Reunions 2017: Highlights From This Year’s Major-Reunion Classes

Published May 11, 2017

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“Still In Step”

THE CLASS OF 1952

The Great Class of 1952 is celebrating its 65th reunion and will be headquartered at Forbes College. Always a trendsetter with our distinctive orange, black, and white broad-striped blazers, we will lead the class section of the P-rade, matching our logo, “Still in Step,” led by the Mummers Aqua String Band.

We start festivities with dinner Thursday evening at the Nassau Club, serenaded by the outstanding all-women a cappella group the Wildcats. On Friday morning there will be several lectures held in Berlind Theatre. These include talks by Michael Cadden, director of the Lewis Center for the Arts, and Jean Edward Smith ’54, an author and presidential historian. Our class memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. at the Nassau Presbyterian Church and will include the reading of the names of our classmates who have died since our last major reunion. Dinner that evening will be at Springdale Country Club and will include a pre-dinner concert by the Nassoons and a visit by President Eisgruber ’83.

On Saturday morning we will hold our class meeting at Forbes to present class business and elect a new slate of officers. Other options for Saturday morning activities include tours of the new Andlinger Center and the Princeton Art Museum. Following lunch on the porch at Forbes, University buses will transport us to Nassau Hall for the P-rade. By foot or golf cart, we will arrive at the reviewing stand to receive the well deserved cheers of President Eisgruber ’83 and the rest of the University, then it’s back to Forbes to enjoy a relaxing evening of cocktails, music by the Katzenjammers, and our final dinner.

Our reunion will conclude Sunday morning with brunch at Forbes from 8 to 10 a.m. and a moment to say goodbyes to old friends until we return the next time as members of the Old Guard.

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“Rediscover Princeton”

THE CLASS OF 1957

1957 looks to rediscover Princeton 60 years after graduation. We’ll begin Thursday with a presentation by University architect Ron McCoy on the evolution of the Princeton campus, followed by a review by University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee ’69 of other changes over the past 60 years. Later, Jim Freund ’56 and his combo will entertain us during our reception in Icahn Laboratory, followed by dinner and a festive evening in Scully courtyard.

On Friday morning, classmates Tom Williams, Jay Lehr, and John Milton will share their expertise at alumni-faculty forums. Soon after, at the Chapel, we will celebrate classmate lives lost. After lunch, we will hear from our Caring Committee on its more than 20-year effort to help classmates and family members meet life’s challenges. Then classmates Tom Kean, Norm Augustine, Hodding Carter, and Jay Goldin will address the topic “Washington Is Broken.” Subsequently, we will have dinner in the new Frick Chemistry Lab, followed by an evening of dancing and good conversation to the music of the Blawenburg Band’s dance and jazz combo.

Saturday our classmates Greg Farrell and Tom Deuel will enlighten us at their respective alumni-faculty forums. Then the ’57 family will learn about “The Process of Writing a Book” from a ’57 panel of John Milton, Tony Abbott, Denise Marcil s’57, and Joy Nevin s’57. Following the P-rade at 2 p.m., we will again enjoy good company at our class reception at Icahn, dinner at Scully, and during our evening celebration to the music of Jim Freund ’56 and combo. We will top it off with the fireworks display.

On Sunday, we’ll conclude with a farewell brunch at Wu Hall and depart with happy memories, good conversation, new and strengthened friendships, a better understanding of some current issues, and a clear sense of the changes over the past 60 years that continue to make Princeton the “Best Old Place of All."

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“Going Back to Bring Back”

THE CLASS OF 1962

The superclass of 1962 will its gala 55th at reunion headquarters in the courtyard walkway between Holder and Joline.

The festivities will begin with cocktails followed by a Thursday evening welcoming dinner at 7 p.m. at Whig Hall. Both Friday and Saturday mornings will be filled with two dozen alumni-faculty forum panels. Participants include classmates Bill Ballenger, Charlie Shorter, Robert Burkhardt, and Les Munson. Friday afternoon tours of the Princeton Art Museum have been arranged for classmates who have signed up with our reunion chair, Bob Medina.

On Friday evening, the Princeton University Rock Ensemble will perform at reunion headquarters and we’ll have cocktails before dinner again at Whig Hall. The evening will be filled with ’50s and ’60s sounds from Shama Lama at reunion headquarters. With luck, the leader of Princeton’s first rock band, our own Ivory Jim Hunter, will perform Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and other old-time hits.

On Saturday morning, after a 10:15 a.m. class photo on the steps of Blair Arch, a piper will lead us to the Chapel for a memorial service for deceased classmates at 11 a.m. After lunch, a bagpipe band will head our procession from Nassau Hall in our 55th P-rade. Cocktails and our class dinner will be held that evening at the boathouse, followed by an evening of catching up and reminiscing to the strains of soft guitar music, and later, the fireworks.

