Judy and me, 2 1/2 hours away in lower Delaware.)



We had music at this reunion but it was a juke box that didn't dominate the premises. We had some classmates speak from the podium. Duer gave the invocation. Denny said a few words about the growth of the Downingtown School District since we graduated (not surprisingly it has grown greatly.)



Frank, our former class president same something but I don't remember what he said. Not much has changed since our high school days because I never remember what he said then either. Sorry Frank, no disrespect but you would have made a great politician. The lips move, sound comes out but after you're done talking, I don't know what you said. That's all right Frank, we all love you anyway.


Then it came time for Patty. If you're not of our class, it's hard to explain Patty. Let me try to explain. Patty is our "entertainer." No one cannot help but be amused when Patty "does her thing." Patty is the one who in the past has passed out the "awards." When I saw Patty tippy toe to the podium I thought, "Oh no, here come the awards." All I could think of was "Please Patty, not more 'Best Buns' awards. Al got it the last time, he doesn't need to get it again. We get it. " Thank goodness she wasn't giving out those joke awards. However, she was giving out gold stars. Her goal was to give everyone a gold star. The gold star was sort of like an award. Old habits are hard to break but this seemed harmless.

Then Carole, the organizer of the reunion, came to the microphone. She had a wonderful idea. Pass the microphone around and let everyone has their say. Oh joy. Exactly what I did not want to do. That damn microphone. Even though the reunion committee rented it, doesn't mean it has to be used. But Carole was not to be deterred. She handed the microphone off to John up from Virginia Beach. John spoke awhile about what he's been doing the past fifty years until Carole said "That's enough!" and took the mike back (in the kindest way possible of course.) I think even Carole realized that if everyone was going to get up and speak about what they did the past fifty years, we were going to be at the country club way past our closing time of 11 PM.



Carole then passed the mike around the floor to those class members who don't usually attend the reunion. It was interesting hearing them but I think a lot of us really didn't want the mike thrust into our face. I know I didn't. I know my friend Bill didn't. Hey, I came to the reunion to reacquaint myself with my former class members, not to do the Academy Award thing of thanking every one from my kindergarten teacher to my agent. But then, that's just me. What can I tell you?



After the Passing Around of the Microphone, came time to mingle with the classmates again. We did that until about 11:30 at which time some of the class members started to head to the coat roams to get their weather gear to venture out into the Nor'easter rains whipping around outside the country club. All too soon another class renion was coming to an end.

This is probably our last formal class reunion. We're at an age now that more of us won't be around for the 55th class reunion. And also, the "55th Class Reunion" doesn't have quite the ring of a 25th, 35th, 40th, 45th or 50th does it? No, I think what we're going to do as far as class reunions in the future is to have informal annual class reunions. We have done this in the past. Usually it is a picnic at a classmate's backyard in the summertime. One year we even went on a night time dinner cruise out of Philadelphia. Those picnics and the cruise were very popular. I will suggest this course to the reunion committee.



I think that is the way to go in the future. One good thing about those the informal, picnic reunions is there are no awards handed out.

By the way Patty, I didn't get a gold star.

Anticipating the Class Reunion

This Saturday my 50th class reunion takes place at the Whitford County Club in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

I've attended the 20th, 25th, 35th, 40th and 45th reunion. But it is the 50th reunion is the reunion that I'm looking most forward to attending.



I am glad I'm still alive. Out of 114 graduating members of our class, 18 have died. I have survived even though the classmates listed alphabetically before and after me have died.



I am glad to say that I weigh the same now (160-165 lbs) the same now as I did when I graduated high school in June of 1959. However, my hairline is a few more inches above my eyebrows than it was 50 years ago.



A Nor'easter is scheduled for this weekend. I was dreading driving up to Pennsylvania in all that rain but there was no way I was going to miss my 50th class reunion. However, I was fortunate in that a classmate who lives nearby saw my posting on Facebook about me hating to drive in the rain. She called yesterday and asked if I would like to ride up to Pennsylvania with her and her husband. Would I ever! Absolutely! Now I can have a martini or two at the reunion and not have to worry about getting a DUI driving home.



