Cathedral High School Class of 1970 50th/51st Reunion

TO ALL CLASSMATES

AUGUST 13th, 14th, AND 16th, 2021

The Reunion Committee hopes that you have managed to stay healthy during the pandemic and that you have received the preventative vaccine(s) if you chose to do so. The Reunion Committee has been working diligently on preparations for our 50th/51st Class Reunion and in doing so, we have kept in mind the pandemic and will follow the necessary restrictions and safety measures as they exist in August. The plans will be very similar to the plans that were in place for 2020 with a few minor changes.  We are working steadily with Cathedral as our Reunion also coincides with Cathedral's Reunion Weekend - August 13, 14, and 15, 2021.  The Committee is running into a few issues in that Cathedral is not firming up all of their plans until July 1.  That of course is too late for us to get information out.  You should have received a Save The Date card from Cathedral in the US mail several weeks ago, but that has not happened yet.  Keeping the above information in mind, part of the plan as written below cannot be fully firmed up until Cathedral announces the specifics on their end.  You should receive the Save The Date card very shortly and the actual Invitation will be sent out by the Committee via US mail to all classmates with a mailing address by June 1 with Registrations due by July 15th, 2021.

The schedule specific for the 1970 Class is as follows:

Friday Evening:  August 13, 2021:

• Cathedral (start and end times of this gathering are unknown at this time):  Cathedral is hosting a gathering on the CHS campus. No food will be available but there will be an open cash bar.
• The Red Carpet (5:30 PM - ???):  The Class of 1970 will be encouraged to attend the above event if you wish, but then you are encouraged to wander on down to The Red Carpet.  The Red Carpet has an appetizer buffet available until 7:00 PM.  If you prefer not to go to the Cathedral event, begin your night at The Red Carpet. The Red Carpet remains in the same place as it did in 1970!!!!!!  WOW!  There we can continue to mingle, share memories, converse with our classmates, laugh and laugh some more, reminisce and enjoy food that will be available through the The Red Carpet.  We can stay as long as we wish (they will close eventually).  Cost is free.  Cash bar is available. 

Saturday Evening:  August 14, 2021:

• Coyote Moon (6:00PM - ???):  This is one of the changes from 2020.  The Committee's wish was to keep the venue the same as planned in 2020, but The Four Hundred Club was unable to sustain their business during the pandemic.  The Committee then made the change to have our event at the Coyote Moon as the owners were the same.  We can continue to reminisce and just enjoy ourselves along with some great '60's and 70's music.  Our event is planned to start at 6:00PM with an appetizer buffet beginning at 7:00PM and will remain available till at least 9:00PM.  There will be an open cash bar.  Cost approximately $30.00 - $35.00 per attendee.

*****If there is a classmate that would like to plan a specific event during this celebration time, such as golf, please contact Bonnie Blaske Fitzharris - information is available at the bottom of this announcement.

Cathedral's Plans:  They are hoping for a brunch on Saturday for those classes who have been out at least 40 years (that of course includes us), a BBQ lunch picnic with games of some sort, and tours of the new Cathedral campus.  There is also a plan for Mass on Sunday at St. Mary's Cathedral.

We hope that you will make arrangements to attend this exciting event.  Classmates will be excited to see you and together we will all have a great evening.  The Committee is looking for a large turnout.  If you know classmates have not received emails or mailings, please ask them to join our class website (https://www.cathedral1970.com/) or please have them contact a Committee member.  Again, we still have classmates that we have been unable to locate.  Assist the Committee if you know how to locate them.

Your Reunion Committee: 

Bonnie Blaske Fitzharris, Lee Fitzharris, Dave Kremer, John Libert, Tim McNeal, Mary Poster Lahr, Kevin Schirmers, Jean Traut Muntifering, and Karen Zakrajshek McNeal. 

Questions/concerns please contact Bonnie Blaske Fitzharris: Phone: 320-247-1717 or fitz5@charter.net

CATHEDRAL CLASS OF 1970

51st CLASS REUNION REVISITED

AUGUST 2021

It is with much sincere regret and apologies that there has been no communication on the website from the Reunion Committee following the Reunion in August. Much thought has taken place to revisit the Reunion, but time just did not seem to be available. This update will only be speaking to the 2 events specifically arranged for the class, and not the events held in conjunction with Cathedral as it is not appropriate to speak to their events even though they were attended by some of our classmates.

