To Me, This Is Better Than Our Diploma!

The warm glow of our recent Reunion weekend together remains, especially after receiving a thank-you note such as the one I have just gotten from our former teacher Ed Johnston and his wife Sarah.

He asked me to share it with everyone:

Dear Pat,

Want you to know how much we enjoyed the Class of 69's reunion and deeply appreciated the invitation to be a part of it.

What a great class and such a credit to your families and to Father Ryan. Nothing means more to a former teacher than to see former students having such an impact on their families and their community. The class of '69 is truly outstanding and each of you will always be a major part of my happy memories of Father Ryan.

Thanks too, to Jimmy and Sarah for their hospitality and, again, to you, Pat, for all the work on the blog site and all you do for the community and especially for Father Ryan.

God bless each and everyone one of you in the Class of '69, it was great to see you again.

In Christ,

Ed & Sarah

Continuing Our Photo Essay

Here's still more photos to remember our Reunion 2009!

Pat Watson talks it over with our former teacher Jim Zraleck while Pat Cook looks on.

Mike Jumonville greets classmate Mike Grant for the first time in many years, while Bill Carver and his wife Chris look on.

After all these years, Scott Brunette is still ready to go!

Bill Carver and Terry Shelton try to figure out exactly how they did our PANTHER YEARBOOK when we were seniors.

Ann Shugart Carter was one of 20 wives and significant others who put up with us for our 40th Reunion weekend. Thank you, ladies!

Yours truly and Tim Quirk take a moment to check out the blog.

Baron Harmon, Bill Carver, Pat Nolan, Patty Nelson, Bob Nelson

Tommy Daugherty, Mike Grant, Joe Holzmer, Baron Harmon, Chuck Scruggs, Randy DuBois and David Adams

To sum it up....



It was a night and a weekend that none of us could stop smiling and laughing. We met each other again, some of us after many years apart. We found how we'd changed over the decades, but we also found how we had stayed the same, and in many cases, could still finish each other sentences.

We are a Class again, 40 years later.

More Photos From Our Special Evening Together

Courtesy of Baron Harmon, Pat Bauer and Tony Greene, here's a brief photo essay looking back on our Reunion Party last Saturday night at the the Wilsons (thanks again to Jimmy and his wife Sarah for hosting us).

The Class of '69 fills up the Wilsons' home.

Our host Jimmy Wilson spends some time with Baron Harmon

Pat Bauer, in one of the few moments he wasn't taking pictures himself, while Carlton Crutchfield waits for his closeup.

Here's Carlton!

Joe Hobbs, Randy DuBois and Kevin Wilkinson catch up on the porch

Mike Curley talks with one of his former teachers, Ed Johnston.

Like the rest of us, Bubba Thurman had a smile on his face all night!

So did Mike J. Carter.

Our classmate Bubba Donnelly and his wife, Chris. Thanks to Bubba and his firm, Athens Distributing, for providing our libations for the evening!

Richard Conditt remembers old times with one of his former teachers Pat Langdon. Mr. Langdon still teaches at Father Ryan.

As the evening moved on and dinner was served, our conversations continued.

There are still more photos to come. So visit this blog site again soon.

Roll Call

Here's one of our classmate Toy Greene's photos from our 40th Reunion Party at the Wilsons' last Saturday night (June 6).

It shows Joe Holzmer, Terry Shelton, Mike Curley and Mike Grant enjoying each others' company and remembering old times.

Here's a roll call of the members of the Class of 1969 who participated in our Reunion:

David Adams
Frank Baltz
Pat Bauer
Scott Brunette
Mike Carter
Bill Carver
Richard Conditt
John Conners
Carlton Crutchfield
Mike Curley
Tommy Daugherty
Will Forte
John Goetz
Baron Harmon
Joe Hobbs
Joe Holzmer
Phil Jones
Mike Jumonville
Bob Nelson
Pat Nolan
Nick Rosa
Chuck Scruggs
Terry Shelton
Bubba Thurman
Bubba Tucker
Pat Watson
Jimmy Wilson
Pat Cook
Bubba Donnelly
Kevin Wilkinson
Tim Quirk
Randy DuBois
Mike Grant
Phil Mattingly
Tony Greene

That's 35 classmates present Saturday night. Make that 36 with Harold Plemons and his wife who came by the Friday night reception at Father Ryan. Meanwhile, Mike Hansom made an RSVP for the Saturday party, but I did not see him there. Does anyone remember if Mike made it and I just missed seeing him?