I hear the rain beating against the windows of my home office as I type this blog posting. This is the beginning of the Nor'easter that was forecast for the weekend. I am so glad we had wonderful, sunny weather for last weekend's Equality March in Washington D.C. Things are going well. Life is good.



Note: the picture on this blog is me (really) and my date for my Senior Prom (1959) Jeanette Pritchard.
Cute couple huh?

Class Reunion Questionnaire

My 50th high school class reunion is taking place Saturday, October 17th at the Whitford Country Club in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. 

I am the guy who is preparing and updating the reunion booklet.  I just received a passel of completed reunion questionnaires.  You know what that means?  No blog postings for at least a few days until I get update my reunion booklet template in Word and get it copied to a CD-ROM.  I'll send the CD-ROM to my former classmate Carole who will get it off to the printer. 

Time is a wasting.  I'll miss posting to my blog but I get to get this burden off of my shoulders. 

Oh, and yes, I did volunteer for this job.  That's just the way I roll.

P.S.
The above photo is a classic Fifties cheesecake. I found the photo in my processed photos that I picked up from Sam Charles’s newsstand in the summer of 1955. I knew who most of the girls were but I never told them I had this photo. They're probably wondering to this day what happened to their photo. I'm coming clean now. Check out the guy in the back doing the hula.  That's what caught my eye. :)

DHS 50th Class Reunion

Fifty years ago this year I graduated from high school in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. One thing I want to say right up front, "That was a fast fifty years!"

I am on the reunion committee and I've been asked by our organizer, Carole Davis Turner, to put all the reunion information on a blog. So here it is for all of our fellow classmates for whom we have an e-mail address. I will also be sending out invitations by snail mail with a questionnaire to be returned to Cookie Seibert Pannebaker.

The 50th class reunion will be held at the Whitford Country Club on October 17, 2009. The price per person (which includes the reunion booklet) is $55.00. There are also other activities scheduled for that weekend which Carole want me to make known to everyone. Please read the information below and if you have any questions please send me an e-mail to: ronstales@aol.com.

Hope to see you all at the reunion!

Please answer all the questions below and return all sheets with your deposit (and your e-mail address) to Cookie (Seibert) Pannebaker by October 1st, 2009.

120 Webster Avenue, Downingtown, PA 19335
Phone: 610-269-0464
e-mail: cook610@verizon.net



Please choose one of the following menu options by circling your choice:







Chicken Dijonnaise
Sautéed Breast of Chicken with White Wine and Dijon Mustard Sauce, Baked Potato, Seasonal Vegetables

Or

Prime Rib of Beef
12 oz. Roasted Angus Rib with Natural Jus and Creamy Horseradish Cream Sauce, Baked Potato, Seasonal Vegetables




Inquiring minds want to know



Would you like to participate in the Homecoming Parade on Thursday night, October 15th? If so, you get to ride in the Homecoming Float (dress in Fifties style clothes.)

On Friday night, October 16th you get to sit on the 50 yard line at the Homecoming Football Game. You will receive complimentary tickets (we’re senior citizens now.)

Circle YES or NO


Carole Davis Turner has also wants you to know that these two activities are also available the reunion weekend. Please indicate by circling which activities you are interested in attending. Details will be supplied later.

a.) Golfing at the Whitford Country Club
b.) Breakfast at the Happy Days Diner in Thorndale, PA


(Mrs. Yost’s Sixth Grade Operetta – back row left to right - Ron Tipton, Bud Bruton, Denny Meyers, Larry Meredith front row left to right: Bud Bruton, Duer Smedley, Bill Brookover, Stuart Meisel – 1953)

If you prefer, please answer the following questions to be included in our 50th Class Reunion Booklet (available for $12.00 if not attending the reunion)

1. If you have children and/or grandchildren, please list their names and ages.

2. What was your main occupation (excluding raising your family) for the past 50 years?

3. What is your favorite hobby (excluding spending time with your grandchildren)?

4. What are the places you have lived (not visited) since you graduated from DHS?

5. If you could change one decision you made since graduation, what would it be?

6. If you still work, what kind of job do you do and how long to you plan to do it?

7. Name three items still on your Bucket List.

a.
b.
c.

