It was a weekend filled with memories, friends and lots of laughs at the Westbury High School Class of 1966 gathered from all over the world to celebrate their 50 year reunion on Oct. 7 and 8.
The festivities started on Friday afternoon, when a group of 10 alumni—five women and five men—from 1966, met for a panel discussion at the high school. The administration was extremely welcoming and prepared with surprises. They made a wonderful banner welcoming the alumni and had a video of the 1966 Class Yearbook streaming. The 10 alumni individually presented their remembrances, thoughts and tidbits from their lives since 1966 to the more than 150 students in attendance. The reaction of the students was extremely touching. They were very attentive and asked many questions. They witnessed how a class of students from 1966, from different backgrounds, could learn together, get along, and be genuinely happy to connect with each other after so many years.
Friday night, local alumni and those who arrived from around the world, met for a few hours in the lounge of the Marriott to have a less-structured get acquainted evening. Saturday morning, a group of alumni attended a tour of Westbury High School to view the upgrades and changes. Of course, there was no computer room when the students attended 50 years ago. But the good old high school pool was still there, much to the consternation of many of the girls.
Almost 90 former classmates attended the fun at the Uniondale Mariott on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Hurricane Matthew kept a few away as their flights were canceled. We also had some alumni from 1965, 1967, St. Brigid’s, Lutheran High School, and one snuck in from Carle Place.
The four hours went by too fast. It was extremely interesting to discover where some people had traveled from. Many still live on Long Island and New York City, but a big majority have moved to the mid-Atlantic and southeast states, and out west to Texas, New Mexico, San Francisco, Malibu, San Diego, Las Vegas and even the Philippines and Taiwan.
Those who attended the reunion all agreed that they felt fortunate to grow up in a special town, during a special time. One thing was evident that weekend; no matter how far you go in life, you can always go home again, even just for a visit.
—Submitted by Judy DiGabriele-Iannotti, graduate of the Westbury High School Class of 1966
