Saugerties High School CLASS of 1977

Congratulations to our friend and classmate Lars Hauck on his induction last evening to the SAUGERTIES Sports Hall of Fame. all photos: keith

It is with tremendous shock and sadness that I let all of you know that our friend and classmate Kevin Curl has passed away. Kevin and I were friends back in Barclay Heights some 55+ years ago. Kevin told me just last month that James Bishopp, Jack van der Poel and Kevin were going to a Knights game in the Carolinas. I reminded him that there was a day that we were the Knights of the Heights. We laughed. 4 days ago, Kevin wrote me again asking how my family was doing. We conversed a bit and his last words to me were, Keith, I love you man. REST IN PEACE Kevin.

It is with shock and tremendous sadness that I let all of you that maybe did not know, that our friend and classmate Helene Sporher King passed away. If anyone needs a link to the funeral arrangements, I will do my best to search them out. My heart goes out to her friends and family who are surely hurting at this time. There will come a time when we will all remember Helene for the crazy fun she loved to have and for the special person that she was.

Do you remember......America in the 1970's

A message from our Brother Joe.

It was great seeing you last night. I believe you are the gate keeper of the class page.
Could you post the following:

What a coincidence that the weekend I'm home there is a mini reunion.

It seems like much fun was had by all. I really enjoyed reliving stories of things I swear I did not do.

For those who missed the late action. Pamela now has a great story involving seven fire trucks, a hundred fireman and cops, and a fire hose stuck to the undercarriage of her car. Sorry Pam.

By far the highlight of the evening was rubbing the top of Tune Boys head for good luck.

For those unable to personally get a rub in, I share all the happiness and good fortune with you.

May we all meet again soon, very soon. Enshalla.

Joe
Joe
Also many people asked what I am doing. I've become a cucumber king pin. Attached is a picture of of one of my babies.

We met, for the most part, over 60 years ago. A group of Kindergartners from all over Saugerties and Glasco all meeting each other, Over the next 13 years, in between coloring between the lines, learning that 2 plus 2 equals 4 and the square root of pi....we became friends. Great friends! Fast forward 60 years and we need very little incentive to have a makeshift class reunion. When we found out that Joe Clapper was coming for a visit...we made the call and the class responded. There is a bond between us, a special bond that I have learned not to question, just enjoy. Here are some snap shots from our gathering Friday evening in Saugerties. We were are together again, it's like we have been together for years. So...a 47th High School Reunion of the 1977 CLASS of Saugerties High. What a blast.

Not sure about Lars and John, but Joe Clapper will be visiting us here in Saugerties this Friday night. We are all getting together at The Partition in Saugerties around 6 PM. So let's have a 47th Reunion and meet and greet our great friend and classmate Joe Clapper!

It is with a heavy heart that I tell all of you of the passing of our beautiful friend and classmate - Isabella Gambino - Short. For the last 6 years I would see her Mom, Helen, at Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers as she was battling her 4th round of cancer! Sadly, her Mom just passed away also. Our heart and prayers go out to the Gambino and Short families who are dealing with so much loss.

Isabella Short Obituary | July 22, 2024 | Saugerties, NY Share memories & support the family

It was only a couple of days ago that we were all wishing Harry Rose a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, yet today I am stunned to find out that Harry has passed away. Harry was a friend to all of us and I am at a complete loss of words. Rest in Peace my friend. This photo I took of Harry just a couple of years ago at the Reunion.

From our friend Mark Becker....

HOT AUGUST NIGHT! - I did the math and calculated that it had been 16,498 days since I stood in front of my friends and classmates at the Saugerties High School Class of 1977 Graduation. I was the Master of Ceremonies and looking back, recall that I was a nervous wreck. Just prior to walking up on stage, knowing the shape I was in, my Dad came up to me and shook my hand. He said to me words I have not forgotten to this day. " Walk up on that stage, all of you friends and classmates are counting on you and when you look out at all of them, take a breath and take that moment in as you look out at all of them. It will be the last time you will see many of them." Like so many words of wisdom my Dad bestowed on me, this was to prove true.

