One year later...

Hi West Van grads:

When I first posted my photos last year, I received quite a few friendly emails from the No Shows who checked out this site. [It was GREAT to hear from you folks, near and far.]

I didn't post them here because the emails I received were personal -- and because I thought we'd all get a booklet from the actual reunion bringing us up-to-date on what everyone's been doing since the 10-year reunion. So far, no dice.

Oh well. If you're reading this entry, welcome back to this site. It, and one it seems to have inspired for the Class of '86, was recently added as a link in the Wikipedia entry for West Vancouver Secondary School.
--Jennifer Lang

I'm curious: What does it say about Vancouver and the kinds of opportunities that are supposed to exist here that so many of you live abroad, in the U.S., or another province? Any thoughts?

Here's how we started the evening...

Ready or not, here we come: A bunch of us got together at Tina (Richter) Menchions' house, which is near Deep Cove, about an hour or so before the reunion started. That way, we could all arrive around the same time. After all, there's safety in numbers. None of us quite knew what to expect. From left: Susan, me, Lisa, Tina, Tina and Corinne.

Great to see you!

It seemed like everyone arrived at once. Here, Sam gives Sue a welcome hug. That's Michelle in the background.

Say cheese!

Smiling for the camera: Paul, Todd, Vig, and Gabor, crowd around Samantha for a group shot, one of many taken that night. And that's Colin in the background, at far left.

Plus ca change...

Kerry, Carla, and Gillian; Rhona and Kirk.

Snapshots

Pete and Karen, and there's Mike and Gabor.

Jet-setters

These three out-of-towners all made the pilgrimage back to the north shore for the reunion: Dan from Chicago, Tina from Squamish and Ken from Calgary.

Class acts

At left, Debbie and Michelle; and that's Ellen at right. She's one of the many members of West Van's Class of '85 who now call the White Rock/South Surrey area home.

Catching up

John and Dave; Meghan and Shawn.

Our principal

He hasn't changed a bit! Mr. Williams has now retired from WVSS. This could explain why he looks so relaxed these days.

They wanted to know how you turned out

Former WVSS teachers Roger Kronquist (math, P.E.) and Mr. Harrison (chemistry) often attend high school reunions when invited. Both admit it's sometimes hard to remember the names of their former students, after all, they've taught thousands of kids over the years.
Kronquist, who hung up his cleats 18 years ago, says the guys, especially, can be hard to recognize. For one thing, some keep growing after grad. "Take (Paul) Keller, for instance," he said, pointing across the crowded room. "He's grown at least three inches since high school."
Harrison said most of the teachers we remember have retired.
N.B. According to the school's current website, Mr. Lindahl and Mrs. Wallwork are still there.

Faces from the reunion

Kelly posed for a picture with Robyn and her guy Wade; and that's Andrew in the background of the photo of Darin.

Photo fun

A-ha! So this is where everyone is hanging out: the ladies' room, which served as the main de-briefing zone. Here, Lisa, right, and the two Tinas are smiling about something, or someone, they've managed to catch on camera.

Picture perfect

Remember when? Anne, Shannon and Rhonda flip through one of the photo albums people brought along. It was fun looking at old PJ and Ridgeview Elementary class photos (and possibly others) and scanning the vintage school headshots and grad night snapshots, as well as other memorabillia.

Reeling in the years

Shutter bugs ruled the evening, breaking up conversations only to force people to pose for pictures. But it's great to have a few souvenirs of the night, especially when it's so hard to be everywhere at once. Just in case you missed them, here's a shot of Pam, John, Elaine and Sue; and one of Ken (above), Paul, Carolyna and Dan.

Familiar faces

Carolyn and Markus; Barb and Jackie.

Looking fabulous

Sensational smiles: Theresa, Charlotte, Janelle and Simon.

Reminiscing

Trina and Ken pore over an elementary school class photo.

Having fun

It took a while, but people finally started to relax (I think we were all pretty nervous for the first couple of hours. I know I was.) In the hallway, Jenny and Kerry were giggling about something. Inside, Rob and Debbie look like they're singing (That's MJ and Mr. Williams having a chat in the background.)

Terrific trio

Debbie, Suzanne and Sue, former student council president, who welcomed everyone to the reunion. Grads came from all over North America to attend, from such far-flung locales as Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver Island.

More smiles from the reunion

Rod and Paul; Julie and Louise.

The show's about to start

Mike and Daina plus a whole bunch of other people get ready to take a trip down memory lane, a slide show of old high school photos, including some shots of the now-legendary Reach the Beach mooning antics.

Back in the day...

The slide show evokes smiles, laughs, and the occaisional pointed comment: "Jackie Fry should be here," one of the guys declares loudly, just as her photo zooms onto the screen. With about 80 attendees out of an original grad class of 130-plus making it to the 20th reunion, it's clear plenty of our former classmates are sorely missed.

Hallway hug

Jim and Karen, outside the ballroom. Inside, Karen was one of the brave folks spotted tearing up the dance floor.

Mingling

Colin, left, chats with Nicole and her guy, Fred.

Taking a break

Things were low-key and relaxed outside: Theresa (clockwise from left), Markus, Vig, Julia, me (Jen), and Janelle.

Dropping in

Better late than never: Libor and his wife had a prior engagement (a wedding?) but were able to pop by the reunion to catch at least part of it.

Fun and friendly

MJ, Mark, Rob and Sue share a laugh, and I think I know why Sue is laughing so much.

Two trios

More snapshots from the night

Left, Jamie and Claire; at right: Louise, Rob and Kari.

A final thought

Here's a message to everyone who couldn't make it to the reunion. You were MISSED. You should have heard how disappointed we all sounded when they showed a slide with your picture on it and everyone realized you weren't there.

I'd love to hear from you -- as well as those folks who did attend. If you send me a photo (low res, please; I'm on dial-up) and an email letting me know what you're up to these days, I'd be glad to post them here.

I'm at jlang@uniserve.com