Fitchburg High School Class of 1954

Class of 1954

Fitchburg High School
... classmates staying in contact

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

55th Class Reunion

Fitchburg High School - Class of 1954 - 55th Class Reunion - June 6th and 7th 2009

  Hopefully By now you have all received your letters about our upcoming 55th high school reunion. Plans are still being made, so there will be much more information to share with you later on. What we do know is that we will meet at Westminster Country Club (directions at a later date) on Saturday June 6th at 6PM. From 6 to 7 there will be an open cash bar and informal picture taking. At 7 a sit down dinner (choices to be announced later) will be served. When everyone is finished there will be a short program – business and pleasure. At the time of the reunion our class will give the Crocker Field Restoration Committee a generous donation. After all that there will be ample time to make the rounds and talk to classmates.

  Our June 7th brunch plans have changed. We will not be having a buffet at the Old Mill. We are looking for a venue that is casual and reasonable. We will also have some things planned for Saturday daytime and suggestions on how to spend your free time.

  Information about hotel rooms, directions, etc will arrive in your reservation letter.

55th Class Reunion update: May 10, 2009

  More about the 55th Reunion Now that the reunion reservation letters are out, you know the 55th reunion plans. We said that it would not be as elaborate as the 50th and it won’t be. There was not much interest in having Saturday daytime organized activities or a Sunday breakfast/brunch.

  The breakfast/brunch did not work out for the following reasons:
  The buffet setups at several restaurants were not that appealing or worth the money.
  We weren’t sure the numbers were there to have a catered breakfast. Most providers want 100 people, or charge extra for fewer people, shrink the menu and then add 23% to the food cost.

  So, we decided to concentrate on the Saturday night party. We were hoping to find a cozy location with good food ordered from the menu. Our restaurant suggestions in the reunion letter should help and since you probably will sit with friends anyway, you can still have an enjoyable reunion experience. It is our main goal to make Saturday Night “Live” more about people our age in the 21st Century with some looking back to the 1950’s. In these times we can all use some humor and hopefully the evening will provide you with a few laughs.

  We are attempting to keep the cost down and the class will cover some of the expenses. The reservations are arriving and soon we will post a list of attendees. The more classmates that attend the more successful the reunion.

  We continue to add features to the web site thru the effort of Jack Christiansen. Any further information about the reunion will be posted on this website. If you are having problems reaching the website, contact us using the email address provided on the index page.

Planning Committee

Barbara Barton Badstubner, June Davis Barber, Betty Robinson Carbone, Roger Carbone, Ailee Suomala Case, Jack Christiansen, TomConry, Aila Roiko Crawford, Wes Demont, Richard Hansen, Marcia Dexter Hastbacka, Betty Mellitt Kaake, Betty Arslanian LaFosse, Al Lashua, Pat Lundberg Mogensen, Sheila Flanagan Murray, Barbara Palomaki, Jackie Amer Rhodes, Augie Sardinha, Helen Blood Sibley, Bob Tanguay

55th Class Reunion update: May 23, 2009 CONFIRMED ATTENDESS

The committee has been putting the finishing touches on our 55th reunion. We can’t divulge too much about it as we want it to be fun for everyone. This involves doing a few things we have never done before, but don’t worry there will still be time to make the rounds and catch up with your high school friends.

We have heard from several people who will be unable to come due to a variety of reasons. We will read their letters and pass along their good wishes to those at the reunion.

Those in attendance will be:

Barbara Palomaki
Pat (Lundberg) and Ken Mogensen
Fay (Foster) McChristian and Son
Jack and Mary (Godley) Walsh
Roger and Marsha Smith
Albert Lashua
Rich and Aila (Roiko) Crawford
Jacqueline (Amer) Rhodes
Thomas and Carol (Ward) Guartafierro
Barbara (Barton) Badstubner
Roger and Betty (Robinson) Carbone
Jack Christiansen
Betty (Arslanian) LaFosse
Marcia (Dexter) Hastbacka
Jan Mylott and Jerome Boyd
James Sparks
Patricia (Montonen) Isaac
Ted and Theresa (Simonds) Aho
Bruce and Joanne (Rowell) Buck
Ron and Helen (Blood) Sibley
Chet and Carole (Nason) Babineau
Donald Bent
Paul and Charlotte Bureau
Sal and Agnes (Kielty) Pallozzi
Muriel (Ward) Gulliver
Dick and Pauline (Sjoberg) Franck
Betsy Chalmers
David and Anne Aho
Sheila Murray
Wesley Demont
Tom Conry
Arsene Bajakian
Richard and Ellen (Mellitt) Kaake
Richard Hansen and Eleanor Erickson

55th Class Reunion update: June 3, 2009 June 1954

  It’s June, the month of roses, and time to reflect a bit on our last days as students at FHS. Graduation climaxed almost two weeks of commencement activities which included the junior/senior relay race, senior prom on June 11th, baccalaureate exercises and the presentation of numerous awards, prizes and scholarships.

  On June 24th at the 88th annual commencement ceremony, 214 seniors received their diplomas. The speaker was Dr. Lester VanderWerf, Dean of the College of Education at Northeastern. He told us that “a respect for beauty, ideas, morality, personality and self would help us to become well rounded and firm in conviction and wisdom”.

  Mayor Peter J Levanti presented the diplomas. Koula Georgalis Mantzouranis spoke on the class motto, “We Open the Door to Life”. Invocation was by Rev. William A Sumner, Pastor of the Finnish Congregational Church. Benediction was by Reverend Frank Anderson, Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Music was provided by the Senior Chorus and the School Orchestra.

  Here is a little trivia about that day. White bread was 15 cents a loaf, oranges were 69 cents a dozen, Ivory Snow 25 cents per box, and 2 cans of tuna sold for 55 cents. At Guy Palmerton’s Whalom Playhouse “The Happiest Years” with Isabel Price was about to begin. “Return To Paradise” with Gary Cooper was playing at the Whalom Drive-In. A double feature, “Lucky Me” with Doris Day and Robert Cummings and “Lone Gun” starring George Montgomery was at the Fitchburg Theater. The Cumming Theater was still in business and featured “His Majesty O’Keefe” with Burt Lancaster. And the Red Sox were in 7th place.

  It’s been almost 55 years since that day and on June 6th we will have our 11th class reunion, one every five years (we may have missed one). Over the years there have been several people involved in keeping records and planning the various get-togethers. We are grateful to them for bringing us to this point where our class is intact and able to repay our alma mater with various fiduciary awards. Unfortunately, 60 classmates have passed and we will have a special remembrance of each of them at this reunion. We will also miss those of you who aren’t able to come.

  Watch for a reunion recap with pictures on this site.