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!