Dear Mark,
I would like to congratulate you and your committee for organizing an outstanding class reunion for the '70's. Everyone I spoke to was pleased with the event and left that evening with tremendously good feelings. I saw and talked to people (my graduates) that I had not seen in 35 years.
I also would like to thank you and your committee for the wonderful tribute you gave me that evening. It was an honor beyond any expectation.
Thank You Again,
Joe Cattarin
Mark,
Let me be among the FIRST to send you HUGE congratulations on a magnificent job of organizing and carrying off one of the most successful reunions that Chuck and I have EVER attended.
Your attention to details was outstanding. And I wanted to share what Gianna Cattarin said to
me as we rode home in the back seat together. She is so happy to have Joe witness the tributes in his lifetime rather than to have everyone say how much he meant to everyone at his funeral. And she's so right.
Now, in the present, is when we need to tell each and every person who has touched us that;
They mattered. We love them. We appreciate them. We thank them.
Job well done, Mark. Chuck and I had a wonderful time.
Thank-you,
Eileen Short
Follow up:
I can't begin to tell you how many conversations this
past week have revolved around a wonderful recap of
the weekend activities. Family members, neighbors,
Cattarins, Giacominos . . . the whole mix. It was no
less than fabulous. You and your team did a
SUPERLATIVE job on all facets of it.
Eileen Short
Hey Mark,
Good food, music not too loud, Hula dancers cute. This time I even got lei'ed.
Adora is real nice, I think things will work out just fine for you there.
Best of luck,
Mike Mottola
Thank you so much for all your work in making that fabulous reunion happen. It couldn't have been any better. For me, it was great to see my former faculty members and students. If you know anyone who could be convinced to do this for the 80's decade please pressure them. I was there until 85 and my kids graduated in 81 and 83 . The 81 class didn't even have a 25th.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Sylvia Lee
That was a great time...there was so many people that I would of liked to talked to more. Thank you for the work you put into this reunion. It was awesome, great turnout. It had such an impact on so many people I talked to, I wish there would of been more time. I didn't get to talk at all to some people, there were just so many and so much to talk about. I didn't even get to shake your hand. Well done my friend.
Thanks Again,
Slade French
Just wanted to thank you for a very joyous night. It was really a boost to my ego(when you get old you need that once in a while). Everything was perfect. Keep me in mind for future get together's. Hope you too enjoyed yourself. Take care....
Neil McNevin
I just wanted to say what a fantastic job you did with the reunion. Even though I was hearing about it from Cathy all the time, (who tends to hype things up) it far exceeded my expectation... All the details were noticed and very much appreciated... I think everyone had a great time. I think it was a night that felt magical, and will probably never be re created!
Chris Voisard
Just wanted to say you guys did a great job on the reunion last night. I graduated in 1967, and just stopped by too see Mr. Catterin's award ceremony. Also, my brother, Larry Giacomino taught at HMB in the early 70's. After being there for a short time, I wish I would have attended for the whole evening. Again, you all did a fantastic job.
James Giacomino
Hi Mark,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you again for arranging such a great class reunion. A good time was had by all and I admire all of your efforts and hard work that you put into this great event.
Thank you, thank you, thank you……
Sharon Daher
I want to congratulate you and your committee for putting on one of the best, if not the best, reunions I have ever attended. I did not speak to one person who was not excited and totally impressed with all that you did. Everyone was having a great time, and I didn't have to send anyone to the office for misbehaving!
I cannot thank you enough for all that you did. Your recognition of the teachers was magnificent. Thank you for everything. The yearbook, the abalone shell (one of the most beautiful awards I have ever seen let alone, received), the theme, food, drinks, etc. It was just so outstanding that I really can't express myself fully as to how much I appreciated and enjoyed this event. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I wish you the very best,
Don Berry
I wanted to congratulate you for your success with the Reunion. Laura Zeigler said it was one of the best nights of her life! She was so impressed with everything you did to make the teachers feel welcome. She told me all about it and I was even more sad that I couldn't be there!
Also, she said that there was a list of those who had passed away. I know this is very sad, but there was one student in particular who I was wondering about. He had been in a serious accident many years and I wondered if he had recovered. His name is Lennie Stabb. If it's not too much trouble, could you send me the list or look to see if he is on the list? I would really appreciate it. He was such a great guy when he was a student in my class.
