Chicago Class Gathering a Tremendous Success

By Geoff Smith '71, Class Vice President

The notoriously fickle Chicago weather chose to honor the presence of 38 classmates and spouses attending the Class of ’71 gathering in the Windy City, bathing the group with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, along with abundant sunshine and a supermoon during the 3-1/2-day event. Assembling on the arrival evening in the elegant and ornate Drawing Room of the venerable Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, headquarters for the event, Classmates and spouses renewed old friendships and found new classmate friends with whom they would spend the next 3 days. Attending the event were, Susan and John Arigoni, John Padgett, Mike Pepper, Barbara and Tom Sinclair, Kathy Molony, Ginger Davis and Jamie Pitney, Linda and Tom Stubbs, Lex Kelso, Liza and KP Kirkpatrick, Lois Phillips and Dennis Thomson, Kathy and Mike Ladra, Jill Brooks and Jeff Hammond, John Kayser, Bob Kuenzel, Judy and Brad O’Brien, Karen and Alan Usas, Laura Rojas and Tom Connell, Bill Zwecker, Ellen Higgins and John Brower, Carol Obertubbesing ’73, w'71, Annie Patton and Art Lowenstein, Hildy and John Drummond and Jules and Geoff Smith.

The following morning a luxurious coach picked us up to visit three amazing Frank Lloyd Wright projects, the Robie House, the Unity Temple and his home and studio. The tours were arranged with the assistance of long-time supporter and local leader of FLW project rehabilitation, Fran Dressel w’71.  The “Interpreters” who guided us through the projects acquainted the group with the style and genius of his architecture and engineering, in neither of which he had any formal education, leaving a lasting impression of both his greatness and a few weaknesses in his designs and personal life. On the way to the Greek Islands Restaurant for dinner, classmate Dennis Thompson a career architect from Santa Barbara, CA, explained some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s principles that have become architectural standards today. On arrival at the restaurant, the wine flowed generously along with a few locomotives through a sumptuous Greek feast.

The second day began with a beautiful stroll along Michigan Avenue to the Chicago River and a stunningly beautiful architectural cruise along the river with a talented and entertaining docent speaking to us for 90 minutes, with no notes, about the history of the city and its rather impressive buildings. Early in the afternoon we separated into small groups for a tour of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the great art museums of the world, followed by free time to cruise the many galleries of this impressive structure originally constructed for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The day ended with a group stroll, on a warm downtown evening, over to the Buddy Guy’s Legends Blues Club, where an open bar and New Orleans themed buffet dinner in a private room, warmed us up for impressive performances by two blues groups in the club itself. The MC for the evening at one point called out from the stage, “Class of ’71 in the house!” As it turned out, so was Buddy Guy himself. All slept well after an eventful day.

The third day of our gathering was a free day to enjoy the city on our own. One of the event organizers and Chicago resident, Carol Obertubbessing ’73, w’71 prepared a wonderful list of options for folks to enjoy. In addition to strolling the city on a spectacular 80-degree day, one couple saw a performance of Hamilton and a number of others took in an improv comedy performance at the famous Second City. That evening, Carol hijacked our easy stroll through a warm evening to the Italian Village Restaurant, with a stop at the famous Palmer House Hotel with its ornate lobby and bar as well as Chagall’s mosaic panels constructed to honor the city of Chicago. The wine once again flowed around a fine Italian dinner before we said farewell to this very fun gathering and one of America’s great treasures, the City of Chicago. Several of the group offered suggestions for where the Class can put together another similar trip next year.

These gatherings are really fun, warm and very interesting. Easy travel, reasonable expense, incredibly interesting classmates and spouses and an up-close view of a corner of our country. Come join us in San Diego on February 4th and 5th, 2024 for our traditional West Coast Class Party and hold early October of 2024 open for another of these Class of ‘71 gatherings in a unique part of the country. 

At one of the group dinner's, Carol Obertubbesing ’73, w’71, welcomed us to Chicago on behalf of the local Princeton Club (she's a past president) and read a poem she had written to the Class of '71. You can see the poem and also listen to her reading it here.

And special thanks to the planning committee for this Chicago event, Bill Zwecker, Art Lowenstein, Jeff Hammond, Carol Obertubbesing ’73, w’71 and Geoff Smith.

More photos can be seen in the Photo Gallery.