
50 years later, alum looks forward to class reunion
By Bob Bong
It seems like only yesterday I was one of the Meteors donning a purple cap and gown and preparing for commencement as a member of the T.F. North High School Class of 1972 in Calumet City.
Ours was to be the first outdoor graduation. We practiced a few times. On graduation day, howling winds and pouring rain forced us inside. Of course, we hadn’t practiced for that.
Then there were the graduation parties. Lots of graduation parties. But that’s a different subject.
Fast forward half a century, and several classmates are planning our 50th reunion, which will be our last. After 50 years, we get lumped in with the TFN and TFS Golden Alumni group.
The affair will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23, at the Wicker Park Social Center in Highland, Ind. So far, 103 alumni and significant others have paid up to attend. Some who stay over till Saturday may take a tour of our alma mater. How much could it have changed in five decades?
Alumni are coming in from across the country. Three are coming from California, including my childhood best friend, Carl Rosenbaum. One is from Maine. Four are from Florida. A few others are coming in from South Carolina, Texas and Arizona.
Many of us have reconnected on Facebook where we reminisce, argue politics, and talk about our grandkids.
Carl has endeared himself to our class in particular, and a couple of others, for keeping a list of our classmates who have passed away over the years. The list is up to 82.
One classmate who unfortunately made the list was John Sherrer. Everyone had a group of close friends in high school and John was in mine. It helped that John had three sisters.
John joined the Army after high school and was sent to Germany. He married his longtime girlfriend Fran and they had kids.
We lost touch for a while but reconnected thanks to Facebook and his daughter Tiffany. John had lost his sight, in part because of his military service. But he and Fran had a business teaching blind veterans how to use computers and such.
John had a great service dog and we’d get together when he was in town, usually during trips to the VA related to his blindness.
I miss him and our reunion will be little less fun without him.
Planners for the milestone shindig include former classmates Jeff and Deb Lundy, Paula Senek and Patti Judnick-Zurawski. I’m sure there are others I have missed.
They have an interesting night planned. 1970s music. Dancing (maybe, but we’re not as spry as we used to be). Memorabilia. Photos. Contact Paula if you have items to display. Her email address is [email protected]
A photographer will be on hand to take a class photo (I have class photos from our 40th and 45th reunions). The photographer will also offer photos of smaller groups, couples, and individuals. There will also be photo props for use by alumni who want to take their own photos.
Tickets are $55 per person and include a family-style dinner and one-hour open bar before dinner. The deadline to purchase tickets is August 1.
Deb Lundy keeps the list of attendees updated on our class Facebook page. Some of them I haven’t seen since we graduated. Some of them I have known since we were kids and played baseball together or were in Cub Scouts together.
Any alumni out there who haven’t signed up can find details on how to sign up at the TFN Class of 1972 Facebook page or email [email protected]
All together now, “Stay on the North side of Fractional and never cross that line …”
Bob Bong is editor of the Desplaines Valley News, The Regional News and The Reporter newspapers.
4 Comments
Local News

Girls Bowling | Richards wins regional; Shepard’s Kahlen Ranson rolls to individual title
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Screaming and cheering parents and friends expressing their staunch support for their bowlers. Teammates fervently hoping for an opportunity to advance to sectional competition next weekend. For good measure, not one but two gender-reveal parties getting ready to begin a few lanes away. Quite a vibrant atmosphere for a…

Cheerleading State Finals: Sandburg takes fourth behind conference rivals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON — Sandburg’s competitive cheerleaders finished fourth in a state finals competition that looked a lot like a SouthWest Suburban Conference meet. At least it did for the Large Team division competition, in which the top five finishers hail from the SWSC. The 2023 state finals were held…

Girls Bowling | Reavis wins second straight regional crown; Argo’s Sara Flynn take indie title
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Two years, two consecutive regional championships for Reavis’ girls bowling team. The Rams made it back-to-back titles in an impressive manner, topping the 13-team field at the Reavis Regional with a pinfall total of 4847, topping second-place Argo (4684) by 163 pins at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills Reavis…

Countryside plans summer concert series, bluegrass festival
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch It might be winter, but it’s never too soon to talk about summertime music. Such was the case Jan. 11 when the Countryside City Council’s Special Events Committee heard from promoter Katie Goggin regarding the city’s annual Summer Concert Series. The committee also heard about the second annual Bluegrass and Brews Festival…