Fifty Years

Fifty years sounds like a long time and it is. This year the Downingtown High School Class of 2009 invited me along with my classmates of the DHS Class of 1959 to attend their graduation ceremonies as special guests celebrating our fiftieth anniversary. I thought "Why not?" I took them up on the invitation and had a wonderful time. I didn't want to miss this event because there is only one fiftieth anniversary. As we were getting ready to enter the same field where I graduated fifty years ago, I noticed that I was standing in just about the same spot as I was fifty years ago this June when I graduated. I asked my friend Pat to take my picture. The two pictures you see on this blog are first of me when I graduated June 2nd, 1959. The second picture is of me as I was preparing to enter the football field on June 16th, 2009. Not much change eh? Well, perhaps a little bit. All I can say, that was a fast fifty years. The old boy did some serious living and he isn't done yet.

Golden Anniversary Class of 1959

The DHS Class of 1959 50th Anniversary Portrait



Last night at this time I was sitting on a folding chair in the middle of Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The occasion was the Commencement Program for the Downingtown High School West Campus class of 2009. I, along with seven of my classmates from the Downingtown High School Class of 1959 were the Golden Anniversary Class and guests of the current DHS Class of 2009.

Tonight as I type this blog, another ceremony is being conducted for the Downingtown High School East Campus class of 2009. Although I was invited (and I said I would attend), I opted out. While I enjoyed last night's ceremonies, I didn't want to repeat sitting out in the cold breezy evening with only my yellow shirt for warmth. If I was smart I would have worn a suit or a sport jacket (which I don't possess) but I thought the evening would be warm. I actually debated wearing a short sleeve shirt of a jersey. Boy I'm glad I didn't make that decision.

Instead, I journeyed back to my lovely home in the wide open spaces of southern Delaware. Am I ever glad to be home! I like Pennsylvania but it's just too crowded for me at this time of my life. Too much traffic on the roads (including a lot of school buses) and too many winding roads. I'm very tired right now so I'll make this a brief blog entry. I have many more pictures to post and a few videos.

The trip was well worth it for the once in a lifetime experience. I'm glad I went.

The Class of 2009

Well, here I am at my Mom’s in Pennsylvania. I arrived this afternoon to attend tonight’s Downingtown High School’s class of 2009. Each year the graduating class invites the class celebrating their 50th anniversary as guests to their graduation. I am a member of the DHS Class of 1959 of fifty long years ago. It is a cliche but it hardly seems like fifty years. I know that all of the members of tonight’s graduating class don’t realize how fast the next fifty years will fly by. They will find out, oh will they ever.

I wasn’t sure how to dress for tonight’s occasion. So I wore tan Docker pants and a yellow Eddie Bauer shirt. I considered a suit but thought that would be too much clothing on a summer night. Oh was I ever wrong. First of all, tonight was overcast (thank goodness it didn’t rain because we were sitting outside in a football stadium) and chilly. The temperature hovered around 58 degrees. Five members of my class also attended tonight’s ceremonies and were dressed in suits. I told them I was retired and I don’t wear suits or ties anymore. Still, I felt underdressed. Which is a shame because people do judge and react to you on appearance and I do look so good in a suit and a tie.

I took many pictures and a few videos of the occasion which I will post on future blogs, Facebook and You Tube. I can’t post one of my original pictures on this blob posting because I’m at my Mom’s computer and she doesn’t have my camera’s software for downloading my pictures.

As members of the 50th anniversary class we wore ribboned sashes. Yes, I have a picture of two of me in a sash. That is one thing I never had draped over me before, a beauty queen type sash. There is always time for a first, even at this late stage of my life.

I must say that we were treated very kindly and with respect for the organizers of the event, especially the superintendent of schools. She corrected the program that had my name as "Walter Tipton" (where did they get that?) instead of my name "Ronald Walter Tipton." She wanted to correct my name because she would be announcing it at the ceremony which she did. I was very proud to stand up when she called my name (along with the other members of our small contingent of the DHS Class of 1959.) I thought we might be shunted aside like some old relic but they actually did treat us with some deference. They even supplied us with a bus from the cafeteria where the reception was to the football field, the site of the graduation ceremonies. We really didn’t need a bus. It was only a little over a block away. But, it was a nice gesture.