But anyway, just wanted to congratulate you on your terrific success! Thanks so much for all your hard work. I know you made the teachers all feel very proud and appreciated.
Take care,
Judy (Elder) Wasmann
Dear Mark,
I cannot tell you what a wonderful time I had at the reunion and how much I appreciate all the work you and your committee did to make it such an amazing night.
It was wonderful to see all my former students and colleagues and to catch up on how they are spent the last 25+ years. Having the teachers be such a big part of the event was so meaningful to me. In honesty, as a teacher, you never really know if you get through to students. Hearing such kind words from so many of my past students was both a surprise and special gift. The yearbook and shell were just icing on the cake.
Your time, energy, creativity, and initiative made this event so successful. Just know how much of a difference you made in so many lives over the weekend. Congratulations and thank you for all your effort.
Sincerely,
Laura Ziegler
Thank you for all of your hard work and organization. The Reunion was a tremendous success. The decorations, Hawaiian entertainment, "Rip Tides" and the food was fantastic. It was a pleasure meeting some of you.
I thought that the highlight of the evening was honoring your former Teachers. I'm sure it was very special to them.
This was the best Reunion I've ever been too.
I had a great time.
Thank You,
Jeff Jensen
(Husband of Patti Barchard - 1975)
Thanks for a wonderful time on Saturday and all the work that your committee did for all us reunionites!!
THANKS!!!
Liz Knox
The Reunion Party was absolutely awesome!!! I never expected to have so... much fun or see so many different people from different times in my life from childhood to adult. I also wanted to add a name to the obituary board. My sister Maureen Elliott died in January 1983. She was a varsity cheerleader at HMB. There is a memorial page in the 1983 yearbook for her. I just thought I would add it to your list since you have really done a fantastic job of keeping things current.
I hope you plan another great event like this down the road. None of us will recognize each other for sure but it'll still be fun.
With great thanks!!!!
Kathy Elliott Merlo
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you had as much fun as the rest of us.
What a great time and action packed full of terrific twists and turns.
I was looking over Mike Warners photos and some terrific ones of you and your very nice girlfriend.
I know it was a difficult job but I hope you know how much every one of your classmates needed to get away to such an fun event.
If you plan to do it again I am more that there for you.
Take care.
Hope to see you soon,
Diane Stockman
What an amazing event you put together!! So many people were brought together again and we all had such a wonderful time. I could never thank you enough for the effort that you put into the planning and the execution of the weekend's festivities -- thank you!!!!!
All the best to you forever,
Barbara LaVey
I'd like to congratulate you on a wonderful reunion. I hope there will be another one. If there is, and you would like to have an extra pair of hands to assist, I would be happy to help in any way I can.
Looking forward to the next one!
Lynn Miller & Vince Wright
I just wanted to thank again so much for all the work I know you did to make that wonderful reunion a reality. Having invited the old teachers was so nice and so appreciated by all; we all had a great time.
The food and drinks were fantastic, the theme was fun, it was great how everybody got into the theme, too. So many other little things (that I know were plenty of work) like the yearbooks for the staff, the memorial to those staff and kids who have died, etc. were so special.
I found that the kids (it is shocking that they range from mid '40's to mid '50's - in my mind they are all still teenagers) all looked pretty much as they did. I was able to recognize just about everybody and they were all so gracious and friendly. The fact is that now we are all in about the same age group; isn't THAT strange!
Anyway, Mark, thanks so much for all you did; it was truly a memorable occasion for all of us.
Robert J. Fernandez
Half Moon Bay High School
1958-1962 (as a student)
September, 1966 - June, 1967 (student teacher)
September 1967 - January, 2006 (teacher)
I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and for the success of this reunion. It was a joy to see all that came. You and the committee went above and beyond this year. It was (awesome) that does not seem to do it justice. It was just unbelievably perfect.
Thank you,
Donna Ratliff-Dias
Karen and I had a wonderful time at the reunion. It was a blast seeing all the faces from the past. Great job and thanks for the invite!
Dwayne Dinucci
First off, An incredibly great job with an absolutely unforgettable reunion evening. I know you and your crew worked for weeks to put this event together. It was a huge success in my "book" and I know you must be pleased, as well. All this week, in HMB I've been telling the "no-shows" what they missed. What a turn-out! I can't believe how many people I could still recognize. A great- looking group after all those years.
