It was groundbreaking in more ways than one.

Our reunion, with 189 returning classmates — more than 26% of the Class — was the largest 55th for which Alumni Engagement has records. It was certainly the largest in terms of programming. For the first time (maybe for any class) we started Thursday morning and ran straight through to Sunday noon, with almost non-stop food and entertainment. Here’s a recap.

The festivities started Thursday morning with a tour of the Princeton Battlefield (facilitated by Tom Sinclair) followed by not one, but two, art tours (one of the campus outdoor sculptures by David Chamberlain, and the second a docent-led tour of the new University Art Museum). Our Thursday BBQ was book-ended by country singer Mikki Zip, who had been our Grand Old Opry guide at the Nashville mini-reunion, and the ABBA cover band Dancing Dreams.

Friday was chock full of Alumni Faculty Forums (including classmates Mark Mazo on a panel on global trade  and Jim Leiber speaking on narrative communication) as well as two SRO Class-sponsored programs, one a panel on the imperial presidency featuring our uber-experienced classmates Luther Munford, Paul Colborn, Kevin Baine, and Phil Bobbitt, and Rich Neill’s reflection on his career as a documentary film maker. Friday’s lunch included a visit by the University Marching Band and dinner saw our annual performance by the Tigerlilies. Somehow, in the midst of all this, Laird Hayes managed to arrange a memorial service on the baseball mound for Jack Hittson, and Tina Sung organized a tea for the returning intrepid women of ‘71. The Class dinner included an announcement of our new honorary Class member, Joy Allen, and classmates newly inducted into the Society of the Claw: Chris Connell, Ray Ollwerther, Mark Swanson, and Howard Zien. After dinner, we crowded the dance floor to the sounds of Liquid Pleasure. In between all of this one could also view the updated 50th Reunion video of Class history, produced by Henry Barkhorn, who also complied two hours of songs from our college years for background music.

Saturday the weather turned against us, but did not damp our enthusiasm. The morning started with a moving memorial service, facilitated by Dennis Macaleer and Greg Winsky with Mark Swanson on the organ and Ben Tousely as a vocalist. After the service, classmates could choose between an alumni faculty form on mental health featuring Stu Sovatsky or a Class sponsored lecture by Tom Connell recounting his travels along the Camino de Santiago. After a Class photo on the steps of Clio Hall, we had lunch on the patio of the new Art Museum, where our former Footnotes contingent Russ Baker, David Chamberlain, Robbie Haines, and Ernest Pittman showed they had not lost their a cappella chops.

The job of organizing the P-rade fell to Laird Hayes who with Stu Rickerson found the Bushwhacker Drum and Bugle Corps to lead us with some rousing music. They learned the Cannon Song especially for our event. Our three stalwart motorcyclist classmates — John Drummond, Brad O’Brien, and Geoff Smith — arrived at our Reunion in a most unusual way. They rode their motorcycles 4000 miles in over 2 weeks from California to Princeton. And during their journey, they sent daily emails to share their experience with all of us. It is as though we classmates were with them every mile of the way. To cap things off, they rode their motorcycles in the P-rade instead of walking, the very embodiment of our iconic tiger on a motorcycle Class logo. In so doing they put a clear and emphatic exclamation point on our Wild Life heritage.

A Jimmy Buffett-themed dinner at our Scully courtyard HQ followed the P-rade with music by Gary Roland and the Land Sharks. The Saturday evening fireworks were as impressive as ever, despite the rain. Before heading home, over 180 attendees hung around for Sunday brunch at Cap and Gown, where they were astonished by magician Michael Chaut and entertained by yet another a cappella group, Old NasSoul.

It certainly takes a village to put on a major reunion. In addition to those mentioned already, our food co-chairs, Ginger Pitney, and Jill Brooks, and our bar/beverage co/chairs Chuck Brodbeck and Jack McNab made sure that we were well fed and well lubricated. Class impresario, Stu Rickerson, arranged entertainment, and our HQ chair (and my successor as Reunions chair) Roger Saltman kept things going and stamped out the inevitable fires. Reunions can truly not be possible without a strong finance chair and a master of organization for registration and communication. Our class is blessed to have both in Howard Zien and Alan Usas, respectively. Planning began 18 months beforehand and the full planning committee to which we are indebted are listed below. It should go without saying, (but I will say it anyhow), that we all benefitted from the experience of our predecessors:

Before signing off, there are a few notable housekeeping items:

• There is a terrific collection of photos and videos that Class members submited available to view in the 55th Reunion Photo Gallery on the Class website.
• Those who attended the 55th received a copy of the book containing memorials for classmates who died since the 50th Reunion. You can view it online.
• There is also a recording of the very moving Class Memorial Service that has been enhanced with images and video clips by Class Tech Chair Alan Usas. It's in the Gallery but you can watch it on Youtube as well.
• We have a few hard copies of the booklet of reflections of our parents' role in WWII (contact me if you'd like one), which is also available for viewing in the 55th Archive. Kevin Baine, who pulled this project together, is open to producing a supplement with additional stories. Please contact him via email at kbaine@wc.com if you are interested.
• A number of other content items from the 55th have been archived on the Class website including the terrific video Henry Barkhorn produced following our history as a Class, the environmental book titles donated to the Class Book Project, a compilation of the volunteering stores I circulated under the heading "71 Serves" and recordings of the Class virtual forums held during the run-up to the 55th Reunion. Check out the collection in the 55th Archive.
• You will want to read or re-read the story of our 3 classmates who made the 4000-mile journey from California to Princeton on motorcycle.
• Finally, if you didn't order a copy of the Class Photo taken in front of Clio Hall at the Reunion, you can do so by visiting the PanFoto order page.

Classmates Chris Connell and Ray Ollwerther took on the monumental task of producing our 55th Reunion Digital Yearbook. Many of you have brought your entries up to date with photos, notes on your current activities, and reflections on our years since Princeton. This online yearbook will live on and is now the go-to source for up-to-date information on the Class. As is the case with the Directory on the Class website, the information in the yearbook is updated each week with address changes and more from the University. I encourage you to check in with the Yearbook now and then, make note of the recent entries, and make any updates to your own profile you'd like to share with the Class. You will find a button to reach the yearbook prominently showing on the Class website. Only 1971 classmates have access to the yearbook.

I can't close without mentioning the impressive Annual Giving results turned in by the Class of 1971: $1,062,638 raised with a 55.9% participation rate. Both measures exceed our Class goals for this campaign! Congratulations to Kathy Molony, David Chamberlain, Tina Sung, Randy Miller, Rob Slocum, the entire volunteer team, and all who gave

Jeff Hammond
55th Reunion Chair
hammbrook@aol.com