Tonight’s graduation ceremony was for Downingtown West Campus. I was also invited to the graduation ceremony for the Downingtown East Campus (held tomorrow night at the same location) but I think I’ll pass on that one. While tonight’s ceremony was fun and interesting, once is enough. I have no desire to sit through another two hours valedictorian speeches and of award and diploma presentations.

After the graduation diplomas were all handed out and the mortar board caps were tossed in the air with a mighty cheer, we 50th anniversary Old Folk exited the field first through an honor guard of students of this year’s graduating class. Passing all those young faces that bore nary a wrinkle I couldn’t help myself when I said to one astonished redheaded young man "See you in fifty years!" Upon hearing that his face broke into the broadest smile I’ve ever seen. Oh young man if you only knew what you’re in for. He doesn’t know that the next fifty years will go by so much faster than the last twelve. But he will find out then he will be standing in the spot I stood in tonight. Perhaps he will remember me and then understand what I meant when I said "See you in fifty years!"

Ah One and Ah Two!

My resident bluebirds have begun their second batch. Yesterday the first egg was laid. This morning another pastel blue egg was added to their neat nest. By the time I get back Thursday I expect to see two more additional eggs in their nest.

Tomorrow I'm going to Pennsylvania to visit my Mom and attend the graduation ceremonies for the DHS Class of 2009 as a 50th anniversary guest. In a way I really don't want to go because I love my home here in Delaware so much I hate to miss even one day. But I do have some business to take care of in Pennsylvania and I would like to attend that graduation ceremony. There is only one time that I have the opportunity to be a 50th anniversary guest (DHS Class of 1959) and I don't want to pass up the opportunity. I'll take pictures and maybe even a video or two. We'll see. I just hope this isn't a bust and I'm viewed as some ancient fossil. Actually, I don't care if I am. I just think it will be interesting. Of course I'll probably be the only member of my class who attends.

This morning I found a new plant place. It's called the Sandy Hill Greenhouse and it's on Sand Hill road, about ten miles from where I live. I loved it. This nursery is my new plant center. Mark the owner was talking to me and he said this is his second year in the retail business. Prior to this he was in the wholesale business but decided to make a go of it in the retail trade. He said so far this year business has been slow but I predict he will do very well. He has a big nursery with a large selection and all his plants are healthy and vibrant. I told him his business will build by word of mouth. When we Plant People find a good place we put the Word out. I was advised by my friend MJ in Milton to check out this garden center. Thank you MJ!

I took the drive this morning to see if my check engine light came on again. It did. In fact it was on the whole time I went up and came back. When I got home I called my garage and told them of the problem. They told me to bring the car down. I go out to my car, turn it on and the check engine light isn't on now. This is going to drive me crazy. So I called The Garage (yes folks, that is the name of my garage) and told them that the check engine light wasn't on now. Hmmm.

There always seems to be some little nagging thing like this to get on my nerves. I'm going to have to put this out of my mind and enjoy my trip to PA tomorrow. What's good about my trips to PA is that I always come back here, my beautiful home in Delaware. To me each day I spend here is like a vacation day. I love it!

Thoughts on a Late Spring Night

Ronald Walter Tipton, Downingtown High School Class of 1959



After a good day at work, things fell apart at home this evening. Bill came in from mowing the lawn (which has to do every three days with the weather we're having down here on the Delmarva peninsula) and I told him he was "stinking." I guess I could of been more diplomatic (you think?) but I apparently wasn't thinking. Why Bill got mad was that he had just taken a shower but apparently was wearing the same shirt that we was wearing when he mowed the lawn. He wasn't really "stinking" but did smell of sweat. As I age I am losing some of my faculties but one that I have not lost is my sense of smell, much to Bill's displeasure. I apologized to Bill but he's mad and probably won't speak to me for a while. That's how he deals with his anger. I sometimes lose my temper but I quickly get over it. Bill is different. I hurt his feelings and it will take him a while to get over it.

This episode tonight just shows you how fast things can go awry after a good day. I was working today filling in for a co-worker who had other plans. I am not scheduled to go back to work until the Fourth of July weekend at which time I'll be working three days in a row. Normally I work every Monday night but another co-worker wants the Fourth of July weekend off so she can be at her son's graduation from infantry school and see him one more time before he ships out to Iraq. This means I have the next three weeks off.