Thanks again for all your hard work.
Steve Bowerman
Dude,
Thanks for all the time and effort and extra's you provided for the best weekend I've had in about thirty years...looking forward to the next one...If you get a chance could you let me know if there are any photo's on the web...
Thanks again and looking forward to seeing you very soon...TUCK...
Tom Tucker
I had a Great time! You did a wonderful job - thank you so much! Everyone was happy, it was all so easy.
You and Chris Kurtz are stars and I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude for such a sweet gift. I really didn't expect to enjoy a reunion so much. Next time I am coming for the Friday night event, too ( I was at Lynard Skynard - Freebird!!)
See you next time
Sheila McNamara
Dear Mark,
All the best to you,
Kathy Rowe (Gray- 1976)
To any and all participants,
These reunions make me think of the word "Union".
Because, that is part of what happens to childhood
friends.
There is a sort of union, bond, connection, which is
different from what we make as adults.
Upon reconnecting such shared experience, I see my
childhood through a new pair of eyes. Half Moon Bay
is a place where we form a more intimate bond. It is
isolated, rural, small and quaint.
These shared memories for me, are emotionally
powerful. My young mind was receptive. The revelry,
parties, fun and romance, take on a rich and thick
character of
being fully alive.
My coaches were a special highlight for me. I poured
so much emotion into sports. The bonds I have with
the coaches is burned like a DVD into my brain.
Funny also how the track teams were so well
represented. Why is that? I am not sure. Does
anybody have an opinion?
Finally, a non-verbal event from the reunion. I was
eating some cheesecake, talking to Stacy Oberti. Gian
Hnatt came up. Without a word, reached with his hand,
took my cheesecake and ate it. He knew I would laugh,
having been with me at countless ball games and
parties.
Thanks to all the committee, this was a colossal trip
through my childhood.
Peter Welty
This was the best one yet, I don't remember the last time I had sooo much fun! It was a lovely party: Good food, good music, with plenty of long-lost friends on every side. The next day at the beach was a great way to relax and follow up some more. (Y'know, I'd never been to that beach, so it was a new experience in itself.) I was sorry when it all ended and I had to go back to work the next morning. But now many of us have a better connection, a better idea of where we are--besides the great time, I think that is the best result.
My thanks to you and the others who worked so hard,
Jeannette Polacek
A huge "Thank you" for pulling off such an awesome weekend. Most people I talked to said they felt they couldn't "Thank" the committee enough for such a great event and all the hard work they did!
To those that missed this past weekend seriously consider the next one! We've all been around for many fleeting years, and this event was one of the best in my years. So, either I'm a dull homebody or this was truely an awesome reunion.
The photos I took I'll soon be posting on my website: www.crawfordphoto.biz or/and here in Classmates gallery. Any incrimminating photos I have will be posted on the internet unless bribes arrive quickly....
Again, I encourage all to thank this incredible reunion committee for their amazing commitment, blood, sweat, & tears for pulling this off.
Steve Crawford
Mark,
I just wanted to tell you what a SUPER GREAT JOB you did in putting together the class reunion. It was one of the best reunions I’ve ever been to everything was great the decorations, food, and entertainment. I reconnected with people I haven’t seen since high school and enjoyed catching up. It felt like we were back in high school everyone looked great and seeing all of the teachers was an added bonus. Thank you again!!
Jackie Miramontes-Buckley
Class of ‘77
Wow! Amazing, amazing, amazing. But I don't think amazing or any word for that matter would suffice. I had never been to any reunion prior to this one, but I know in my heart that nothing could ever come close to being as "amazing" as this one was. You and your fantastic reunion crew deserve accolades like no other. I agree with several others, that the time seemed to fly by too fast and there were so many people I so wanted to see and touch once again, but could not find them nor the time. It was with great warmth and yet sadness that I left that night, having laughed and hugged and kissed and even cried, with those and for those that I have always kept close at heart and dearly loved from my past. I will never miss the opportunity to regroup again for as long as I am able. I can't wait until we see each other again.
With fondness and gratitude,
Janet Hatcher Patrick - Class of 1974
Thanks for a great weekend,
Your friend always,
Kathy Gray
I CRASHED this reunion...thought I mighta known 3 people that were there. I mean heck for a guy that left HMB after 7th grade at Cunha in 1970...I was welcomed back with open arms. AWESOME weekend...even the wife enjoyed herself.