We’ll close the weekend with a fabulous getaway brunch at Forbes College (the site of the old Princeton Inn).

We need you with us. Be there for this once-in-a-lifetime event!

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“Clear the Tracks, ’67’s Back”

THE CLASS OF 1967

It hardly seems possible that the Class of ’67 is 50 years gone from Princeton — at least that’s the way it feels to many of us who have come back to Old Nassau so many times, rolling back the clock on all those memories.

Aside from all those P-rade and costume awards, ’67 has shown its love of Princeton through the creation of numerous scholarships and internships, sports contributions, and the construction of an environmentally friendly dorm, ’67 Hall.

At our 50th reunion, you’ll not only see the ’67 “choo choo” theme once again, but our classmate Tom Tulenko will be giving a seminar on the history of the Dinky, open to all Reunion attendees.

Editor-in-chief John Klein and his team have put together an 800-page class book chronicling the life and times of the Class of ’67. There will be two ’67-only alumni-faculty forums, one on climate change and another on health and wellness, particularly focusing on the current youthful phase of our lives. We’ll have a special memorial service in the Chapel to remember those who have gone before us, led by Rev. Frank Strasburger. Entertainment on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights will feature, respectively, Dueling Pianos, Jump Street, and Sound Choice. As usual, ’67 will rock the house, courtesy of Lanny Springs.

A highlight will be a Friday evening reception at the Art Museum, hosted by Allen Adler and the class. Other meals will also feature wines selected and labeled for the Class of ’67. Ted and Laura Todd assure us that we will be well fed and quenched.

The P-rade is sure to get the rousing welcome that ’67 has long enjoyed as we march toward the reviewing stand with some new and interesting surprises. And last, but not least, Tim Tulenko, maestro of costuming, will have us looking fine as we march toward another award (hopefully).

Then it’s time to say farewell ’till next time with a farewell brunch at the boathouse. Where did the 50 years go?

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“The Road to the 45th”

THE CLASS OF 1972

The Class of 1972 will be celebrating its 45th reunion in the friendly confines of Holder/Hamilton courtyard. The theme will be “The Road to the 45th” in celebration of the 27 class trips we have taken since 2000. Our class artist-in-residence Ed Strauss designed the logo, as he has for all but one previous reunion, and for most of the trips.

Thursday night will see an informal dinner on-site, with a local jazz band providing background music. Friday we will have our class meeting/memorial service at 5 p.m. in McCosh 10, followed by our class dinner at the boathouse, where we also had our class dinners for the 35th and 40th reunions. On Saturday, we will have a “grazing” dinner on-site, which will give people the flexibility to wander around campus, go to the fireworks, or do anything else with the knowledge that they can stop back at the tent for a bite on their own schedule. Sunday we will have a closing brunch in Madison dining hall.

On Friday night we will be entertained by the Soul Cruisers, an 11-piece horn band that also played at our 40th. With our go-to band, the Party Dolls, no longer performing, we have decided to use a “big band” in the style of Alex Donner ’75 as our Saturday night entertainment. For our community service initiative, we will be working with two organizations in Trenton: HomeFront, which provides housing help for the homeless, and Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

The favorite events for the class usually are the class meeting/memorial service and our formal dinner Friday night. We also are very well represented on alumni panels during the course of the weekend, with 10 participants. But by far the favorite activities of our classmates are the renewal of old friendships, making new ones, and telling those wonderful stories that shaped our four years together on campus.

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“May the 40th Be With You”

THE CLASS OF 1977

Star Wars premiered 40 years ago on May 25, 1977. The following week, the great Class of 1977 proudly walked through FitzRandolph Gate into the world. In remembrance and celebration of that momentous time in history, we say, “May the 40th Be With You!”

An amazing weekend is planned, including a tour of the Princeton Battlefield, a special memorial service in the Chapel to remember classmates we have lost since our 35th reunion, and a panel of ’77 doctors who will speak on the latest developments in their medical fields. Three nights of entertainment will include the Donner Groove Band on Thursday, the Dena Miller Band on Friday, and the Sensational Soul Cruisers on Saturday.

For our community service project, we will once again partner with the Wheelchair Foundation and the Central Andean Railway to source and distribute wheelchairs in Peru. Classmates will travel to Peru this August to assist in the distribution of hundreds of wheelchairs from the capital city of Lima up to small towns 16,000 feet above sea level.   

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“Banding Together”

THE CLASS OF 1982

Building on our 25th-reunion Mardi Gras theme and “30 Rocks” for the 30th, with a nod to our groundbreaking “butt fur,” the august and accomplished members of the Class of ’82 offer “Banding Together” as our theme for the 35th. It encompasses the many strands of the reunion, from seeing old friends, to creating new commitments in difficult and complex times.

