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Six Decades of Students Come Together

Above: Reminiscing on the days during the 1950s at LOHS are Stu Fors, Class of '57; Joanne Donnelly McRae, Class of '53; Georgia Wilding Bullock, Class of '53; and Karen Kruse Pong, Class of '54. Photo: John Larivier

An Alumni Bash for the Lake Oswego School District drew a strong turnout Saturday to Millennium Plaza Park.

Then, without knowing what to expect, they waited.

And they wondered.

Would 25,000 - or 250 - Lake Oswego and Lakeridge high school graduates show up?

Would participants support the food vendors?

Would the overcast sky hold back the rain?

It wasn't long until they got their answer. Hundreds of enthusiastic alumni - spanning six decades -began to descend on the park, some toting strollers and yearbooks.

Libations began to flow. Big Blind - a blues band comprised of teachers and administrators - took to the stage with a cover of Tom Petty's "Breakdown."

The happy scene quickly eased the minds of committee members who spent the past eight months planning the special night, which they hope to make an annual tradition.

Afterward, they called the Alumni Bash a smashing success, with more than 600 graduates and their families in attendance throughout the four-hour celebration. Many also registered with the new LOSD Alumni Association, according to Mary Puskas, head of the association.

"We're very pleased," Puskas said. "It will only get stronger for next year and people are already sending their ideas."

Still, there was a noticeable lack of participants from the classes of 1990 through 2007. Puskas hopes the association can bridge that gap in the coming year by using different communication tactics.

"Maybe they felt it wasn't an event for them, but it certainly was," Puskas said. "We're learning as we go."

The admission-free event featured a flat-screen TV playing a looping video of district history and decade-themed tents that housed yearbooks, photos, trophies and uniforms from days gone by.

Pacer and Laker groups sold spirit wear and the Pacer Booster Club sold hotdogs and hamburgers to benefit the school's athletics.

Alumni clad in various shades of blue socialized and mingled after years of living apart in different towns, states or countries.

LOHS Class of '65 graduate Brenda Trainer-Huber drove in on a Harley with her husband, Randy Huber. "It's nice to look at a face you recognize and try to figure out who they are," said Trainer-Huber, of Milwaukee.

Many early classes, such as Trainer-Huber's, make a point to keep in touch and hold regular gatherings. The Class of '57, for example, met for its 50-year reunion last weekend.

Class networks helped spread the word about the Alumni Bash. Others found out via e-mail, by reading announcements in the Review or, in Janet Brassfield's case, the banner stretched across State Street.

"I was driving through town and I wondered if anyone would be here that I know," said Brassfield, LOHS Class of '01. "Of course, there isn't."

She slowly walked through the 2000 tent, pointing out photos to her husband, Dan Phillips. Brassfield described her high school experience as "all right" and that she has lost touch with most of her high school friends since graduation. She looked forward to checking in with long-lost classmates, but was disappointed by the lack of their turnout.

Former Lakeridge and LOHS Principal John Turchi, now a member of the Lake Oswego City Council, said high school isn't always an easy time for students and many opt not to reunite for a long time. "Over time, their impression will soften and mellow and they'll come back to see their friends," Turchi explained.

Class of '07 friends Jake Hardman and Kayla Charlton were close by, so they decided to walk over to the event. "We hoped there would be more of our kind here," he added.

Hardman and Charlton were probably the youngest alumni in attendance. According to Puskas, a few members of the district's first graduating class - LOHS Class of '52 - said they would be there, but she can't confirm they were.

The second district class had representation in Georgia Wilding-Bullock and Joanne Donolly. As seventh graders, the women chose to attend West Linn (Union) High School over Lincoln High School. Then, the first Lake Oswego High School was built on the hill where the school still stands.

Despite their love for West Linn, they returned to their hometown to become part of the Class of '53. At the Alumni Bash, they paged through aged yearbooks and recalled the days when students chose school colors - then purple and white – and wrote the school song.

Back then, LOHS was considered a small school, even though it included seventh and eighth grade. Everyone seemed to be friends, despite age differences.

"It was a very, very exciting time," said Donolly, who lives in Lake Oswego. "We had more freedom to do what we wanted to do," said Wilding-Bullock, a West Linn resident.

Siblings Bill, David, Judy and Stuart Ralston attended the bash as a group after celebrating their dad's 80th birthday in Wilsonville.

David, a '73 graduate of LOHS who lives in Bellevue, Wash., spent the evening getting reacquainted with his brothers' high school friends. Earlier in the day, he got his first glimpse at the new LOHS building and was impressed with the district's football stadium.

"The school was gorgeous and it gives you a little bit of pride to come back and celebrate," he said. "It's a real nice place to come back to."

LOHS and Lakeridge alumni are encouraged to visit www.losdalumni.org and register in the alumni database.

Alumni Will Catch Up Big-Time

Organizers of the Lake Oswego School District Alumni Bash are, froleft, Don Burdick (Class of ’57), Kristi Lechner (Class of ’65), Pete Stidd (Class of ’61), LOSD Foundation Director Mary Puskas and Jena Novotny (Class of ’95). The party will be held Aug. 18 in Millennium Plaza Park and will feature historical items, such as a vintage Pacer cheerleading outfit, shown above. Photo by Vern Uyetake / The Lake Oswgo Review

The Lake Oswego School District Alumni Bash —a party 56 years in the making—could reunite up to 25,000 graduates at the first local event of its kind.