David Grathwohl
Hey Mark,
GREAT JOB ON THE REUNION...too much fun. Total KUDOS to you and your team. What a blast. You put on a great party. :)
So are you going to do it again in 5 years? Or is it too soon to ask? LOL :)
Jackie Wade
Hi Mark,
I just wanted to say Thank You for organizing such a fun '70's Weekend for us all to enjoy. I'm an event planner by profession and I know how much work goes into a successful event. You and the team did a great job and we appreciate your efforts. How fun to see so many people all at one party. We had a blast, Thank You!
Wendy Gehring Funicello 1975
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR A FABULOUS PARY!Deborah Richmond (Van Noland)
Mark Lee,
Great work, Jean (Lundgreen) Kelly, me and Janie Gandolfi help put on events
costing 100,000's of clams at work, but I don't think they would be any more
fun than what you did. The Aloha wear theme while fitting did sadly enhance
the Big Labowski effect.
Can't wait till next one,
Brenda Donald
Even with a cold I had a great time seeing friends from the past and would like to thank you for the beach get together too. Said Hi to you but wasn't wearing my name tag anymore. Sat down the table from you and Shana when Kimo was looking at pics someone brought. Whoever gave Joycie a cheese cake pie(1/2) when we donated a little more upon leaving tell them it was great. -------I got to sit in back seat on way back to Santa Cruz and hold on to it . Pie size drastically changed when I found a spoon in my purse .
Vicky Alexander
Dear Participants,
Although many of the same people worked on the 2002 reunion, something happened this year among the committee--and we grew close and bonded like I would have never expected. The Hawaiian word for family is "Ohana," and helping to plan this phenomenal party together made us just that--family. The years of phone calls, late night emails, personal disclosures, and mutual creativity turned us into a real force, ripe with willingness.
What made it remarkable to me, was that none of the committee members were particularly close in High School. The experience of planning this event drew us closer to each other; and we found that despite the trappings of whatever faction we associated ourselves with in High School, we could close the gaps that so many of us believe we have between each other and become one. We all have a shared history; growing up in rural Half Moon Bay; and no one else in the world (but us) knows what that means.
I will never forget the war cry of "Ohana!" as the committee broke up on Thursday night, after a day of decorating. At that point, it was all still to come; and the anticipation after four years of planning was more than any one of us could stand.
Five years ago, at the 2002 reunion, my life utterly changed. I was reunited with Peter Welty, my High School sweetheart, and on August 17th (the date of the reunion and what we call our anniversary) we will have been together five years.
As I urged fellow alumni to attend this rocking party, I said to many that just as the previous reunion changed my life, that this might change theirs. Since the reunion, my mailbox has been flooded with letters about what this reunion meant to them. I think for many, we met old ghosts, we revisited both painful and joyous memories, healed wounds with old crushes, and recounted a history together on the foggy coastside. It was like the reunion weekend was a shot in the arm for so many; and for some it was life changing as well.
I am thankful I had my trusty friend Marilyn, to sit with me at the door and take tickets. With Terese Mello and Chris Kurtz behind us, they literally had our backs. The sea of faces that came at me, one by one, was almost overwhelming. Memories hung like suspended raindrops above us. It was a whirlwind; a flood of emotions.
When I saw Mr. Catterin my eyes filled with tears. He was smiling...that big generous smile he always smiled, and I knew why I, and so many others, admired him so. He must have one of the most generous spirits on the planet.
When I was 17, and I would try and imagine our future reunions, say our 30th, I would have imagined a bunch of hunched over geezers balancing on wobbly legs, talking about their arthritis. But what I encountered was a spirited group of adults, happy to be a part of one of the best parties Half Moon Bay has ever seen, and pleased that someone had a vision to reunite us all again.
The person with that vision is Mark Center, and I'm glad that somehow, through all the craziness of life, I hooked up with Mark; and now consider him one of my friends. As I do all of the committee. Ohana!
And it was a joy to see the rest of you too. Thank you all for participating in this memorable event.
Mahalo.
Cathy Voisard
Marcus,
As you know, I have three brothers who went to HMB high during the 70's at one time or another or even at all...My two older brothers, Marco and Rusty, who could not attend for whatever their reasons. (Marco always said "just be cool, cut school, play pool"), Well my younger brother Alessandro did attend the I D E S Hall Luau, he said it was a very touching night for him since he has not been able or had the chance to come to any reunion before, also this was the first time we ever came to any high school event together, that's over 30 years or more gone by in a flash.
