Author: editor

After LHS graduation I went to Clark U in Worcester where I did all the normal stuff….like protesting Vietnam. After graduating from Clark, and a narrow escape from the draft, I ventured cross country to attend law school at the University of San Francisco where I graduated in 1974.

Upon graduating from law school I spent about 25 years doing a lot of varied legal work. I clerked for a California Supreme Court Justice, I wrote law books, I taught law school in Los Angeles for a year, I was a partner in a small law firm doing personal injury law, and finished my legal career doing construction litigation. In between legal activities I got my real estate brokers license and did commercial real estate in downtown San Francisco for four years.

I have been happily married for nearly 36 years to the same wonderful woman, Susan, who is actually a fifth generation San Franciscan…something very hard to find.

After finishing my law career, Susan and I bought a house in the South of France where we owned and operated a small tour company for four years. Then we realized we had seen a lot of Europe, but not a lot of the United States. So we returned home to San Francisco, bought an RV and drove around the US full time for a year and continued part time exploration in the RV for the next several years.

After our year of exploring the US, I realized I had always wanted to teach high school. So I got my teaching credential and taught high school, mostly to at risk kids, for three years. I retired in 2003.

Following full retirement we moved from San Francisco to a gated “active adult community” in Rio Vista, CA. Rio Vista is a small town on the Sacramento River about mid way between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Susan and I are loving our retirement. We are incredibly active in the many activities offered in our community. We also enjoy hiking and going out on the river and other local waterways in our locality in both our motor boat and kayak. We continue to travel and explore and are so thankful to be enjoying our good health and a wonderful life.

Submitted: 3/31/2018

After graduation we immediately left Longmeadow for Ohio where my Dad had already been working for 6 months. I attended Denison University, graduated with a degree in Biology, and went onto grad school at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. I graduated with a masters in Microbiology, met and married Bill Buesching who was also in the Micro department, and we moved to Rochester, Minnesota where he completed a fellowship at Mayo Clinic. He accepted a job at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH and we lived there 34 years.

After staying home with the girls when they were young, the field of microbiology had evolved so much that I switched careers and worked as a customer service manager for a small medical supply company.

After retiring and continuing to shovel snow every winter, we decided to make the big move to Florida. We now reside in a beautiful rural area in Citrus County about 20 minutes from the Gulf but in one of the higher elevations of FL so we don’t have to worry so much about hurricanes. And no snow! And Disney is a short drive away!

We have two beautiful daughters, Jessica and Meredith who are both married, and 3 adorable grandsons, Armstrong (2 1/2), Parker (1) and Sampson (almost 1 month). Retirement is awesome! I miss seeing everyone at the reunion but I love reading about everyone on Facebook. Sending a big hug to all my Longmeadow friends!

Submitted: 3/31/2018

Growing up in Longmeadow I remember shoveling show for neighbors for .50 an hour. After LHS I was tired of snow and wanted a college in a warmer place, so I chose Dickinson College in Carlisle PA (not Farleigh Dickinson). Carlisle at one point was the summer training camp for the Redskins football team. But more importantly was the Army War college was there, making it a great place to march for peace!

I met my future wife Roselle there. She was two years behind me. I met her on a blind date, and after the date her roommate said “You’re going to marry that guy”. I did, in her senior year before graduation.

After college I became an officer in the Navy for 3 1/2 years. My draft number was in the low range, and I certainly didn’t want to go to Vietnam.
I was footloose after my discharge, so eventually Roselle and I moved to Richmond VA. We lived with her parents for a year, the got an apartment, then built a house. We kept saying Richmond was temporary, but it turned out to be a great place to live and raise kids. (I actually live in Midlothian, VA, a suburb of Richmond. Midlothian was named one of the top places to live in a national magazine).

We had two kids, Jamie and Laura, both of whom followed their mother into the teaching profession. They’ve found their passion, they’re happy, and they have health benefits through their schools. What more could one ask for as a parent? (Well, grand kids would be nice, but none seem to be forthcoming)
Roselle and I recently celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary, and are hoping to stay together for many more years.

Retirement is wonderful, as I’m sure many of you know.
I hope to see many of you at the reunion!