Created by the newly formed LOSD Alumni Association, its goal is to give Pacers and Lakers an opportunity to reconnect and reminisce.

“It’s great because you get to see all of the classes around you, not just the class of ’72,” said Jennifer Pierce, who graduated from LOHS that year.

All alumni of Lake Oswego and Lakeridge high schools—and their families—are invited to participate Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. in Millennium Park Plaza.

Even those who attended the high schools for a short time are invited. Former and current teachers are also welcome.

“This is not an exclusive club,” Pierce said.

Organizers believe there could be anywhere from 500 to 5,000 or more attendees from multi-generations traveling to the reunion from down the street and countries around the world.

Private schools hold similar celebrations as a way to reconnect their graduates for networking and other purposes. The National Charity League has offered 60 volunteers to run the bash

“It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens,” said Mary Puskas, head of the association.

A team of 10 alumni volunteers met in January to begin organizing the party and encouraging alumni to register in an online database.

Puskas said she imagines the association— part of the Lake Oswego School District Foundation—will continue to grow and hold four special events each year.

Of course, the Alumni Bash will be all about days gone by – from the first class of Lake Oswego High School (1952) to those that graduated in June and the thousands of students who collected diplomas in between.

The admission-free event will feature a looping video with music, no-host food booths, beverages and live music by Big Blind, a blues band comprised of district employees.

The association is also promising a few alumni celebrity guests and decade-themed tents that focus on history of the time—with memorabilia.

“We’re really relying on the alumni to drive this program,” Puskas said.

The district’s alumni have a long and noteworthy history when it comes to getting together. Several classes have created Web sites and consistently get together every five years.

The Class of ’57 will meet for its 50-year reunion the same weekend as the bash. Lake Oswego resident Don Burdick looks forward to getting together with his high school buddies to “remember when.”

“There’s comfort in that,” he said. “You reflect on the fun you had and the good times and you connect over it.”

He remembers the Lake Oswego of his teen years as a peaceful, close-knit summer home community where he swam in the lake and picked apples to sell at Wizer’s grocery store.

The seven-mile drive to Portland to buy a prom suit was always a really big deal, he added.

“People didn’t move around that much and we were a very cohesive group,” he said of his graduating class. “It’s a wonderful heritage.”

For many like Burdick, the drive back to their hometown isn’t far.

As much as high schoolers yearn to go out into the world, the high quality of life in Lake Oswego and the surrounding Portland area has a way of bringing people back.

Pierce, for example, left the city after graduation, moved to Seattle for several years, then returned to raise her children here. They now attend LOSD schools.

“The city is better now than when we were in high school,” she said. “It’s a great place to bring up kids.”

That’s also the case for the majority of individuals who are organizing the Alumni Bash. It’s all about pride and re-connecting with those who have left, they said.

Kelly Calabria, Class of ’95, believes the new alumni network could offer a way to address the declining enrollment by educating alumni about the community and its schools.

She has been working through MySpace and Classmates.com to broaden the association’s reach.

The association could also provide a point of contact between individuals who are going through similar life experiences, such as new mothers, like Calabria.

“Everybody is pretty grateful and appreciative of where they grew up,” Calabria said. “(Graduates) form some long-lasting friendships.”

LOHS and Lakeridge alumni are encouraged to visit www.losdalumni.org and register in the alumni database. Alumni Bash RSVPs are encouraged.

A Look Back:

Before Oswego High School was built and dedicated in 1951, local youth had to choose between attending West Linn (Union) or Lincoln high schools.

Students who lived on both sides of Oswego Lake attended Oswego High once it was built.

At first, Oswego High was a six-year high school and students stayed in the same class from kindergarten through senior year.

The school eventually changed its name to Lake Oswego High School — and its colors from purple and white to blue and white.

Later, when the district built Lake Oswego and Waluga junior high schools, LOHS became a four-year school.

Lakeridge High School was built in 1971.

Forest Service Employee Honored With Rotary Service Award

REDDING, Calif. – Shasta-Trinity National Forest Program Management Officer Kathleen Jordan joined the ranks of just 81 others internationally to receive the Rotary International Cliff Dochterman Scouting Award. The award recognizes an individual Rotarian who acts as a role model and renders distinguished and dedicated service to Scouting through active service, leadership or other contributions to the local or international Scouting association.

Jordan became involved in scouting in 1974, the same year she began her employment with the U.S. Forest Service. She said that helping others was what lead her to make both of those decisions.

As a professional forester, Jordan has found ways to combine aspects of her passion for youth and the forest. She plays an integral part in the Forest Service’s annual Scouting for Trees program, in which 300 Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and youth from other organizations planted 15,000 trees in the last three year.

“One thing that drew me to the Forest Service and scouting was the idea of service, the idea of bettering your surroundings,” said Jordan. “And our motto in Rotary is ‘Serving before self’ and our mission in the Forest Service is to manage the land and serve people.”

Jordan, who has served in five Boy Scout council positions in three states, said that Scouting has changed in a few ways over the years, especially because fewer kids are exposed to the outdoors, but that the quality of the kids involved has remained constant.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with so many great kids,” said Jordan. “They just capture you. It’s worth the hard work to get them where they want to go.”

Jordan is originally from Lake Oswego, Ore. She is an alumnus of Lake Oswego High School, Portland State University and Oregon State University. She is the daughter of Dorothy Jordan of Lake Oswego.

For more information, contact Public Affairs Specialist Alec Lawton at (530) 226-2345.