Our ’82 fund social project seeds growth and opportunity on a micro level for those in need; our classmates likewise share expertise, spirit, and knowledge “in the nation's service.” Why? Because the years have given us the wisdom to know we exist in a bigger world than just ourselves and our jobs.

This year we reach back figuratively with the big-band Tributosaurus after our Friday class dinner at Frist so that the ’80s — from Aerosmith, to Prince, to “King Tut,” to the Sex Pistols — will come alive. On Saturday, we will reach back literally with our old favorite dance band, the Right On! The Tigressions and the Tigerlilies will also perform, as we have children in both. Coming full circle, we will remember the classmates we have lost. That's what “Banding Together” means.  

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“True Colors: Orange and Black”

THE CLASS OF 1987

We will be celebrating our true selves this reunion — with our diversity of experience, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and wealth — while acknowledging what brings us together as one class: Princeton.

We will be located at Butler College quad. There you will find great diversity in our costumes, which will use the design of our 25th Zen Jacket, but in clothing items for any style: camp shirts, baseball caps, T-shirts, socks, leggings, and flip-flops. We are organizing family activities for all ages, including crafts, a game room, evening movies, Karaoke, and a yoga class.

Classmates will have an opportunity to show their true colors through service by helping Community House prepare for its STEAM middle school summer camp (integrating arts into science, technology, engineering, and math curriculum).  

Our meal events are inspired by “True Colors” and other ’80s hits, including: “Red, Red, Wine” cocktail reception; “Holding Out for a Hero” hoagies and wraps lunch; “One Night in Bangkok” pan-Asian buffet; and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” breakfast.

We are thrilled that 19 of our classmates will be participating in alumni-faculty forums during Reunions, speaking about diverse themes that include medicine/healthcare, politics, international relations, national security, civil rights, literature, performing arts, and professional development. 

But Reunions is really about the party — we’ve got the perennial Reunions favorite Right On Band booked for Friday night, and ’80s tribute band Rubix Cube for Saturday. In true ’87 fashion, we’ll be partying and dancing the night away. Our true colors will be shining through. 

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“Orange and Black to the Future”

THE CLASS OF 1992

The Class of 1992 is revved up to go “Orange and Black to the Future!” We're “Goin’ Back” to campus and in time, reliving our glory days, when these babies hit in ’88  and when 2017 … was the future — great Scott!  

The 25th-reunion P-rade, during which we watch life go by backwards in time, will feature a local marching band preaching the power of love and a “vintage” flux-capacitor-equipped vehicle some may recognize from a favorite ’80s flick. We’re highlighting the era at our site — especially, of course, with our musical entertainment. Even the kids will enjoy the theme, with a carnival-style event Friday afternoon on Poe Field and a mad science show on Friday night that Dr. Emmett Brown himself would approve of!  

Our jacket — created by world-renowned designer Cynthia Rowley — eschews the costume and pays homage to designs of the earliest 25th-reunion jackets, aiming for timeless elegance with discerning details married to bold simplicity. The cream, pique-cotton jackets, trimmed in a black-and-orange rep pattern designed exclusively for the Class of 1992, incorporates raised brass “92” buttons, an interior lining with the name of each classmate, a custom lining for rolled sleeves, and a label with our original beer-jacket logo and the Locomotive, among other touches. Inspired by the traditional rowing blazer, it subtly references the Class of 1912’s pattern — whose oldest returning member, Arthur Holden 1912, led the P-rade for his 80th reunion in 1992.

The class also created a custom tie and scarf featuring black squirrels and hoagies, enamel pins commemorating our residential colleges, bowling shirts emblazoned with the logo of each prior major reunion, and a beautiful polo shirt with a wrap-around 1992 tiger design.

Our class photo will be taken at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 3, on Blair steps. Our class memorial service will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 2, at the Princeton University Chapel.

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“Tigeritaville”

THE CLASS OF 1997

The Class of ’97’s 20th reunion promises a very slight change in latitude — to Little/Edwards courtyard — but a major change in attitude, as the rhythm of the steel drum band takes us away to Tigeritaville! 

We set sail on Thursday evening with dinner and a DJ dance party, followed by an all-day beach party on Friday. Caribbean cocktails, boardwalk beach games, an island-themed bouncy castle, and a pirate-treasure hunt for the kids promise an afternoon of fun and relaxation until sunset.

The night then comes alive with Pour Some 80s on Me headlining Friday night’s entertainment, followed by The Breakfast Club on Saturday night, rocking until the wee hours of the morning. Lightweight, Princeton-themed Hawaiian shirts will ensure a warm and breezy P-rade experience as the temperature rises, while the Class of ’97 marches to a Jimmy Buffett cover band. 

Everyone knows that it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, but for the Class of ’97, it will be five o’clock, nonstop for the four fun-filled days of our 20th Reunion!