FIRST OFF, TO ALL OF THE CLASSMATES THAT ATTENDED AUGUST 2021 EVENTS, THE REUNION COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A HUGE THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU FOR ATTENDING AND MAKING THE EVENT SO MEMORABLE. WE VALUED YOUR THOUGHTS AND DISCUSSION ON FUTURE REUNION GATHERINGS AND HOPE TO CONTINUE TO ARRANGE THOSE AS TIME GOES BY. KUDOS TO EACH OF YOU. AND TO THOSE WITH INTENTIONS TO ATTEND BUT WERE UNABLE TO, WE MISSED YOUR PRESENCE.

Here are some of the many responses heard at the event:  "FABULOUS", "WHAT A GREAT TIME", "AMAZING TO SEE EVERYONE", "BETTER THAN I EXPECTED", "IT WAS GREAT TO SPEAK WITH CLASSMATES I HAVE NEVER SPOKEN WITH BEFORE", "THIS WAS THE BEST", "REMINISCING WAS SUCH FUN", "WE NEED TO DO THIS MORE OFTEN" (this was heard regularly), "IT WAS SO GREAT THAT THE HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUES DIDN'T SEEM TO EXIST ANY LONGER", "EVERYONE IS SO FRIENDLY", "IT IS FUN TO HEAR SO MUCH LAUGHTER AND CHATTING", AND ON AND ON AND ON. A big question that came up regularly was "WHERE IS SO AND SO and "I WISH SO AND SO WAS HERE" at which time the Committee members would share what they knew about those particular classmates who were not present at the two events. A constant concern was "HOW CAN WE GET MORE CLASSMATES TO ATTEND?"

A RECAP of the events is as follows: 

As you might remember, Friday, August 13 was designated to be a very informal social gathering at The Red Carpet. There were approximately 40 classmates/spouses that attended during the evening. The setting provided a great place to converse, and the appetizers provided by the The Red Carpet were a great addition. It also initiated conversations that continued into Saturday evening. A lot of socializing took place. A great time was had by all.

Saturday, August 14 was the major event at Coyote Moon Grill and Lounge. This event was attended by approximately 113 classmates/spouses. The classmates in attendance made up 32% of those classmates that are still with us. The Reunion Committee was quite satisfied with these results especially considering the continued Covid pandemic status at that time and the results from other CHS reunion classes and reunions at other schools. The evening was an informal casual social gathering with an appetizer buffet. It opened with general conversing by all and then a short but phenomenal speech by our Class President, John Welle. He not only spoke, but he also sang the song "Hello Dolly" that he tailored to our class. He still has it in him at 70 years of age! The remainder of the evening was left up to the classmates to make it what they wanted it to be.  And that they did.  It truly was amazing. There was no planned agenda other than have a great time, reminisce, and enjoy/connect with each other. There was never a quiet or silent moment. Classmates were moving from one group to another, conversation between individual classmates occurred throughout the night, much laughter and giggling about things in the past and in the present, all the while enjoying the variety of appetizers and cupcakes available. Even many spouses shared their positive feelings with the Reunion. It was delightful to be in the presence of so many classmates and spouses having a great time and to be able to observe their many expressions and the excitement they were feeling.  

The evening concluded with many classmates sharing desires to have get-togethers more frequently. Maybe every year or two with still possibly a larger gathering at the 5 or 10 year milestones. Discussion took place on several levels about choosing a specific month so as we age further, we can hopefully always remember the month to gather with classmates. And maybe we gather in Sept. or Oct. on the even number years. There was talk about locating a setting that would allow ordering off the menu so that the date would be known but registrations were not needed for each gathering. The plan will be to get a survey out within the next month or so that will address some of the possibilities. The tentative plan is that the survey will be available on the website, emailed to the classmates that we have email addresses for, and the Committee will look at the possibility of mailing to those without email addresses. The expense of mailing may prohibit using that method.  Please look for something within the next month or two.

We were very saddened to hear of the death of one of our classmates shortly after the Reunion. Tom Maiers passed away in Sept 2021 just one month after the reunion that he attended. Many felt relief that they were able to visit with him at the reunion. May he rest in peace.  

Thank you again for the great response and the success of our belated 50th Class Reunion. 1970 is still great!

Your Reunion Committee - Bonnie Blaske Fitzharris, Lee Fitzharris, Dave Kramer, John Libert, Tim McNeal, Mary Poster Lahr, Kevin Schirmers, Jean Traut Muntifering, and Karen Zakrajshek McNeal.

Questions/Concerns/Thoughts:  Please contact Bonnie Blaske Fitzharris.  320-247-1717  or  fitz5@charter.net