Class of 1959

Class of ’59 Reunion Recap

Dear Classmates, our highly anticipated 60th class reunion is history. Forty-four classmates and 22 spouses attended the event held in the Hickory Lodge in Worthington. The atmosphere was electric, the events were fun, the food was absolutely delicious!

As in the past, we selected Turkey Day weekend, especially since we have a ‘float’–a ’43 tractor and a hay wagon, decorated with new paint, banners (Class of ’59 along with an American flag). shiny red tinsel and a patriotic theme. Myron Meyer (Worthington) lines up our parade appearance each year, and always picks 59 for the parade lineup.

Committee members worked very hard to come up with a memorable reunion. The committee was chaired by James Dunning (Eau Claire, WI) who did a terrific job of coordinating the many details. Following a lot of phone calls and legwork, Connie Schmidt (Worthington) procured the Hickory Lodge for our event. Dwayne Junker (Bonita, CA) was instrumental in locating several classmates who we’ve been trying to find for quite some time! This allowed us to develop a comprehensive booklet of addresses and other contact info. Bonny Johnson (Marshall, MN) has worked very hard to collate the booklets; she’s been putting the final touches on them, and they should be mailed by November 1. Bonny, Joyce Selberg (St. Cloud, MN), and Adrienne Osterfeld (St. Peter, MN) were responsible for the decorations and a lovely Christmas ornament that was given to all attendees. Adrienne also served as treasurer and used the Globe/Shutterfly/WHS website/Classmates.com for coverage and publicity. Bill Wolterstorff (Worthington) was irreplaceable! He came early the first day and helped wherever he was needed until the end. Joel Lieske (Bay Village, Ohio), another committee member, was an early idea contributor–most of it pertaining to music and dancing! Unfortunately an untimely fall in a Washington, D.C. subway prevented him from attending (and dancing) at the last moment. Gary Kallsen (Cumberland, WI) developed some meaningful bulletin boards of 1959 events for the memorabilia tables (tables coordinated by Bonny). Sandra Clark (Luverne, MN) contributed the recognition of our classmates who had served in the Military–she was a great ‘idea’ person with a remarkable memory. Committee members Melvin Leistico (Kansas City, MO) and Kathy Fiola (Santa Maria, CA), were unable to participate due to health reasons/family matters.

Perhaps you noted that the committee was spread far and wide! The entire reunion was planned through email and phone calls!

The committee wants to thank everyone who attended the reunion.

If you know of someone who has moved, or receive any pertinent information about any one of our classmates, please contact Melvin Leistico, mmleistico@yahoo.com, or phone 816 328-1155 so the booklet can be updated.

The majority of the attendees voted to have the next reunion in 5 years. See you there!

Adrienne (Osterfeld) Hurlbert

Reunion Weekend

‘Some people say “you can’t go home again”, and maybe you can’t really. Nevertheless, this coming Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m., we’ll get you awfully close to being there, The Historical Society’s historic photos, from the 1940’s thru the 1960’s, will transport you back in time, enabling you to recall your fondest memories of growing up in Worthington. You’ll revisit the neighborhood grocery stores where you bought yout Lik-m-aids, string licorice or baseball cards. Then you’ll stop by several of the town’s hot spots that you may have frequented as you got older. For a soda or a malt, it might have been Ahlf’s Drugs, the Shangrila, Bill’s Confectionary, Lou Millers’s A & W or Fred’s Cafe. If you were especially hungry, or on a date, it could have been Ehlers’, Mike’s or the Gobbler Cafe. For a night on the town, you may have seen a flick at the Grand, the State Theater, or the Gay Drive-In. Relive these and other treasured growing-up experiences this Saturday when you take our tour down memory lane!

The Nobles County Historical Society in located in the library basement at 407 12th Street.

Class of ’59

Fellow classmates! The reunion invitation was sent out today (July 1) from Jim Dunning. You will receive it via email/snail mail depending on the info we have for you.

If you can return the info/$$ to me sooner rather than later, it will really help the planning committee as we move forward.

We are so excited about the possibility of our 60th reunion being the ‘best ever’, and hope to see all of you there!

Friday night, 9/13, will be the initial gathering, and the banquet and short program will be on Saturday.

Members from the classes of ’58 and ’60 are invited to join us on Friday, September 13th! This will be posted in the Worthington Globe and on Classmates.com. We are also trying to track down teachers from ’59 to invite them to join us!

Per Dwayne Junker’s suggestion, the Worthington Daily Globe will be featuring an article on the Class of ’59 reunion! The reporter covering the story is Julie Buntjer, sister of Del Buntjer, one of our classmates who recently passed away. Serendipity…

We have set up a Shutterfly Share site for the Class of ’59. See link below…

If you get a reply that you have to have permission, please let me know right away.

Myron Meyer is getting his tractor and flatbed ready for the big parade. Thanks to his efforts through the years to get us in the parade!

So many committee members have been hard at work on the reunion: Jim Dunning, chair and keeper of the many details; Connie Schmidt, venue locator; Bonny Johnson Doyle and Joyce Selberg Wilson, decorations/booklets/memory displays etal; Dwayne Junker, super sleuth in finding ‘lost’ classmates; Joel Lieske, music coordinator for the parade/reunion site; Gary Kallsen has developed posters highlighting life in ’59 and changes; Sandy Clark Noerenberg had many good suggestions, especially the one about recognizing those in our class who served in the military; Myron–parade… Unfortunately Melvin Leistico, long-time committee member is unable to join us this year. Other planning committee members include Kathy Fiola Sherwood and Bill Wolterstorff. It is amazing that this committee of 13 people–spread across the country from CA to OH–has put this reunion together without ever meeting as a group!

One note: if you are going to the high school tour on Saturday, please arrive by 9:00 or earlier–there will not be a bus so transportation is on your own. Check with your friends to carpool.

On Saturday evening, Kathy Breeze Marticorena will read the list of classmates no longer with us. Sadly, that number has grown to 51… They will be missed.

Look forward to seeing you!

Adrienne Osterfeld Hurlbert, Treasurer

 Be sure to check out our Shutterfly link to see the follow-up message from Jim Dunning as well as reunion pics from 5 years ago. 

WHS Class of 59 Pictures

We’ve created a Shutterfly Share site.  The link address is: https://Class59reunion.shutterfly.com

https://worthingtonhsclassof59.shutterfly.com/