So it was quite exciting for the both of us to be there at the same time. I came with my wife Sherrie and Alessandro with his fiance Mary. We all had a nice time bragging it up and seeing old buddies, eating "free cheese cake" checkin out old pictures and looking at even older teachers. Not that I'm getting any younger, man, what was a trip.
To all the old friends gone by and those who could not make it do to hardship or to unfortunate circumstances or those who could care less about these sort of things, (like school) they were in our thoughts and stories.....
After all the eating, drinking, horsing around and the ka 'os of it all it was great thing...kinda like hanging out at high school all over again.....here's to you and to all that helped.....
Thanks for lettin me in...
Gian Carlo
From Mark Center: Gian Carlo is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I moved to the coastside when I was 5 ( from Linda Mar, Pacifica) and Gian, Dean Rafello, Don Fuller, Maria Loffler and a few others have been and still are, nearest to my heart and soul. Gianni's parents knew my Mom and Dad and, well, it's something deep and profound that I'm hoping many other coastsiders share as well. The coastside experience, the life long friendships and a never ending connection which others, not from the coastside, may share in some marginal way but I doubt that anyone who's not from the coastside can completely grasp our communal love and friendship for each other and our community. Congradulations to the community from the '70's, those who had the last chance to live the coastside lifestyle as it was meant to be lived... Free!
Cop free, traffic free, hassle free, free beach's and hills. To do what we wanted, when we wanted, all the while, covered in fog... and it was ours man! It was all ours!
Thx Gian Carlo!
Well, my friend, you have made a wonderful, positive impact on the lives of many people with your drive, tenacity and spirit. Mahalo brah and see you again in 2012!!!
Cindy "Bongo Lips" Smith
Mark: Cindy was instrumental in contacting and then persuading many "Hill People" and others to attend this event. Her hard work did not go unnoticed.
I loved the reunion. It was the most FUN by far. No worries about not getting to chat much at the reunion. I know how it is to host a party, and that was a huge party. It was nice to see your smiling face. I miss you and would love to get together. Cathy, the reunion was fabulous, you all did a wonderful job. Thank-you and the rest of your committee for all of your hard work.
Love you
Jenine Lackey
Thanks a million for the Faculty Yearbook. I had so much fun looking at all the old pictures and reading what my fellow faculty members had to say. It just brought back so many memories. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending a copy to me even though I couldn't make it to the reunion. Thanks also for the Hawaiian music CD! I also loved looking at all the pictures that Mike Warner took. They were emailed to me. It looked so fun! You did a great job.
Congratulations and thanks again!
Take care,
Judy Elder
I really enjoyed looking at them. Did I see Tim Werder? Was George Todd there? I thought I might have seen him. Also, it said that Jim Buffmire paid at the door. I didn't see him in any picture, which is kinda unusual for Buffmire. I did see Paula Christensen, Debbie Weaver, Ted Smith, Gain Hnatt, and Gene Leslie though, and that was totally awesome!
Your friend,
Rene Ferretti
A party for that many people is quite an impressive thing to witness. It was interesting to watch as the room filled and filled with people- and as people mingled into all the gaps in the room. And then to see the faces next to faces that I remember from the 70's all get together- exchanging hugs, hand shakes, kisses, smiles, laughter, joy, amazement- as well as all the old emotions surfacing from youth. I could feel the level of togetherness rise in the room as people became reacquainted and helped each other find friends and get reintroduced. Each evolving fifteen minute period had a different quality. So fun to experience every epoch. It was brief, but it was huge!
Thank you Mark for your outstanding leadership and patience. Thank you Adora and Shana for all the extra effort and long long hours of effort. Thank you Tim and Terese and Marilyn and Cathy and Kathy and Nancy and Patti and Chris and Victoria for being so involved and devoted to all the details. You gave SO MANY people a lifetime peak experience. You really formed an impressive networked team to get all the details taken care of. There should be good feelings of pride and accomplishment in everyone. It was like watching the colorful flowers burst forth in a well loved garden.
And IT was colorful and fragrant with all those Hawaiian decorations!! The vision came true.