We had a total of 20 spouses join us either Friday or Saturday. They deserve our thanks for coming. We also had 4 former faculty members and their spouses attend:

Ed Johnston
Jim Zraleck
Pat Langdon
Jim Langdon

We really appreciate them coming to our celebration. It was their guidance and help that made a lot of difference in our lives while we attended Father Ryan and in the years since we left.

That totals 64 folks who either came to the party or the reception which is probably close to double the number we had at our last Reunion five years ago.

Hopefully, we can all get back together again with even more of our classmates for our 45th Reunion the first weekend of June, 2014.

Mark it on your calendar or in your long-range Outlook today!

MORE PHOTOS STILL TO COME!

And I am working on the address and e-mail contact list we asked everyone to sign Saturday. Unfortunately a few folks forgot to sign up or didn't leave their e-mail addresses (John Connors, Frank Baltz, John Goetz please contact and send me yours). I will send everyone else the information we put together so we can all stay in touch!

An Evening To Remember!

Courtesy of Pat Bauer, here are some photos of our special night together last Saturday (June 6) at Jimmy and Sarah Wilson's home to celebrate our 40th Class Reunion.

As you can see Pat also created a special template for the photos including the ones below.


I think it is safe to say that our Reunion Party was the largest gathering of the Father Ryan Class of 1969 since our graduation day of May 25, 1969 when 165 class members got their diplomas.

By my records at the Saturday night party we had 35 classmates present, 19 spouses, along with 4 former teachers and their spouses for a total of 62 people at the party. I know we had so many folks, we had to put the spouses on the second floor porch of the Wilson's home to get everyone in one picture. And even then a few folks arrived later and so they are not in the photo below that Pat Bauer's wife, Pam, took as a part of the montage.

I have some other photos taken by our classmate Tony Greene, who made it to the Reunion despite being on our class "lost list." We sure are glad to be back in touch with him and other classmates who we re-connected with while planning this Reunion. I will posting Tony's photos next and more from Pat Bauer later.

Thanks to both of them for sharing these photos.

What A Great Beginning!

It was quite a Friday night reception for the Father Ryan Class of 1969 as we began our Reunion Weekend festivities. Here are a group of us posing in front of the old front doors of the Elliston Place Father Ryan campus. The doors are now the entrance to the beautiful, new Library Building and are dedicated in memory of our FRHS Principal, Father James Hitchcock and our Vice Principal, Father Edward Arnold.

It a very appropriate place for us to come together. And we may
have had the largest turnout of any class present for the All-Class Reunion reception which was held in and around the courtyard on the new (at least for our class) FRHS Norwood Drive campus in Oak Hill.

Some of us got a chance to walk around the back part of the campus where the new FRHS Athletic Complex is rising impressively out of the ground. Construction is set to be done by early August in time for an Open House August 8, and then the first home football game ever in a permanent stadium on a Father Ryan campus in its 80 year-plus history. That game is set for August 28 against Hillwood.

With the goal posts and the field turf already in place and the Father Ryan crest in the center of the field, it clearly won't be long before the Irish will truly be at home on their football field for the first time in our school's long history.

Much of the evening was spent visiting with one another, remembering old stories and good times together, and even getting re-acquianted with former teachers, such as Pat Langdon, who spent some time with Harold Plemmons as you can see from the photo above.

By the way, Mr. Langdon ("Fat Pat" as we called him to distingush him from his brother, Jim Langdon who also taught us) will definitely be coming to tonight's (Saturday) Class Party at our classmates Jimmy Wilson's home. Both Pat and Jim Langdon still teach at Father Ryan believe it not. Another favorite teacher Ed Johnston will also join us tonight. Unfortunately, our classmate Harold Plemmons will not be there.

One other thing members of the Class of 1969 got the chance to see and visit is this statue in the Father Ryan courtyard dedicated to another of our favorite teachers, Father William Fleming.