Submitted: 3/31/2018

My schools include Longmeadow High School, Converse Street Elementary School, Longmeadow Junior High School. I later attended Norwich University (EE) and Phoenix University (MBA). I am now retired from Lockheed Martin. After college I traveled all over the country with an engineering company from New York City to Needles CA and a lot in between doing consulting for utility companies. After that I worked at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale CA on satellites. At Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, CA I worked with Allan LaRose, a LHS graduate from an earlier year, who sat around 30 feet from me. I spent some time in the army reserve. As with high school I liked sports so did hockey, skiing, hiking and other sports.

I met my wife of 34 years hiking in the SF bay area. We have a son living in Hawaii and a daughter living nearby.

Submitted: 3/30/2018

I received my AA from Centenary College for Women in NJ and then went on to get my BA from Syracuse where I majored in art history. Loved the major but future employment? Sadly, not realistic.

Meanwhile I spent my college summers working on the Cape where Barb McCann and Bev Grzywacz were my sometime roomies and workmates. Oh, those fun times of our youth!

After graduation I lived in San Francisco for several years, Barb at one point shared a rental and fun adventures with me. : ) During the time in SF, I had various jobs including working at Gump’s and eventually ended up being a teller and a loan dept employee of a main bank.

I met my husband, Warren, in CA, and we married in Longmeadow.
We moved to the Midwest: OH, WI and eventually to MI where we’ve lived for the past 30 years.

We have 2 adult children, Trevor and Whitney, and 4 bouncy : ) grandchildren.

For 22 years until I retired I was an ass’t Montessori teacher. During this time period I made some simple phonetic books for the students. I loved the Montessori philosophy. Aside from working at the school, I also tutored dyslexics from age 8 to HS students. Challenging but I received much satisfaction watching the children’s progress.

I enjoy: oil/watercolor painting, cartooning, traveling, walking/hiking, plays and musicals, kayaking, and I’d like to delve more into photography.

As I’ve aged I’ve come to the realization that it takes very little to make me happy. Family, friends, good health, and much laughter bring me joy and contentment.

Submitted: 3/28/2018

Having retired from selling dry ice and carbon dioxide over five years ago, and having eased out of many of my volunteer activities, I’ve now returned to singing. Along with being a member of Mak’hela, the Jewish Chorus of Western Massachusetts for fifteen years, I’ve made close to 400 appearances singing the Star Spangled Banner, O Canada, and others in venues like Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox; TD Garden in Boston; Gillette Stadium in Foxboro; Mohegan Sun Arena; the Palestra in Philadelphia; the Carrier Dome in Syracuse; Florida spring training for the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros; Amway Center in Orlando; and many more (even in Pittsfield with Alan Lerman). With one daughters in New York City and twin daughters in Orlando, we visit them as often as we can. Nancy and I also volunteer for Rachel’s Table once a month.

Submitted: 3/24/2018

Spent 35 years on the faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, the last six as Department Head, living in Amherst. Am now working full time in Cambridge at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (part of the Department of Transportation) having more fun than someone our age deserves, living in Boston four days and Amherst three days, my wife and I commuting together. Four kids, two grandkids. Three of our kids live in Boston, one soon to live again with us! Retirement still seems years into the future. Have made friends around the world, seen places I had never thought I would visit, experienced loss that still resonates today, losing my wife to cancer when my daughters were still young, and was able to move forward on the shoulders of others until I could baby step again. A junior colleague today asked how I could be two standard deviations above colleagues my age when it comes to the joy I take in my work. Why hadn’t I become jaded? I answered …. Hope to make it to the reunion, but like most of you I can’t find enough time for everything. The friends I made at LHS had a lasting influence on my understanding of what it means to be considerate of others. I can’ thank you enough.

Submitted: 3/22/2018

I retired in 2014 as President of the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools after a 43-year career in marketing, sales and fundraising.
Now I teach English as a Second Language, Co-chair the Rotary Committee to End Sex Trafficking, serve on the Pinnacle Bank Arena board and find retirement busy. My husband of 46 years and I like to take month long road trips visiting friends/family along the way. My son and daughter both live in Michigan with my three perfect grand sons and one perfect grand daughter. Searching for classmates to tell about our Reunion has been rewarding…so many interesting lives that I can’t wait to catch up on!

Submitted: 3/22/2018