It was great. I'm happy to be a part of the glory. Happy to have seen all the effort pay off. And hope you all survived the big one!
If I didn't get a chance to embrace you as I left. I want this email to let you know how much I feel for all of you. And how impressed I feel by everyone's effort.
'Til we meet again...Long live the reunion team! May the glow last in you a long long time!!
Love,
Mike Warner
Mark,
The reunion was awesome! Thank you for all the planning and hard work you and the committee put in. It showed; in how well it went and how good it looked.
The teachers being there was a great plus! :-)
Jim Wilson
08/21/2007
Hey Mark...
Just a note to let you know how wonderful it was to see everyone. Thank you and the other committee members on a job that went above and beyond all expectation. It was great to rekindle some old relationships and see how everyone is... You're tribute to the teachers was very touching.
On a personal note Barry says to say that it was great to see you especially, and by the way he loved the recording of you guys' jam session on your web site entitled "Mark Center and the Butt Pilots."
Lots of love, and can't wait for the next one.
Pam Cattich & Barry Hutcherson
08/22/2007
Mark...and everyone I didn't know!!!
My wife and I had a great time in HMB at the 70's reunion. I'm sorry to say that I didn't recognise ANY faces save one and that was John Galli...I was mostly looking at name tags. I will say this, you folks throw one hell of a party. My wife asked me about midway through the night... So who's here that you actually KNOW?...I said to her... Well there's John who you just met... And that guy over there. It was Jerry Hogan... At least thats the name tag he had on...LOL... We played little league baseball together on the Patio Panthers team in 1968-69. The point was to get away for a week, take my wife to Monterey and San Francisco... And play with my new high performance toy.
The trip was a total success.
David Grathwohl 1975
08/28/2007
Well, well, well. What a freakin' good time!
BOTH NIGHTS!!! I started out the night meeting Barry Hutcherson, Pam Cattich and Julie Johnstoner and taking prom pics out in front of the Old Thyme Inn. Then met Diane and Tom Snyder. Diane asked me if I got a boob job. I told her they were real and that the boobie fairy gave them to me as a reward for bringing my son into the world. I said she could squeeze them if she didn't believe me, which of course she did. Then I asked if hers were real. She said yes and I squeezed hers because as you know one good squeeze deserves another. Tommy in the meanwhile is turning beet red and rolling his eyes in sheer horror. Then I asked Tommy if he preferred fake steel tittees that don't move when you walk or lay down, or the real ones that jiggle when you walk and face opposite sides east and west when you lay down. He screamed I DON'T CARE!! As he laughed out loud! AAAahhh good times, good times.
Gian Hnatt left a big bruise on my Gluteous maximus with the massive slap on the ass he gave me in a drunken stuper at the end of the night. That's about the only souvenir I came away with. The quiet demure Becky Schmidt was in rare form! Becky where'd you learn to whistle like that!!??? JC rocked with his brofro! Franny you looked awesome!! Von Kliesto didn't disappoint (Sieg Heil dude). Jimmy Buffmire, my old neighbor! GOD it was good to see you!
I LOVED watching the alumni play Friday night! But HEY MAN! WHERE ARE THE DRUMS?? In 2012 Mark Smith and Barry Hutcherson WILL PLAY right???!!! MAN I CAN'T WAIT FOR JULY OF 2012!! Rolph Smith will be in attendance!!! LOVE YOU ALL . .. CATHY, MARK, MARILYN AND EVERYONE who put this together. YOU ROCK . . . and yes you may take solace in the fact that you have made a positive impact on so many people in that I don't know one person disappointed in the gig.
Thank you, thank you and thank you again. I appreciate the fun, warmth and memories you have created from that awesome weekend.
Until 2012, stay healthy and see you then . . . .
CHEERS! SEEEYUH!
Cindy Smith (Check out the photos on Cindy's Classmates Page)
08/31/2007
Hi Mark,
Sorry I did not send this message to you right after
the reunion; I guess I'm getting a little unorganized
in retirement. You know, busy people get more done and
that brings me to you- WHAT A GREAT JOB! THANK YOU.
That was the best reunion I ever attended or even
heard about. You and your committee brought a great
deal of happiness to hundreds of people. The
conversations I had with some of my students will stay
with me for the rest of my days. Thank you for
honoring the teachers and especially Joe Cattarin.