Among our classmates attending Friday, many with their wives, and almost all of them attending Saturday's night party are:

Pat Bauer (thanks to Pat for all these great photos!)
Mike Carter
Pat Cook
Pat Nolan
Terry Shelton
Mike Curley
Bob Nelson
Jimmy Wilson
Mike Jumonville
Carlton Crutchfield
Harold Plemmons
Kevin Wilkerson (who arrived late when the reception was almost over)

This morning a small group of us (including Tony Green and Tommy Daugherty) met for a late breakfast, then walked over to the old campus on Elliston Place. Besides visiting the memorabilia display at the Hampton Inn now on the site, we also managed to slip inside the fenced off portion of the old school grounds and tried to remember where various buildings were located, in what is now a very large, vacant field.

Like the Friday night reception, I think the visit to the old Father Ryan site brought back a lot of memories and got us even more in the mood for tonight's party.

See in a few hours!

Reunion Is Just A Few Hours Away....

I hope to see several of you in just a couple of hours out at the All-Class Reception at Father Ryan to begin our weekend Reunion activities. It begins at 6:00 PM.

A couple of updates....Bubba Donnelly and his wife Chris McCann Donnelly will be joining us Saturday night for the party at the Wilsons. Bubba is donating the booze for the event, so tell him thanks!

It also appears there is a still good possibility that Mike Grant will be joining us. That will be wonderful as well.

Some of us are planning to gather Saturday morning at 10:00 at the Panera's Restaurant on 21st Avenue near Vanderbilt if you want to drop by.

One word of caution about the area interstates through town this weekend:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is closing the westbound lanes of I-40 from exit 211B (where I-24 splits off to Clarksville) to Exit 210B (where I-65 splits off towards Brentwood).

Since the Wilsons home for the party is off I-65 South make sure you don't get caught in this closure (although there are detours around it).

The closure begins Friday night at 8:00 PM and ends no later than 5:00 AM Monday morning.

This is the second weekend in a row that portions of the interstates here have been closed for repairs. This time it's repairing the concrete for the bridges over Lafayette Street and 2nd and 4th Avenues.

The East bound lanes of I-40 in this area will remain open at all times. Just the westbound lanes are to be closed.

Stay safe!

We've Done This Before---A Look Back At Reunions Past

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Here we are five years ago at the Wilsons home for our 35th Reunion Party.

And hopefully we will have an even larger group coming this Saturday night.

The calendar says after 40 years this should be the eighth time we have gathered for a Reunion. That's once every 5 years. But if we had a five-year reunion in 1974, I wasn't there and I have never heard anyone in our Class talk about such an event.

I know by our ten-year anniversary in 1979, there was a reunion. I think it was held at the Dabbs Avenue K.C. Club near the Airport. But other than that, my memory is hazy of that evening. I can't even remember if we had the gathering on a Friday or Saturday night. I know I came to the event solo because my first child, Katie, had just been born in late March and my wife was home with her.

By 1984 for our 15th Reunion, my memory is of attending an All-Class Mass at the Elliston Place campus, followed by a dinner held at the nearby (and still new) Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel.

1989 for our 20th Reunion is the first time I remember working to help organize the event. I also remember the late Will Martin being involved as we held a festive Friday night party and a dance at the University Club near Vanderbilt, followed Saturday evening by a big All-Class Dinner at the Opryland Hotel.

Here's a photo from that evening of our class members who attended. It was taken on the steps of the Opryland Hotel.

In 1994, it was time for our Silver Anniversary, 25 years after leaving Father Ryan. The old school building and campus on Elliston Place was gone and so we held a Friday night reception for our class in the gym at Saint Bernard Academy. Saturday afternoon we organized a picnic in Centennial Park, followed that evening by a Memorial Mass for our deceased classmates in the Chapel at the new Father Ryan in Oak Hill, and then a Social, Dinner and and Dance in the new FRHS Dining Hall.

Here are some photos from that special evening....

Our Libarian, Sister Mary Bonaventure joined us for dinner along with our Principal, now Monsignor James Hitchcock. No, Sister did not bring her scrapbook of deleted items from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

Joe Williams and Gino Marchetti were in attendance along with their wives, Mary and Jeanne.

Here we are at the end of our 25th Reunion evening with a group photo in the Dining Hall.

By the way, this 25th Reunion was the only one we've had that was not held the first weekend in June. These celebrations occurred the weekend of June 24-25, 1994.

