Deering High class of ’36 reunion
The 70th reunion of the Deering High School class of 1936 was a very pleasant time for the 34 who attended, 20 classmates and their guests.
Before the 1 p.m. luncheon in the York Room at Verrillo’s Restaurant, guests enjoyed the platter of hors d’oeuvres, including crackers and cheese, grapes and fresh strawberries. The noon to 1 p.m. social hour was a time for greeting classmates and friends, and reminiscing, too.
Harold Griffith was again our capable master of ceremonies. Stan Sampson, husband of Jane Drew Sampson, a member of the class, gave the invocation, and read the names of our classmates who have passed away since our last year’s reunion. We had a moment of silent prayer for them – Edna Tibbetts Allen, Mary Blaisdell Sterling, Dr. Richard J. Bohnson, Grace M. Gary Hollingshead, Mildred Withee Phillips and Priscilla Westergren Phillips Smith.
After lunch (scallops were popular at our table) members at each table introduced themselves. Betty Halloran Kennedy read the names of classmates who could not join us, but who answered the return cards we sent out.
Stanley Holland enclosed a picture of their new home in Nellysford, Va. Their winter home in Diamond Head, Miss., was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. They were staying in their summer home in Eagles Mere, Pa. I received a call from Earle Thomas, who always attended our reunions, from his home in Goshen, Ind. He is unable to make the long trip now, but wanted to be remembered to us all.
Reunion committee members were Eleanor Berry Beal, Anne Blanchard Foote, Harold O. Griffith, Betty Halloran Kennedy, Jane Drew Sampson, and Alicia Wilbur Watson.
Attending were, at table 1, Jane Drew Sampson and Stanley Sampson, and their daughter, Sylvia Sullivan, Alicia Wilbur Watson, Anne Blanchard Foote and Harry T. Foote, Marge Corson Hansen, and her daughter, Janet Waterhouse; At table 2, Ken and Helen Schade, Robert Webb and his wife Frances, Bill McCallum, Mrs. Betty Wark, Eleanor Berry Beal, Florence Morris, and Beatrice Sargent Straw; At table 3, John Jetzzi and his wife Betty, Robert McDonald, Harold O. Griffith, Frances Zemla Swasey, Alice Gamage Allen, Gilbert Marks and his daughter Suzanne; At table 4, Betty Halloran Kennedy, Winnie Clement Marsters, Gertrude McLeod Harvey, Virginia Gribbin Winslow and her niece Cynthia Ingerson, Celia Galli Mooney, Madge Rhodes Frost and her husband Stanley, and Marie Webb Larson. Marie is the widow of Deering High football player “Wolf” Larson, whom we all used to cheer for at football games at Deering in the 1930s.
Several pictures of classmates were passed around. I was pleased to see my fourth grade class at Roosevelt School on Stevens Avenue in Portland. The Portland Evening Express took these class pictures. This print was from Feb. 27, 1928. In it were many of our classmates who attended our reunions. Robert McDonald, who was in the back row in the picture, brought these to our 70th reunion. What fun it was to recall these early days. In the picture were Francis Beverage, Harold Shaw, Julian Otis, C. Freeman Merrow, Alden Bennett, Arthur Spink, Lawrence Anderson, Wallace Dolloff, George Barker and Neal Allen. (These were all in the front row, and had their hands folded). In the middle row were Robert Parker, Bessie Panages, Sarah Faunce, Lucille Day, Ruth Torr, Eleanor Wilson, Frances Wright, Jeanette Landean, Anne Blanchard, Jane Drew and Dorothy Jones.
In the back row were Donald Eastman, Donald Beverage, Kenneth Schade, Stanley Holland, Philip Hanson, Sewell Richardson, Leland Waldron, C. Harmon Tuttle, Nathan Redlon, Robert McDonald and John Elliott.
I think that even if the names had not been printed, I would recall most of them. It was very kind of Robert McDonald to give me a copy of this picture.
Many of our 70th group said they hope we can meet another year, too. Of course time will tell, but it is such a nice time of remembering “the good old days” and perhaps a few of us can still gather another.
A lobster feast and wildflowers too
When Dan, our son who is living in Tokyo and his wife, Mikiyo, were visiting us a few days last week, one of our treats was a party Saturday at John and D. Lee Richs’ cottage at Hannaford Cove, Cape Elizabeth. We ate outdoors in the backyard, with ocean views for us to enjoy. Dan supplied the lobsters, and there were other foods, including boiled corn, potato chips, a green salad, stuffed eggs, blueberry muffins, and a big, sweet watermelon. Later, D. Lee served ice cream on the porch table inside. We were pleased to see two of the Rich sons, John III of Falmouth, and Whit, of Tokyo. We just missed Barbie and Toshi, who left early that morning for London. D. Lee suggested a short walk to identify wild flowers, on the road behind the former Cunner Club. New flowers to me were white mustard, catnip, and wild bean (also known as groundnut), a creeping vine.
Briefly I’ll describe these: white mustard, with yellow flowers, is a stiff, hairy plant, from one to two feet tall, growing in fields and waste places.
Catnip, of the mint family, has a square stem. The flowers are dull white or pale violet, (We saw violet ones). The leaves are arrow-shaped. It grows in waste places from six to 36 inches.
Groundnut or wild bean has pea-shaped flowers, brownish-purple. Listed under vines, it was very curious and interesting, and growing low on the ground. The leaflets are egg-shaped and pointed. The root is a roundish, edible tuber. It is found in moist thickets.
D. Lee told us that John avoids mowing down a flower he enjoys in his yard, yellow hawkweed. They are dandelion-like flowers. The flower is yellow, but the head is smaller than the dandelion.
A familiar hawkweed is the orange one, which we know as Devil’s paintbrush. The flowers are red-orange and the stem and leaves are very hairy. It is a troublesome weed of fields and pastures.
So some of us ladies combined the lovely party with a glimpse of new plants. I was especially fascinated with the wild bean. The flower is very pretty.
RECIPE
We thoroughly enjoyed these pickled onions at a luncheon at Tear Cap, Hiram, which our son Tom and his wife, Anne Harwood, treated us to last month. Here is the recipe.
PICKLED ONIONS
1 pound of red onions, peeled but left whole
1-1/2 cups white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
4 marjoram or thyme branches
Several small dried red chilies, optional
1 tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. black or mild peppercorns
salt
Bring a teakettle of water to boil. Slice the onions crosswise, 1/4 inch or thicker. Separate the rings and put them in a colander, then pour the boiling water over them. Mix the other ingredients plus 1-1/2 cups cold water and several pinches of salt, in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the onions, submerging them in the liquid by placing a plate on top. If there isn’t enough liquid, add equal amounts of vinegar and water. The color will begin to develop in about 15 minutes. You can use the onions then or chill them first. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.
This recipe is from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” by Deborah Madison.
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