Next week I was planning on going to Pennsylvania to see my Mom and attend the Downingtown High School Class of 2009 as a special guest. Each year the Downingtown High School invites members of the 50th anniversary class of Downingtown High School as guests to their graduation ceremonies. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I graduated but it has been half a century. Hard to believe. I'm not sure that if the kids of today's graduating class is even interested in seeing old fogies like us but I'll go anyway. It will be interesting for me. The picture on this blog is of yours truly 50 years ago when I graduated from Downingtown High School. My Mom took the picture. I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school (also the first to graduate from college.) This is the only picture of me at my graduation. So young and innocent. So much ahead of me. So fast the time has went by. And now I'm here, checking the weather forecast for next week because I don't want to make the 2 1/2 drive to Downingtown, Pennsylvania in the rain.

A few years ago I decided I don't like to drive in the dark. Now I avoid driving in the rain. I doubt if any of the members of the Downingtown High School graduating class has even given one moment's thought to those self-imposed driving restrictions. If anyone asks me to speak, I'll tell them this is just one of the "benefits" they can look forward too when they are guests at the DHS graduation of 2059. One thing is for sure, I won't be there.

Class Reunion

This week I met with my some of my classmates from the Downingtown High School Class of 1959 for a 50th class reunion committee meeting. I am still amazed that we have arrived at our 50th class reunion so fast. It just seems like a few years ago that we graduated from good old DHS. Our class had the unique distinction of being the last class of the Fifties. We were also the last class to graduate from the old Downingtown High School building on Manor Avenue in Downingtown. The class after ours would graduate from a new high school building. I remember at the time that I regretted that we were not able to spend a year in the new building. However, looking back from this vantage point, I am now glad we were the last to graduate in that grand old building on Route 322.

Our class is fortunate in that we have almost always had someone in our class to organize a class reunion. The first class reunion I attended was the 20th which was held at St. Joseph’s in Downingtown, the site of our graduation party back in 1959. Our 25th class reunion was held at the Waynebrook Inn in Honeybrook, Pa. What I remember about that class reunion was that the disc jockey was so loud (or I was sitting too close to him), that I couldn’t hear my fellow classmates when I tried to talk to them and catch up on old times.

We didn’t have a 30th class reunion. I think that was because no one took the bull by the horns and organized it. A former classmate, Jean Timmerman Swisher, took the reins for the 35th class reunion. Jean was with our high school class until her senior year. That year her parents moved to West Chester and that is the school she graduated from. Even though Jean didn’t graduate with our class she took it upon herself to organize our class and pull off the best reunion we probably ever had. It was held at the Italian Social Club in West Chester. I still have a video of that reunion.

Our 40th class reunion was held at the Downingtown Country Club in Downingtown. This was a momentous reunion for me because it was the reunion that I came out. Every class reunion I filled out the questionnaire which contained the question “Married?” I always checked “Single.” However, this time I checked “Married” and put the name of my “Spouse” as William D. Kelly. Bill is my “spouse”, or Life Partner, since 1964. I have to admit I was very nervous when I entered the building at the Downingtown Country Club that Saturday evening. I didn’t know what kind of reception I would receive. What I did know was that after 40 years, I thought it was time to stop this charade that I was “single.” I wasn’t and I’m not now. Bill and I have been together for 45 years now. The reception I received? I was quite surprised. It was the same reception I’ve always received. I was still the same Ron who was their classmate and continued to be the same Ron. A couple of classmates talked to me after the reunion and said they had “no idea” that I was gay. In fact one of them said “you didn’t act gay.” Oh well, stereotypes will always be with us. She meant well.

The 45th class reunion was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Frazer. That was also a good reunion. I had a chance to reacquaint myself with many of my former classmates plus I took a load of pictures.

This year for our 50th, we’re going to hold it at the Whitford Country Club in Downingtown. Since it is our 50th, we’re eligible to ride in the homecoming parade. I don’t know how many of my classmates will take advantage of that “opportunity” to ride the float advertising that we’re now officially Old Fogies.