GA_091919

10 | September 19, 2019 | The glencoe anchor news
glencoeanchordaily.com
3
New Trier Class of 1954 celebrates its 65th anniversary
50 classmates
unite to ‘relive old
times’ in Winnetka
Alan P. Henry
Freelance Reporter
There weren’t a lot of
the bells and whistles that
enlivened many of their
previous high school reunions,
but that was just
fine with the room full of
83-year-olds who gathered
at the Indian Hill Club in
Winnetka last Saturday
night, Sept. 14, to mark the
65th anniversary of their
graduation from New Trier
High School.
“When you hang around
with 83-year-olds, we
are happy to be here. We
are happy to anywhere,”
smiled Bernie Rinella, one
of the reunion organizers
and president of the senior
class of 1954. “My uplifting
message is that we
have basically survived to
this age and are prospering
in a many instances.”
Like high school reunions
everywhere, curiosity
was a big draw. Or, as
Debby Hollingbery Roth
put it: “I like to see my
old buddies, and see how
they’ve changed.”
Of the 562 graduates
of the Class of 1954, 50
enjoyed the cocktail hour
and dinner at the club
alongside 25 partners. The
number was down from
roughly 100 for their 60th
five years ago.
“It gets tougher and
tougher to get people together
because of health
problems,” Rinella said.
More than 160 of their
classmates have died, including
close to a dozen
whose relatives responded
to the reunion invitation
with the sad news.
The gathering included
a smattering who traveled
from states across the
country, including Charley
Trense, who flew in from
Atlanta.
“I came in just for this,”
said the retired publishing
industry executive. “It’s
reuniting with your classmates,
reliving old times
and it is just a good time
for camaraderie.”
Trense noted when he
got married in 1960, classmates
Rinella, John Madigan
and Neil Stearns were
in his wedding party.
“I had some pretty good
support,” he said.
Like the other attendees,
Trense had nothing but
praise for his alma mater.
“It opened doors for me
later on in life and in getting
me a job because my
resume also read New Trier
High School, and that
was very meaningful to
employers,” he said.
Richard Simonds, a retired
CPA, gave a specific
shout out to his advisor,
biology teacher Mr. Hoyt.
“I remember freshman
year, the first day we were
there he said, ‘You’ve got
to start hitting the books
now and getting good
grades because when you
become a senior and all of
a sudden you decide you
want to go to a good college
and you haven’t gotten
very good grades there
will be no way to come
back from that.’”
Simonds heeded that advice,
and went on to Yale.
“It was a great education
and an experience I
will never forget and it
set me on the road to success,”
said Rinella, who
practiced family law for
58 years. “They gave me
great confidence in what I
was doing. In a lot of ways
the quality of teaching was
superior to college.”
Apart from the educational
aspects, New Trier
was just a great place to
develop lifelong friends,
classmates agreed.
“I met some of the best
people in the world and
I still see many of them.
Sixty-five years later we
still have great relationships
even though we are
in all different walks of
life,” said Carl Paletti, who
was in the real estate and
paving business.
Every July, Paletti is
one of about 35 classmates
who come on from all over
the country for a party at
Hackneys and some poker.
“The relationships just
seem to be really for real.
It is just a really good feeling
to see these people,” he
said.
Betsy Barnett said class
reunions also give her a
chance to connect with
new people.
“I’ll meet someone who
I really haven’t talked to
much since New Trier and
I will think, ‘Why haven’t
we talked before?’” said
Barnett, who works at the
Glencoe Public Library
Full story at GlencoeAnchor.com.
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