Joe
is universally loved by students and colleagues. He set
a tone of serious effort for students and staff but he
always kept a sense of humor. The principles of
democracy he wove into his teaching became a
cornerstone in the adult lives of so many of his
students and your special recognition gave everyone an
opportunity to thank him. Great company, great food, a
great time.
We are all indebted to you. Mark Center-
Thank you.
Gary Dilley
09/20/2007
Hello Mark,
I think you did a fantastic job with the 70's reunion I am sure it was a huge pain in the ass. It was good to see my old neighbor from all those yrs ago. I am glad your mom and sister are doing well and I was sorry to hear from you about your dad.
I can remember your pet deer and I can remember you paying me $0.25 to eat a fly, you big spender. I got in so much trouble for that I couldn't go the birthday party to the neighbor on the other side of your parents place.
I hope life has treated you and your family well and best wishes to all of you.
Sincerely,
Joe Zebro
11/20/2007
Hey Mark,
Wwell the only thing that I can add is that Im truly sorry I wasnt able to come, after seeing pictures and speaking with a few old friends that did attend.Ill be at the next one. So until then.
Stacey Purcell
11/28/2007
What is there to say about a reunion that spanned more than a decade and placed the spotlight on the whole Cougar community.
What a great thing to see our teachers, friends, and colleagues.
12/09/07
What a blast ! It was so good to see so many people that spanned the years of HMB HIGH. The teachers were a treat. What a truly wonderful time. I have since ran in to several people that wished they had known about the reunion, I tell them 2012 !!! I will get addresses and send them off to your outtahear site. It was good to catch up on all that was going on in the life of everyone. So sad, but great to remember the lives of those that have past. So many have a fond place in my heart. What fun to see pictures of all those beautiful children that are out there.
Donna Ratliff - 1977
Oct 5, 2008
Hey Mark,
Here’s something I’d started pounding out last year, then life got in the way.
Thanks again for everything you did on the last reunion. Let me know what you need and when you need it from me..
TTYL
Chris Kurtz
OK, I finally found the time to pound out my thoughts on the reunion and my reunion with Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay is not the town I grew up in! It still has the same name and some of the small town feel. I went to the reunion thinking you can never go home. I drove down Grove St. where I grew up, it was the height of summer vacation, a beautiful day there were no children riding their bikes or playing in the streets. I sat in front of the house I grew up in; I could picture Craig Spriggs and me meeting to head down to Farmers Wheat, or the dumps. TJ Buckley cruising his bad ass truck down the street, Whiffle ball games in front of Steve Stockmans house with Barry Cantey, Joey St. Clair, Craig Barchard. I drove downtown HMB, pointing out places to my wife MaryAnn. That used to be Georges Toggery, Von’s Cinema, Original Johnny’s, Angelini’s Market, Half Moon Bay Inn, Duke’s gas station, Mantias Barbershop, Granelli and Cooke, D & D Cycles Etc. They are not there anymore. They are just memories, just like the memories I have of growing up there. Then the night of the reunion came. We’d already had the warm up on Friday night. I got a chance to see Mike Cotruvo whom I hadn’t seen in almost 25 years. There were others, it was tough we had no name tags!
Then the night of the reunion finally came. It was something that we’d worked on for 5 years. People start trickling in, and then pouring in! There were screams of recognition. There were tears of sadness for our lost classmates and the years that friends have lost.
Lori Short still had that beautiful smile that I remembered from First grade.
I see Doug Crawford, whom I’ve known for 44 years.
I see Janine Lackey and I remember coming home December 1975 for Christmas. I’d just gotten out of Boot Camp and was stationed at Lowery AFB Colorado. I was walking down Main St., someone yelled to me, I looked up and I saw a beautiful smile on a familiar face that somehow did not look familiar. Then I realized who it was and why she didn’t look familiar. It was Janine Lackey minus her beautiful mane of hair.
Karen Kennedy crying when I give her copies of class pictures that she’d lost in a house fire.
So many people came up to me thanking the reunion members for putting on such a great reunion. We grew up in a wonderful town!
I now realize that it’s not just HMB it’s the world we live in that has change. No you can’t go home as it was, ah but the memories can never be taken away.. I went to this reunion much more relaxed than the reunion 5 years ago, knowing that I’m not the only one that’s gotten older, rounder, balder, wrinkled… Stick around long enough and old is what you get!
Photos posted on Classmates.com