Going to a 50 year reunion and seeing friends and classmates that you grew up with MORE than 50 years earlier is an extraordinarily special experience.

In my case, we all grew up in either Detroit or Dearborn, Michigan (along the Detroit border) where the students going to St. Alphonsus Catholic School were from. Some wonderful people in our class then.........and still today. What a joy to spend some time with them all these years later. I wish we could do it every year!

At our school, we all shared many of the same experiences during the 1960's and 1970's.

Same teachers, same rules, same classes, same sports teams and many other things that we had in common. That included a dress code/uniforms and a short haircut code for the boys. For some of us, this was greatly disliked at a time when having long hair was often a way to assert our individualism. Conforming instead to rules that forced us to all look the same. 

Many of our teachers were nuns, with the convent next to our school. We had some great teachers, including some that were nuns. We had some great coaches and gifted athletes too....winning some divisional championships in basketball, baseball, football and track.

I played football and ran track in high school, while playing baseball and basketball in elementary school there. Not one of our best athletes, but a couple of my best friends were gifted football players. (I got serious competing in bodybuilding and power lifting after graduation and could bench press more than double my weight). There were many other great friendships,  the result of fellow teammates and classmates. We had some terrific cheerleaders too, with my best friend marrying one of them shortly after graduation and they still remain as a wonderful couple almost 50 years later!

My best friend in high school and I were the class clowns. I could write a book with 200+ pages listing the thousands of  hilarious things we did and while doing it, I would pee my pants laughing dozens of times! One of them was creating a cheer for our cheerleaders "Dog manama, Dog manomanimaneemee!  Dog Manama, Dog manomanimaneemee!" I won't say what that means   

His wife and my younger sisters were cheerleaders.

Many of the girls also were not thrilled at having to wear a uniform but everybody there was required to follow the same rules, which made it easier to accept when all of us did it together.

OK, that was true for MANY of my classmates not so for others, especially me. I was suspended from school on 2 different occasions (8th grade and 10th grade). Despite that, my parents never gave up on me and Dad helped me to turn things completely around while I was in college. 

There were many events in the Detroit area that our class followed growing up together. Mostly good ones.

The July 1967 riot in Detroit, for instance was only 4 miles northeast of our school and NOT a good one. None of us lived in an area directly impacted, fortunately. Being just 11 years old at the time, living a happy, somewhat sheltered life in a safer community,  we didn't fully appreciate the impact that decimated neighborhoods of people living just a few miles away. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Detroit_riot

On to some good stuff!

When the Detroit Tigers won the world series in 1968, we celebrated with everybody else in the Detroit area. I still remember watching the day games at school in Mr. Gorski's 7th grade homeroom.

With the Tigers down 3 games to 1 and about to lose the 5th game....and the World Series, muscle man and Detroit native Willie Horton threw out speedster, Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals,  trying to score standing up from 2nd base on a single. That turned the game around and the Tigers won 3 consecutive games to pull it out, with Mickey Lolich pitching the last game ON 2 DAYS REST. Unheard of then and impossible to imagine by 2024 pitching standards.

https://www.mlb.com/video/horton-throws-out-brock-c19973253

Here's a recap of the entire 1968 World Series:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_World_Series

Dad took me to the September 19, 1968 game at Tiger stadium that year.......to see Mickey Mantle play in his last game in Detroit.  Turned out to be Denny McLains, 31st and final win that season. A record that will NEVER be broken. Not even close:

                Mickey Mantle: The Denny McLain Gift Home Run #535   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdl6ABq6E3w

Our first opportunity to vote for president was in 1976.  Gerald Ford (who replaced and pardoned Richard Nixon) ran against the unknown peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter.  Ford grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and played football at the University of Michigan, where I graduated over 4 decades ago. 

I voted for Carter and he's still  my favorite president 48 years later! The  only honest president in our lifetime. Our politicians could learn a lot about ethics, honesty and serving the American people from him.  Jimmy served THE WORLD after he lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan. Very few people in history have  made the world a better place as much as he did. 

One of his greatest achievements, while still in office was accomplishing the impossible....... a  Peace Treaty between Israel (Manachin Begin) and Egypt (Anwar Saddat).

Jimmy, the world and our country desperately needs a leader of your caliber here in 2024!!!!

 Greatest FORMER President in history/J. Carter                                             

                Started by metmike - Feb. 18, 2023, 7:49 p.m.  

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/93232/

Jimmy is about to celebrate his 100th birthday tomorrow, being extremely close to the end of one of the most productive and humanity benefiting  lives in history. His dear wife, Rosalynn passed away last year. 

A concert and 30 new homes mark Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday and long legacy of giving

https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-100th-habitat-philanthropy-1bd18b79510c9cd4952bc723b91f3667

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Only a few of us in the class of 1974,  still have a living parent. One of them is my awesome Dad, who just turned 99 on September 16th.

                Early Father's Day                       

                Started by metmike - March 26, 2024, 12:13 a.m

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/102812/

Our parents sacrificed so much for us while we grew up. Wishing for us to have a better life than THEY had. I think that their wish came true by virtue of the wonderful advances in technology, science, medicine, entertainment and other realms that makes living in 2024 much better than how kings and queens lived 150 years ago.

