Houlton High School Class of 1959 reunites

Thanks to the combined efforts of Judi (London) McBrair and Peter Fitzpatrick, the Class of 1959 enjoyed their 50th reunion on August 15, at the Meduxnekeag Ramblers Club in Littleton. Even the weather cooperated for the three-day event.
    The activities began with a gathering at Linda (Ellis) Bennett’s camp at East Grand Lake on a sunny Friday afternoon, where classmates enjoyed light snacks, beverages and lots of visiting.
Many of the alumni continued conversations as they enjoyed their evening meal at the new restaurant in town, The Horn of Plenty.
Saturday proved to be the busy day of the weekend with golfing at the local greens in the morning and setup of the club with black and white decorations (school colors), memorabilia such as an (absolutely necessary) portable 45 record player, a black dial telephone that was our only means of communication (way back then) and Bennett even found a 1959 calendar that was still tucked away at her camp. The decorations offered many memories as the classmates began to arrive. The walls were covered with pictures and yearbooks and scrapbooks were available to browse through.
Fitzpatrick set up a tour of the high school and many of the 59’ers relived the hallways. How many of you found your old lockers?
Francis Fitzpatrick acted as master of ceremonies as he introduced the invited guests, Richard Dorr, Paul Porter, Bud Anderson, Eugene Lovely, (all teachers). Dot Lee, (office manager) sent a nice note and Madelyn (Crawford) Perkins, (our favorite rec. dept. employee) enjoyed visiting with everyone.
Classmate Leland Hall provided the group with a DVD that captured many moments of our years at “Old Houlton High”. The DVD also included a memorial to 14 of our departed classmates, Lynn Bither, Scott Bither, Gladys Horton, Beverly Hurd, Gloria Levensailor, Gloria MacDonald, Carl Mack, Richard McCready, Welthy McCue, Mary Ann MacDonald, Thomas Rideout, Wayne Shaw, David Taylor and Murray (Mickey) Varney.
Many thanks to Joyce Fitzpatrick (Peter’s wife), as she provided the directory of classmates, that included addresses, telephone numbers and e-mails. Letters from absent members of the class provided an enjoyable update.
The class voted to donate at least six chairs to the new auditorium. One chair will bear our class motto and the others will have various sayings pertaining to our year. Be sure to look for them.
Classmate William Pringle provided the alumni with state of Maine pins bearing a flag and HHS – Class of ’59, as a take-home memento.
Fitzpatrick was honored as the classmate who contributed the most to his class through the reunion years and received the honorary jacket from Paul Porter, alumni board member.
Our classmates traveled from the states of California, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, New York, Connecticut and West Virginia to make the 50th an amazing reunion.
Final farewells and promises of returning were exchanged during the Sunday brunch at the Courtyard Café.