Hello, Goodbye

Posted on May 4, 2011 by

As we get older, it is inevitable that graduations and weddings lead to births, christenings, first days of school and the like. It is also inevitable that we find ourselves mourning the loss of good friends. It’s important that we remember those friends and to share those memories with each other. It also keeps a part of them alive, both for our sake and theirs.

Joe Stuardi knew this. Joey Stu was a Neumann Pirate from the Class of ’78, and back in 2008 when plans for the 30th reunion and for this site were first taking shape, he did something about it. Not long after the In Memoriam page went up, Joe drew this as a tribute to our Pirate deceased:

Departed Pirate

Departed Pirate by Joe Stuardi

 

In his own words:

“Explain to everyone that this will be done in the spirit of the pirate. Knowing more than a handful of our passed brothers, and from what I have heard of the others, I know they will be laughing and toasting from up above.”

Joe joined our passed brothers this week. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Class of 78 go out to his family and friends.

Joe, your Pirate will always have a home here. Hoist one for us, brother.

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2011 All Class Reunion At The Shore

Posted on February 10, 2011 by

I just received a mailing from the Millay Club that included a card with information about this year’s all class reunion in North Wildwood. The reunion is for all classes from all schools (Southeast Catholic, Neumann, Goretti & Neumann/Goretti) and will be held at Keenan’s on Saturday, July 23rd. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Call the Millay Club/Alumni Office at 215-389-0925 or 1-800-7-MILLAY for more information and to get your tickets.

Also, if you’re planning on attending, leave a comment here or on the Class of ’78 Facebook page.

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St. John Neumann Place

Posted on February 7, 2011 by

I posted some pictures to the site’s Facebook page showing what had become of the old Bishop/St. John Neumann High School building at 26th & Moore Streets. It’s now a nursing home called St. John Neumann Place, and it may not be too much of a stretch to imagine that one day some of us may be walking the halls of Neumann again

(Click on the picture to visit the Facebook album – you don’t have to sign in to Facebook to see the images.)

St. John Neumann Place

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We’re On Facebook!

Posted on February 7, 2011 by

Last year I put a fan page for this site on Facebook. As of today, 109 people “like” the page. If you’re not a big fan of Facebook, that’s ok. You don’t have to be a part of Facebook to use this site. But if you are on Facebook and are part of the Class of ’78, go ahead and like us. It’s a great way to connect with more classmates!

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How Times Have Changed

Posted on September 24, 2010 by

As evidence that the End Times are near, I offer the following Daily News article and video from today (September 24th):

Wii fitness lab’s a big hit at Neumann-Goretti

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The Grand Tour, Part One

Posted on September 12, 2010 by

Now that the site is up and running, it’s time to show it off a bit. Let’s start the Grand Tour right here on the front page.

It looks normal enough for a web site. You’ll find new articles here, the newest ones on top. At the end of each article you will find category and tag names that you can use to sort the articles and a link to leave a comment on the article you’re reading.

Across the top are the different menu headings. Home will get you to the front page with all the article listings. About contains a paragraph or two about the purpose of the site. The Reunion Info page will contain generic reunion info and the two sub-pages, Class of ’78 and Class of ’74, will have more detailed information about plans for our next High School (Class of ’78) and Grade School (Class of ’74) reunions as that info becomes available. Pretty basic, wouldn’t you agree?

Next is the In Memoriam page, which underwent a bit of a face lift from the old site. The main page still contains the list of deceased members of our class, but underneath the list you will now find a form you can use to submit the names of other classmates who have passed away. Additionally, the comment section has been moved to the To Absent Friends sub-page so as to not clutter the memorial page.

The last main menu item is the Keep In Touch page, with its two sub-pages, Email List and Facebook. This is a major overhaul of the old site’s Contact page. The main feature of the new page is the form for submitting and/or updating your contact information. The Email List page directs you to the Yahoo! Group Email List and will shortly have information about the new Class News email list you’ll want to sign up for. And finally, the Facebook page points you to all the Class of ’78 links on Facebook.

That’s all for Part One of the Grand Tour. Look for Part Two shortly!

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Kicking The Tires

Posted on September 9, 2010 by

Labor Day is behind us, the kids and/or grandkids are back in school, the Phillies are in the playoff hunt and the Eagles are preparing for their first game of the season. That could only mean that it was time to work on the web site. (Hey, the Phillies were off tonight!!!)

The rest of the pages on the site are now complete and additional content was added, so feel free to take a look around, kick the tires and tell me what you like and/or don’t like about the upgraded site. The major new feature is the contact information form on the Keep In Touch page. That should go a long way towards making the reunion committee’s job a little easier the next time around.

The old site is still up and running, but this is where the action will be from here on out. The plan is to put out monthly updates until reunion time comes sneaking up on us again. Until then, let’s go Phils!!!

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Keep On Truckin’

Posted on August 4, 2010 by

On November 15th 2008, a bunch of guys and girls got together and threw one hell of a party in South Philly. The Class of 1978 from both Bishop Neumann and Saint Maria Goretti High Schools celebrated their 30 year reunion, the first time in the history of either school that a joint reunion was held.

Here we are, almost two years later, wondering when the heck we got old enough for AARP to start sending us membership applications! Believe it or not, the clock keeps ticking, even though we did manage to turn it back a bit on that night.

Since then, more and more of the Class of ’78 have been resurfacing and reconnecting with old friends, with Facebook playing a big part. At last count, the Class of ’78 Group on Facebook had over 140 members! Also, last year saw a good number of Class of ’74 grade school alums hold 35 year reunions. It seems like we’re on a roll and there’s no sign of it ending.

This new site is an update to the original reunion site. In addition to reunion news (when the time comes around again), I’ll be trying to post more frequent updates on a variety of topics that would be of interest to most of you. I’ll be moving the In Memoriam page from the old site over to here, and adding several different ways to keep in touch.

I’m still in the middle of designing this site and what I’ll be doing with it, so what you see today may not be what it looks like once it’s finished. About the only thing I can guarantee is the you will never, EVER see a Farmville notification here!

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