Most of the advances in those fields have taken place in just the last 1% of human history.

By far,  the world has witnessed more advances during  the last 150 years than the previous 15,000 years! It's a wonderful age to be a human being in most places, IN OUR COUNTRY, if you can ignore the divisiveness and tribalism. Discern what the truth is from both political sides and discard the propaganda, fake news and disinformation from both sides.

Focus on being part of the solution, not being sucked into being part of the problem. It's extremely difficult at times for most of us but the key is reminding ourselves as often as possible to apply these principles below.

And know that we DO HAVE CONTROL OF OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS, no matter how  discombobulated, divisive, deceptive  and hateful that  people are in many places!

This is how I try to do that:

                Make the world better/appreciation-Nov 2021 onward            

                                  https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/77019/

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                Use this to help make yourself a better person!           

 https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/82252/

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To my wonderful classmates from the St. Alphonsus class of 1974:

You guys are STILL awesome!!

Thanks for being part of my life growing up and for the many great memories!

Thanks to Maria and Karen for organizing our 50 year reunion!

Here's some pictures from our reunion:

The 4 of us grew up living around a block from each other which resulted in close friendships during our time going to school together!

That's me on the far right

From left: Kevin Adams., Pat Connolly, Ed Hass, Mike Magure

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A toast to the St. Alphonsus class of 1974: Mike Bartell, 2nd from the left broke out a bottle of 50 year old, 100 proof liqueur to celebrate the 50 years since we graduated!  It burned going down!

Mike Maguire, Mike Bartell, Pat Connolly, Mike Limas, Bob Prutchnik, Ed Hass, Kevin Adams, Bill O'Reilly

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Just the ladies: Don't they look young and elegant for 68 years old ??

The entire group!

Hey Mike,

 About what % of your still alive and healthy enough classmates came?

Larry,

That information is probably out there. We had less than 100 that graduated in our class and I will guess 20 have since passed away.

However, there are numerous classmates that left in the middle of high school to go to the public school, Fordson in Dearborn and Cody in Detroit, where they graduated but come to our reunions.

New pictures:

These guys to my right were all state football players and my best friends growing up!

Ed Hass, Al Essenmacher, Mike Maguire

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This is how we looked with our shirts off   

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Cheers!

Mike Limas(back of head) Bill O'Reilly, Ed Hass, Mike Bartell and his wife in the center, Pat Connolly, Mike Maguire

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Kathy Kuzyns, Jan Merrit, Denise Kaminski, Joann Spagnolliti,  ?, Diane Kolby

Glen Harper, the center for our football team wearing his letterman sweater with a big A for St. Alphonsus!

                           Kathy Kuzyns, Jan Merritt

Denise Kaminski,

Check this one out!

2024 at our 50 year class reunion. 68 year olds that grew up as friends because we all lived around a block from each other. 

Kevin Adams, Pat Connolly, Ed Hass, Mike Maguire

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The same 4 guys, circa 1967? at around 11 years old, 57 years earlier!

      Kevin Adams                  Pat Connolly                    Ed Hass                             Mike Maguire

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Thanks to Kathy Kuzyns Bykowski Duhon for the great pictures!

Kathy Kuzyns Bykowski Duhon

This was from our 45 year reunion in 2019:

— with Kevin Adams and 2 others(me/Mike Maguire on the left) Ed Liskiewicz in the middle

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— with Maria Aldea.

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Kathy Kuzyns on left

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— with Diane Kolbe Frazier and 2 others.

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— with Joann Spagnoletti-Trevisan and 3 others

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Mary Ann Karpach and Kevin Adams

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— with Joann Spagnoletti-Trevisan and Marti Wojciechowski.

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                                                          — with Joann Spagnoletti-Trevisan and Maria Aldea.

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— with Ed Liskiewicz and Robert Domka.

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— with Mary Laczynski Hengesbaugh.

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This was from our 40 year reunion in 2014.

Tony Misiak in the middle is no longer with us   

Ed Hass, Tony Misiak, Mike Maguire

Ed and Tony were Boy Scouts together!!! Tony lived on the same street that I did but 2 blocks north on the Detroit side. 

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Thanks again to:

 Kathy Kuzyns Bykowski Duhon for the great pictures!

Kathy Kuzyns Bykowski Duhon

Here's a 1 hour video of our reunion, 5 years ago:

St. Alphonsus Class of 1974(Dearborn Michigan) - 45 year reunion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSlGu8IQk1E

More pictures:

From recognition: Frank Miglory, Mitch Diedzik, Steve Dolan,  Marty Ryzak, Mark Bukonevitch, Ray Neminsky, ?,  Bill O'Reilly. 

Apologize for the bad spellings. 

                                              Ed Hass, Kevin Adams

                        Mitch Deidzik ?, Steve Dolan, Marty Ryzak.

                                Jan Merritt, Joann Spagnoletti

                          Kathy Kuzyns, Mel Dokman

                 Bob Prutchnik, Denise Kaminski

                                                                            Entire group