The schedule ...

Let's just review what we have coming up in July:

Wednesday, July 18 - Warmup at the Penny Lane Grill, 10255 Main St. in Clarence (near Strickler) on Wednesday night.

Thursday, July 19 - Feel free to drop in for an warmup adult beverage at Brennan's at Main and Transit at night.

Friday, July 20 - The music festival "Rock the Barn" gets underway, going 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Check out the event here. For those who would prefer a little exercise on a Friday night, three's a four-mile race  that at least one member of the Class of '73 will do - although he expects to do it alone in terms of his high school pals. Afterwards, or in case of rain, stop by Brennan's for a beverage.

Saturday, July 21 - The schedule for Saturday night is essentially the same as Friday night, without a race. John Salzyn has talked about trying to set up a little golf outing for those interested in the afternoon.

Sunday, July 22 - A picnic is planned at one of the shelters at a Clarence Town Park; we're in the process of firming that up. The guess is that the reunion committee will bring some basics (some food to be cooked, charcoal, whatever), and guests can bring something else (salad, dessert). We'll have more details on this in the near future.

Planning on attending some events? Let us know through the Facebook page (Clarence Class of 1973 or Clarence Senior High School Friends) or via email (ClarenceClassof1973@gmail.com). The only event that a head count is needed is the picnic. Remember, all are welcome at any event if they can put up with constant references to the early 1970s (from President Nixon to Dog 'N Suds).

Coming in from out of town? If you need ideas on what to do, we are here to help. Someone can show downtown Buffalo (it's changed a lot lately) or Clarence (it's changed less), for example. We did a high school tour five years ago - wait until you see the artificial turf on the football field.

Reincarnation

We brought a person back to life today ... sort of.

That leads to an interesting story, as you'd expect.

Classmates.com is not the only website devoted to keeping track of high school classes. There are a couple of others, even if they aren't as popular. One of them is called "Old Friends." You can find it by going here.

We stumbled on it while doing a search, and saw that a "Beth Burton" was reported as deceased on Oct. 20, 2013. After searching through the class database we have, we saw that this was Beth Hutchinson Burton.

It took a little while, but we discovered that she is still on Facebook - posting away. It's fair to say that reports of her demise have been exaggerated.

Welcome back to the world of living, Beth. If someone is in touch with her, pass the word along.

You might want to take a look at the site, if only to see the messages. Budd received one that read, "I don't know if you'll get this but I've looking for you for years." There was no name attached, deepening the mystery.

Senior year plans ...

I dug up two pages of lists on what the senior class planned to do after graduation. Wonder how many followed through with those plans? Click on the image to see a bigger, more clear picture.

No longer missing

One of the best parts of working on the reunion committee is finding out how stories turned out. In this case, one of our classmates is no longer missing in action.

Scott Large certainly was one of the nice guys of the class. It was with some sadness that he took over for Florida for college after graduation, and apparently stayed there. His parents may have moved as well. And his friends wondered, "Whatever happened to Scotty L...?" Bowling outings just weren't the same without him.

The upcoming reunion prompted a web search for Scott, and this one wasn't so hard. A name came up, followed by a link to a Wikipedia entry. Yup, that was our Scott.

Be sure to check out the link. The reunion committee quickly figured out that he's the second-most famous member of our high school class; he just didn't win any Super Bowl rings.

We've now connected to him on LinkedIn. He may not have made any previous reunions, but it seems likely now that he might have been listening in on us.

And maybe he'll say hello on this blog through a comment to his old pals who are happy for his success. That idea applies to anyone who can or can't be in town in mid-July.

Flash Briefing: May 11

The reunion committee still isn't big enough to fill all the chairs in the dining room of the house of  Donna Kothen Raepple, but it did meet last night and had a few updates:

* Good news/bad news - We have tracked down several people since the last update. They have been recorded on the previous blog of the missing people. (Close call - we found Herbie Huntz Jr., but not his dad the Class of  '73 graduate.) We still have plenty to find, so any help would be appreciated. Send a note with clues to us, perhaps through our email address of ClarenceClassof1973@gmail.com.

The bad news is that the obituary list grew by one last night, as Leslie Moushey's passing was discovered on line. We will think of her too. That list has generated a lot of comment so far.

(UPDATE - A day later, we learned that Mike Bald died about two years ago.) 

*  The Clarence Classes of 1968 and 1978 will be staging their reunions on the same weekend - and in some cases nearby our locations. So be sure to speak up to the '68ers so they can hear you at their advanced age.

* If you are wondering what the heck "Rock the Barn" is, then this website will have some clues on what some alumni will be doing on the first two nights of the reunion.

* We are checking out shelters at some of the Town Parks around Clarence for the Sunday picnic. This may turn into a "pot luck" situation, where everyone brings something and the commitee takes care of the essentials. More on that as we go along. 

* The reunion committee seems willing to help visitors see parts of the area, even if they come into town a day or two early. So, alumni, let us know what you would like your time here to be and we'll see how we can help. It may be your last chance to see Eastern Hills Mall with stores in it, as redevelopment seems to be coming.