In 1999 for our 30th Class Reunion, we began our celebration with the first All-Class Reception held on Friday evening at the Norwood Drive campus, followed by our Class Party at the Boundary Restaurant near Vanderbilt held on Saturday night. Here are some photos from that evening....

Bill Carver and Tim Templeton talk it over.

Bob Nelson and Pat Nolan work their way through the food line.

Mike J. Carter and his wife Anna Shugart Carter greet Bob Campbell.

Pat Cook and Phil Jones remember old times.

Mark Mogan greets Bill Carver upon arriving at The Boundary for the Class Party. Unfortunately, just a few weeks later, Mogan passed away.

That brings us back to our last Class of 1969 Gathering in 2004 for our 35th Reunion. Here are a few more photos from that party at Jimmy and Sarah Wilson's home...

Phil Jones visits with one of our teachers, Pat Langdon and his wife.

Phil Mattingly, Mike Grant and Pat Nolan talk some politics during Reunion. I promise I am not wearing that shirt again!

And so we await our next Reunion this Saturday night. Please bring your digital cameras, so we can take some pictures and help make some more memories for our Reunions yet to come.

NOTE: If you want a better look, you can click on any of the photos above,or any of the photos on this blog for a magnified view.

Wanna Play Class Trivia?

I have had the suggestion that we ask some class trivia questions Saturday night.

It would be a general discussion effort. No books or written questions or tests. Some of us are still too damaged from 40 years ago to do anymore of that. :)

In fact, one class member has already sent me a question to ask. He says he knows the answer and wants to see who else knows it. I won't reveal the question and I don't know the answer. I will say the person asking the question is now a part of the criminal justice system here in town and the fact that he is asking questions should probably scare the hell out of us!

Anyway I thought the group trivia questions might be a fun thing to do later in the evening Saturday night, after we've all had time to visit, then get something to eat...and drink. These kinds of things are always better (and get funnier answers) after a few drinks.

I have some class trivia questions left over from our previous Reunions I can use. And if any of you have your own questions to pose, send them to me or bring them to Friday night's reception or to the Wilsons home Saturday night.

Let's just hope any statute of limitations have expired so we can all answer truthfully. LOL

Believe It Or Not! They Are Still Talking About Our Class Superlatives 40 Years Later!

Jimmy Wilson, Most Popular, FRHS Class of 1969

Now everyone believes their Class is the best to ever attend their high school. But for the Father Ryan Class of 1969 we've got something to back it up!

Believe it or not, the photo above of Jimmy Wilson as Most Popular from our 1969 PANTHER Annual was prominently displayed at a recent city-wide gathering here in Nashville where people came to tell their favorite stories about Centennial Park.

Even though it was 40 years since the photograph was taken at Watauga Lake, people were laughing out loud as Jimmy related how the photo was taken (one shot only by Bob Campbell) as the Metro Park Police closed in to kick Jimmy and Bob out of the park.

By the way, there was no trick photography done with this shot, and it was snapped and developed way, way, way before Photoshop. Want proof? Take a look at Jimmy's reflection in the lake. I doubt you can get that even today with Photoshop.

If you don't know the whole story about how the photo of Jimmy was set up, you have to get him to tell you Saturday night at the Class Party. It is really funny!

Bubba Donnelly, Most Athletic, FRHS Class of 1969

This photo of Bubba Donnelly was also taken in Centennial Park at the Parthenon. In fact, according to Jimmy Wilson, the Metro Park Police first showed up here that day to ask what the heck was going on. That gave Jimmy and Bob Campbell the time to slip over the Watauga Lake to get the other photograph taken.

So who else still has their Class Superlatives still being talked about in Nashville 40 years later?

Here are the rest of our Class Superlatives, courtesy of the wonderful and creative photography of our 1969 PANTHER Yearbook staff:

Mike Grant, Best School Spirit, FRHS Class of 1969

Mike Carter, Most Likely To Succeed, FRHS Class of 1969

Gary Edmondson, Most Handsome, FRHS Class of 1969

Phil Bennett, Wittiest, FRHS Class of 1969

Gino Marchetti, Best All-Around, FRHS Class of 1969

Joe Formosa, Best Dressed, FRHS Class of 1969

Ted Lenox, Most Studious, FRHS Class of 1969

And so, there they are. The Best of the Best of our class....and still being talked about in Nashville 40 years later. :)