Pearl River Class of '61 Converges for Weekend Celebration

Fifty years after graduation more than a third of Pearl River High School’s 106-member Class of 1961—a class that included several exchange students—will converge on the town for a four-day gala reunion this weekend.

The affair, which includes an optional Las Vegas reunion in October for anyone so inclined, officially starts Friday night at 6 p.m. under a tent at the east end of the old high school football field on Central Avenue—across from TD Bank, and adjacent to the Hook & Ladder Fire House.

A picnic is slated Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a dinner/dance that night at the Pearl River Elks Club in Nanuet. A Sunday brunch is also expected to be on the schedule, and the Memorial Day Parade on Monday will cap off festivities for those who are still standing.

“It’ll be a lot of fun to revisit the old places, and share some stories,” promises Linda McMahon Carles, who moved to Pearl River in fifth grade, left town after graduation, and later settled in New Canaan, CT, where she has lived the past 39 years.

“I’m also bringing along some originals—the original commencement program and G.O. cards from the seventh grade on,” continued Linda, who has signed on for the Las Vegas segment at the New York-New York Hotel just in case she is able to attend.

Linda, who said she benefited from a very active intramural program at Pearl River that even offered horseback riding, was sorry to relate that one or two former classmates she was especially hoping to see are not going to be on hand.

“But they were enthusiastic about everyone reconnecting, and said for everyone to have a good time,” Carles added. “I guess that’s one of the benefits of email—to make it possible for them to reconnect even without being here.”

Jim Trojan, a lifetime resident generally recognized as “The Pearl River Historian” and a member of the 1958 championship football team as a JV player, is looking forward to seeing classmates he has not seen since the last class reunion 20 years ago, and seeing other classmates he has not seen in 50 years.

Trojan remembers that most of the attendees went from kindergarten through 12^th grade together in the same building.

“It was the only school in Pearl River. They knocked it down in 1980,”  Trojan notes, mentioning other teammates who will reconnect, such as Joe Zenovic, now of San Diego, CA, and Wayne “Botch” Van Dorehren, Joe Gisler, and Russ Williams, who owns Crown Trophy in Pearl River.

“Pearl River is very nostalgic, it will be nice to revisit the old sites and smells,” said Zenovic, who has spent the last 30 years in San Diego, where he owns an organic farm, and builds homes.

Zenovic ran cross country in addition to playing football at Pearl River, and is a graduate of Ohio State.

“(I am) looking forward to seeing Gail Ewald,” Zenovic said. “She’s coming from Canada. There are 15 of us who started in Mrs. Jersey’s kindergarten class in diapers, and will be together in diapers again!

“A lot of years have quickly gone by. You know, a lot of old friends are coming from all over. We had a close class. There will be a lot of nostalgia. Pearl River was a good place to grow up, particularly in the ’50s. One guy—Don Herpold—he may come in from German. We reached out to two exchange students, and a few others are coming from California, and Colorado, too. One girl, Diane Colombo, is coming from Washington State. We also have John Clauson and Rob Bergman from the Class of ’62 who are going to join the party. We’re all friends, absolutely, and still friends.”

The friendships, observes Ken Myles--who moved to Guilford, CT, in 1972,  and served 35 years at Yale University as a business application and curriculum designer--will probably last a lifetime.

Like Linda McMahon, Myles was happy to reconnect with former classmates and teammates (he played soccer two seasons) through email, and also was happy to relate that even those who cannot make the reunion offered their best wishes. Myles mentioned, among others, Dan Cotton, Armine Wodehouse, Mike Schwartz, and Norm Neus, sidelined by an automobile accident.

And like another reunionista, Zenovic, Myles is astounded by the number “50.”

“It doesn’t sound like a number that belongs to any of us—but I’m sure we all probably feel like this,” said Myles, now working in conjunction with Yale doing retirement presentations and personal consulting. “It’s very much about the people coming; if you get 30-33 percent of classmates, that’s a good number. We had several cases where friends couldn’t come for one reason or another, but at least they were able to make contact again. That’s a nice thing, to make connections.”

And even nicer, according to Trojan, that the big gala is being staged in Pearl River.

“A lot of us have friends, and made friendships with other classes,” said Trojan, a 33-year Rotarian. “They can pop in—you don’t have that in Las Vegas. For me, (Las Vegas) it’s not as practical with all I have going on.”

For Trojan, and others, this weekend in Pearl River marks another chance to make more history. They wouldn’t have it any other way, this Class of ’61 veterans would readily attest.

“Time is short; you have to do what you can while you can still walk,” Linda McMahon Carles, perhaps speaking for everyone, concluded. “It’ll be very nice.”

Cliff notes

• Karen Nolan, a highly involved member of the Class of 1961, is opening her arms to former classmates—as well as any other class members—to a three-day Pearl River Celebration of Life Reunion at the New York-New York Hotel in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas dates are Oct. 14-15-16. “There is much to do in Las Vegas, and a lot of it is free,” notes Nolan, who left Pearl River in 1994, and settled in California. Nolan, who will not be attending this weekend’s extravaganza, is calling the Las Vegas event a Celebration of Life because 20 known members of the Class of ’61 have died in the intervening 50 years. For further information call 562-879-9368.
• Just to join the fun, so to speak, the Pearl River High School Class of 1970 is getting around to celebrating its 40^th reunion 7 p.m. Saturday night at the newly renovated Holiday Inn in Orangeburg, off Route 303. Hall of Famer Frank McGarvey has officially signed up to attend, but, noted Jim Trojan, the retired teacher is expected to find his way to Pearl River to enjoy a moment or two with his former students at the 50^th reunion bash.
• Sometime during, or prior to Monday’s parade, the late Heinz Ahlmeyer, Class of 1961, will be recognized. A second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, Ahlmeyer was killed in action on his first day of service in Viernam in 1967, while leading a mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Khe Sanh. Ahlmeyer’s remains were not found and identified until 2005. A rugged two-sport athlete for the Pirates, Ahlmeyer was buried on May 10, 2005 in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, 38 years to the day after he was killed in combat. Subsequently, the post office in Pearl River was renamed in his honor.  Heinz’s brother Bill was an Orangetown police officer until he died of cancer in 1986.
• Joe Zenovic is hopeful of revisting the apparently timeless Mel Leibman, who has been at Mel’s Army and Navy at 25 S. William St. for 56—count ’em—56 years. “The last time I saw him, 20 years ago, I walked in, and he said ‘How are you doing, Joe.’ Amazing memory. I’m looking forward to seeing him. I’ll walk in again, say hello, and he’ll probably say ‘Hello Joe.’ ’’
• Another reveler coming from a distance is Nancy Hadler, who is making the journey from Freeport, TX.