In the Spring of 1977 I was full of plans and dreams. I had enlisted in the Air Force, all set for flight school and ready to fly Fighters and when I got out, I would get a job as a Pilot with American Airlines and fly all over the world. I had the pilots lingo down pat..."Good morning passengers, this is your pilot speaking....." My best friend Tom Phillips had enlisted in the ARMY, I was going to marry Cindy, Tom was going to marry Carole, we were going to have lots of kids and they would play together and become the best of friends as Tom and I had become. Everything was in place.

Then I failed the physical, my eyesight was deemed to poor to ever fly. Cindy dumped me, Carole and Tom were having problems and then Tom died. At barely 19 I learned that the Life you Plan is not always the Life you Live.

This past week I was tasked with making a "mix tape" of all of the songs of the 1970's that we knew and loved. Doing so brought back a flood of memories. Each song conjuring up memories that made me laugh and sometimes cry. I remembered when Tom and I had a very heated discussion as to whether a SNICKERS Bar in French speaking Montreal Canada was still called a SNICKERS bar, so it was settled, we have to drive up and go to Montreal and see! So the Road Trip of all road trips was born. 270+ miles to Montreal! Looking back, it was never about the SNICKERS BAR...I was convinced it was called Le SNICK SNICK! It was about the point in our lives that we were leaving the comfort of our structured School Days Lives and venturing off on our own and finding the lives were meant to live. We knew that we would not be seeing each other again for some time. So there we were, traveling the Northway in my PONTIAC Grand Am, sing Pink Floyd at the top of our lungs...the harmony of Wish You Were Here's "We're Just Two Lost Souls Floating in a Fish Bowl" was just beautiful. Then he was gone. So many times alone I would sit and recall those moments and think Tom, How I Wish You Were (Still) Here.

Fast forward to our 45th Reunion. The 7th time we have gotten together to celebrate the friendships forged over 5 decades ago, friendships that are perhaps even stronger today then back when we floated through the halls of my old school in a Daze.

A huge shout out to Mandy and Lori for all of the work and effort to bring this reunion together. The unsung heroes that have helped me with every reunion we have had.

I remember when Tom and I were elected class President and Vice President. We were elated...and I said to Tom, "I wanted to be President" His response....you can only be President if I die" Those words have haunted me for 44 years. I have tried to step up and do what I could to make these reunions a success and have Tom proud of me. It's anyone's guess as to what he will say to me when I meet him again, He will always be that handsome young man, whose class photo I have had in my wallet since 1977 and I will be this old Dude, who my wife tells me is aging like a Banana! Will Tom remember me? Will he even recognize me?

We had an incredible evening last night. We all laughed and the stories flowed, the alcohol flowed and the smiles were the story of the night. I thought it would be fun if we played TWISTER. Then I had this epiphany that the Headlines would read.... Dozens of Classmates were pulled from a TWISTER Board this evening. Witnesses stated that it all started when Keith said RIGHT HAND RED...then the bones started creaking...it was like when you add Milk to a bowl of SNAP CRACKLE AND POP! It was like a bunch of Weebles...except these Wobbled and DID Fall Down!" When the last of the bodies were pulled from the carnage, Ron Cyr was found a the bottom of the Heap. He was Smiling. From ear to Ear. A real Cheshire Grin!...he stated that he had not had that much action in years, normally if it were not for Crowded Elevators and Pick Pockets....he would have no fun at all!" Alas, it was probably best that we left the TWISTER Game at home!

So when we stepped off the floor at Stone Pony and turned out the lights, the last of us all agreed that the night was fantastic. The immediate thoughts of planning the next, our 50th! will begin soon. For now, let's marinate is this moment.

I hope everyone had....."The Time of your Life!"

For Mary Lou and I, we are heading back to Memorial Sloan Kettering in the morning. Back to Life. Back to Reality. So fitting that the weather forecast is for cloudy skies and rain....

all photos: keith - Please feel free to tag anyone and everyone.