Moorestown High School’s Class of 1973 celebrated its 50th reunion last month at the Community House of Moorestown and toured the high school with student council members.
“It was great, and we had so many people tell us ‘thank you’ for organizing it, but the biggest reward that I think we all felt was just seeing the smiles on everybody’s faces,” said Robin Dryden, co-organizer of the event.
“They were all just having such a great time,” she added. “That was thanks enough for us (co-organizers included Marlene Walls, Ruth Hagan and Gail Khrens) for putting it all together. It was very rewarding in that way.”
More than 80 alumni attended the Community House party, where former classmates reconnected over conversation, photos and videos. Cathy’s Catering provided the food, and there was a Facebook Live video for those who couldn’t attend. Guests wore name tags that had their yearbook picture on them, which made it easier for people to recognize one another.
A memorial display was set up for classmates who died next to the welcome table, and an alumnus provided music. Former teachers of the students also joined the special occasion.
“People came from all over the country,” Walls noted. “We had people from Oregon and Washington state, California, Arizona, New Mexico, the Midwest, New England, down south …
“We all decided that what we enjoyed the most was watching everyone enjoy themselves, because there were just smiles everywhere.”
Before the event, alumni met at Ott’s Tavern, a place full of memories for them.
“We thought it would be a nice idea – because we had quite a few people coming from long distances – to have more than one event, to give people a chance to really have some time to connect with old classmates,” Dryden explained.
“ … We just had a good time and hung out and got to see everybody and reacquainted ourselves with some long-lost friends.”
Before the reunion, Moorestown High’s student council, under the direction of advisor Lisa Trapani, escorted alumni around the school and student council members pointed out areas of change. To show their appreciation, the Class of ‘73 donated $730 to the group.
Dryden and Walls praised the students for their part in the reunion.
“One of the things that people talked about the whole weekend after the tour was over was how engaged students were with us,” Walls recalled. “They didn’t just walk us through the building and point at things and tell us what this was and what that was. They asked us what the building was like when we were there and what we did in those different spaces.”
“The kids were so engaged and just so wonderful,” Dryden enthused. “There’s always a lot of unkind things said about the youth today, but I’ll tell you, these kids were just absolutely wonderful and were totally engaged with us and our classmates with them. It was a lot of fun.”
There are plans for another reunion, but planners said the 50th topped all expectations.
“We all said that we wished we had had even more time at the three separate events, so it was very rewarding,” Dryden said. “It all just kind of melted together.”
“People were very thankful that we had put it together, and that it included so many different activities,” Walls added. “It wasn’t just getting to the Community House, spending four hours and then leaving …
“People were just having so much fun and it made it all worthwhile for us.”