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“Happy Tails ’02 You”

THE CLASS OF 2002

The Great Class of 2002 will two-step back to Old Nassau this year for our 15th reunion: “Happy Tails ’02 You.” Wilson Courtyard will be your home on the range as you explore the Reunions frontier with a weekend of Wild West fun and games. 

Friday night we'll round everyone up for a class dinner and kick up our heels with the ’80s classic cover band Jessie's Girl. On Saturday we’ll gear up in our Western shirts and cowboy hats to rock our way down Elm Drive with country favorites. Back at the ranch, you can rustle up some grub while your little cowpokes play county fair games and bounce around. We'll burn down the barn with the return of Saved by the 90s for a rootin’ tootin’ good time.

Sunday we’ll ride off into the sunset(rise) until we meet again. 

Happy Tails ’02 You.

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“Wet Hot Princeton Summer”

THE CLASS OF 2007

The Class of 2007 is heading back to Camp Princeton for our 10th reunion by celebrating with a “Wet Hot Princeton Summer.” Summoning the spirit of the 1980s and our favorite summer camp memories, we will be gathering around the proverbial campfire to reconnect over corn hole, roast delicious s’mores, and toast the class of destiny!

Tenth reunion entertainment will kick off Thursday night in the “Junior Slums” (aka Camp Princeton headquarters) with game night and abundant ice cream. It seems superfluous to mention the free-flowing beer, which we’ll be stowing in our Camp Princeton-themed canvas class flasks. After we’ve gently welcomed in the summer evening — and one another — we’ll amp it up with a surprise DJ set. The Reunions team has locked down an incredible lineup of entertainment for the weekend, with a combination of DJs and 2000s bands for Friday and Saturday evenings. We guarantee we’ll have you getting down on the dance floor just as hard as you did to Rihanna’s live performance of “Umbrella” in 2006.

We’ll also have a class lunch and barbecue dinner on Friday, as well as our traditional pre-P-rade brunch and class photo on Saturday, and an epic game of Capture the Flag somewhere in between. And don’t forget a revelrous reception on the South Frist Lawn, immediately before the fireworks! Milk and cookies before bed? We’ve got that too.

As for garb, expect to be decked out in your summer camp favorites: denim vests with Princeton-themed patches, running shorts, striped tube stocks, visors, and friendship bracelets. We’ll also be handing out fanny packs and Sharpies, so get ready to sign your best friends’ camp gear.

So with that, let Dean Fred’s favorite class begin the countdown to Camp Princeton! YES!

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“Star Wars Episode 12: Revenge of the Fifth”

THE CLASS OF 2012

The countdown to our fifth reunion has been underway for ... well, five years now. The Class of 2012’s theme, “Star Wars Episode 12: Revenge of the Fifth,” is playing off a film series that is a favorite for so many of us. Look out for our super-comfortable, stylish costumes in the P-rade! 

At fifth-reunion headquarters, get ready to dance the night away with DJ duo Bank Z on Thursday night and 3 Sheets on Friday night. On Saturday night, we'll be bringing it back to the 2000s with our cover band, TRL. 

As for food, we'll be chowing down at a class barbecue on Friday night, and gearing up with bagels and fresh fruit on Saturday morning. Keep your eyes peeled for some late-night pizza surprises, too. 

Obviously, Reunions wouldn’t be complete without a bit of community service. Stay tuned for more information about our backpack and school-supply drive for the “Get SET” after-school program in Trenton!

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“Reunions Are in Our DNA”

APGA

Representing more than 25,000 architects, humanists, engineers, scientists, and social scientists from every field of knowledge, the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni knows how to do Reunions right because Reunions Are in our DNA!

Once again, the APGA tent will be located in Cuyler Courtyard, and all graduate alumni are invited to attend.

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Visit your registration tent during Reunions to pick up a copy PAW’s 2017 Reunions Guide.

Join us for three nights of entertainment, including graduate alumni DJ Kopasetik (dancehall) and DJ Chilango Mango (Latin), plus DJ Roman Martinez from Detroit (old-school hip-hop vinyl set), local favorite Brian Kirk and the Jirks on Friday night, and world-class New York City band Atomic Funk Project on Saturday night.

Thursday night will kick off with a post-generals dinner celebration with graduate students at APGA headquarters. Friday will feature a full day of programming, including a variety of hot-topic discussions through the alumni-faculty forums, APGA-sponsored panels focused on the natural sciences, and an interactive demonstration on the science behind wine and cheese production. The day will continue with lunch and a welcome dinner.

Saturday will begin with a mimosa breakfast, followed by a festive lunch at the APGA tent. Graduate alumni and graduate students will then march in the famous P-rade, enjoy Saturday night dinner, and watch the spectacular fireworks show.

APGA Reunions is fun for the whole family, with activities just for kids throughout Friday and Saturday! For full weekend details, visit alumni.princeton.edu/communities/graduate/apga/reunions/2017/.

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