October 25, 2009 e-mail

* "Please let the committee know that the event was terrific and Ilene and I appreciate all their hard work.  Thanks to all.

Regards, Mike Garlock"

"Karen and Steve,

* "Our 50th Reunion was a great success thanks to All of you who worked so hard to make it happen.  I am very proud and thankfull to have been a part of it.  All my best to everyone for a happy and healthy future.

Thanks again, Guy Vanderhoof"

October 26, 2009 e-mail

* "To all members (official and unofficial) of the Reunion Committee

 

Speaking for all participants at our VHS '59 Reunion, we would like to thank all those responsible for planning, organizing and executing a terrific 50th Reunion.  Reserving a banquet hall, stocking a suite with munchies, beer and wine (and salmon!), hiring a band (+ Guy), hosting a cocktail hour, making tee times, preparing a Memories booklet (I could go on, but you get the idea) -- are all things that don't happen without someone making them happen.  We very much appreciate the hard work and substantial effort of all members of the Reunion Committee.  Thank you very much for this great event!

 

Carl Esser"

* "Thanks to you all, it was wonderful to be "Together Again:; it was a great time; we'll see you at the next one!  Hillbilly's Forever!

Fred and Donna"

* "Joining our classmates....huge thanks to all on the committee making this the very best, most memorable of all our reunions.  We appreciate your hard work and efforts making it such a successful event.

Betsy and Bill Flavell

* "To all of the committee -- thanks so much for a wonderful reunion -- it was perfect and I know how much work went into planning such a great event!  And, to all the classmates and spouses who attended -- it was so good seeing and chatting with you.  To all those who didn't attend -- they truly missed a wonderful weekend!  Thank you again.

Gaye Harrison Smith"

"What a great job all you planners did!!  Thanks so much for an amazing walk down memory lane and for the opportunity to reconnect with so many great, fun and interesting people. 
Guy, I played your CD all the way back to Wilmington and sang at the top of my longs...hope no one nearby heard me.  I want to encourage everyone to fill out the survey and send it in so we can all learn more about each other, otherwise only John will know.

So glad I attended - Sharon"

* "The Class of 1959-Words cannot express how wonderful our Reunion Committee did in planning our 50th Reunion.  The memories will last a lifetime for everyone.  It was wonderful to reconnect with old friends and classmates (and spouses too).  The friendships we made in high school have endured for 50 years and will continue.  Hopefully we will all see each other again in 5 years (or maybe when we are all 70 in a couple of years. To each of the committee members a heartfelt thank you.  It was beyond words. Maureen"

* "To the committee,

My sincerest thanks for putting together such a memorable weekend.  The place, the band, the food, our friends.  The turnout was spectacular.  You have outdone all previous reunions.  I know that you'll never be able to live up to the 50th.

To all of you who attended, it was SOOOooo good to see you all again, to relive memories to catch up on all of our lives over the last 50 years.  To dance, to sing, to drink together, to eat together.  It was an experience that I'll not soon forget. 

I surely hope to meet you all again at the next one.  Five years????  Reunion Committee, what do you think??????

Gene Sheninger"

* "What a great couple of days.  All members of the VHS 59 Committee did a super job of putting things together so all of us could have such a great time.  Thanks also to our fellow classmates for keeping old friendships alive and forging new ones.  I don't think I talked to that many people when I was at Verona High.  I thank All of You for a great time, both Friday and Saturday.  I feel very honored and thankful to have been a part of it.

 

Guy"

* "Hats off to the Committee.  Once again you planned every detail to perfection.  How did you arrange for everyone to look so young?!!!  Thanks for the wonderful memories.

Rose Wurgaft Scharlat"

* "Again--- great job by you people-- Fantastic time-- 

Steve and Karen"

* "To the committee who put this reunion together.  THANK YOU!!!  You did a wonderful job.  I don't think anyone ever noticed it was raining outside.  The friendly faces that we came in contact throughout the day made the day brighter.   It will be a reunion I will always remember.

Barbara (Swenson)"

* "I would like to add my THANKS. I had a wonderful time, as usual.

Marta"

* "John, My compliments on your photographic and organizational talents.  Beautiful picture.

Best, Laird"

* "MANY THANKS, JOHN!!  It was great to see you, Buffy and the gang again!!!!!

Barbara Berke"

October 26, 2009 letter

* "I would like to thank you and all the reunion committee for a wonderful job, a great time.  I realize the time and hard work that goes into all the planning.  Again many thanks,

Dottie Intile"

* "Hi John, Thank you for putting together such a great reunion.  I had a wonderful time.

Thanks, Justine Seymour"

October 28, 2009 E-mail

* "WE can only repeat what others have already said to the Reunion Committee.

What a special weekend you gave us.  Your planning and hard work resulted in an outstanding reunion.

You succeeded in generating what we would guess is a record turnout, and everyone  had a great time.

Congratulations on a job so well done.

Ann and Greg"

* "Hey John,

 

I just visited the (your/our) VHS59 website. It looks like I missed a wonderful event. Maybe I'll get my sorry, lethargic ass together for the 55th, God willing. Great job to you and the committee, for this great event, and for maintaining this site for zilch all these years. Go John (and Buffy)!

 

Now please take this with a grain of salt. I was wondering why loading the website took "hours." So, I peeked at some of the "dinner" pics, etc, and found them to be unnecessarily huge. Why? Then, I saw that the background jpeg was 360KB. Wow! The dinner table pics were about 176KB. Might I ask why? They could easily be reduced by 66 to 75%. Think about it.

 

For old farts like me with dialup connections, these huge files are a pain in the ass.

 

I humbly enclose just a couple examples of how resizing these photos could drastically reduce download time.

 

All the best. Thanks for being/hosting the Webmaster duties all these years (but, it would be nice to clean up all the outdated crap).

 

Maybe see you in five. Ginny and I wish you, Buffy and family good health.

 

Thanks again,

 

Don"

Response:  Don - We too are sorry you did not attend the 50th Reunion.  You would have had a great time.  Thanks for the comments on the web site and the size of the photos.  The photos on the web site were reduced in size from the original with the hope it would speed downloading.  The question is always sacrificing picture quality for speed.  With most people now having high speed service the decision was made to reduce them by over 60%.  Frankly, I create approximately 2 web sites a month for clients which are frequently photo intensive and have not gotten any complaint about downloading speed until yours.  To test your suggestion, I created a sample page and used your downsized photo as a background and placed the two photos you provided side by side to compare quality.  While the background was a problem, there was not a significant difference in the quality of the photos.   You can see the results by clicking HERE.  Thanks again for your suggestions.  In the future I will experiment with reducing the photo size so people with dial-up service are not inconvenienced. 

John

October 29, 2009 - E-mail

* "To all VHS '59ers,

 

Just back today from the East Coast, I too echo those who have expressed their appreciation for the organizing committee's hard work in coming up with such a great "itinerary" for our 50th VHS reunion. It was a huge success, and I had a wonderful time.

 

As an FYI, please note Sue Somers' email address, which she wants everyone to use when contacting her. While en route to W. Orange, I visited her at her home in Pitman, NJ (near Glassboro) one week ago today, Thursday, Oct. 22. She mentioned that her correct email address is:  wallybob1@verizon.net but somehow the new address hadn't been registered with the VHS website, so she never received any of the e-communications this year about the reunion. I have appended it to the "To" list above.

 

Best wishes to all of you,

Anne Shlionsky"