Porfirio resigns township post to take Senate seat
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Mike Porfirio is now a state senator and the Township of Lyons Board of Trustees has a vacancy. Porfirio submitted his resignation as a trustee, which was accepted by the board at its Jan. 10 meeting. Porfirio was elected to the Illinois Senate in November, and was sworn in as…

Drone takes McCook crime fighting to new level
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The McCook Police Department has a new weapon to fight crime. A new drone equipped with an infrared camera and the ability to zoom in 200 times was at the village’s latest board meeting on Jan. 17. The village used part of a $50,000 grant from the Secretary of State’s…

Super Hero fun at Our Lady of the Snows
Spread the love Catholic Schools Week was plenty of fun this year at Our Lady of the Snows School, as students were encouraged to dress as a super hero. Parents interested in checking out the school, 4810 S. Leamington, for 2023-24 are encouraged to call (773) 735-4810. – Supplied photo

Tri-State lane closures start Monday as area ramps prepare to reopen
Spread the loveOvernight lane closures are scheduled next week to shift traffic on Interstate 55 and on the northbound Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) between Willow Springs Road and Plainfield Road and reopen the ramp connecting northbound I-294 to southbound I-55 and Wolf Road. On Monday, February 6, beginning at 9 p.m. and continuing until 5…

Comings & Goings: Orland Area Chamber installs new officers
Spread the loveRamzi Hassan of Edwards Realty Company was installed last week as president of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce. The 2023 board of directors was also installed and annual membership awards were handed out during ceremonies last Thursday at the Crystal Tree Country Club. Installation duties were performed by Orland Park Mayor…
Neighbors

Girls Bowling | Richards wins regional; Shepard’s Kahlen Ranson rolls to individual title
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Screaming and cheering parents and friends expressing their staunch support for their bowlers. Teammates fervently hoping for an opportunity to advance to sectional competition next weekend. For good measure, not one but two gender-reveal parties getting ready to begin a few lanes away. Quite a vibrant atmosphere for a…

Cheerleading State Finals: Sandburg takes fourth behind conference rivals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON — Sandburg’s competitive cheerleaders finished fourth in a state finals competition that looked a lot like a SouthWest Suburban Conference meet. At least it did for the Large Team division competition, in which the top five finishers hail from the SWSC. The 2023 state finals were held…

Girls Bowling | Reavis wins second straight regional crown; Argo’s Sara Flynn take indie title
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent Two years, two consecutive regional championships for Reavis’ girls bowling team. The Rams made it back-to-back titles in an impressive manner, topping the 13-team field at the Reavis Regional with a pinfall total of 4847, topping second-place Argo (4684) by 163 pins at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills Reavis…

Countryside plans summer concert series, bluegrass festival
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch It might be winter, but it’s never too soon to talk about summertime music. Such was the case Jan. 11 when the Countryside City Council’s Special Events Committee heard from promoter Katie Goggin regarding the city’s annual Summer Concert Series. The committee also heard about the second annual Bluegrass and Brews Festival…

Porfirio resigns township post to take Senate seat
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Mike Porfirio is now a state senator and the Township of Lyons Board of Trustees has a vacancy. Porfirio submitted his resignation as a trustee, which was accepted by the board at its Jan. 10 meeting. Porfirio was elected to the Illinois Senate in November, and was sworn in as…

Drone takes McCook crime fighting to new level
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The McCook Police Department has a new weapon to fight crime. A new drone equipped with an infrared camera and the ability to zoom in 200 times was at the village’s latest board meeting on Jan. 17. The village used part of a $50,000 grant from the Secretary of State’s…

Super Hero fun at Our Lady of the Snows
Spread the love Catholic Schools Week was plenty of fun this year at Our Lady of the Snows School, as students were encouraged to dress as a super hero. Parents interested in checking out the school, 4810 S. Leamington, for 2023-24 are encouraged to call (773) 735-4810. – Supplied photo

Tri-State lane closures start Monday as area ramps prepare to reopen
Spread the loveOvernight lane closures are scheduled next week to shift traffic on Interstate 55 and on the northbound Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) between Willow Springs Road and Plainfield Road and reopen the ramp connecting northbound I-294 to southbound I-55 and Wolf Road. On Monday, February 6, beginning at 9 p.m. and continuing until 5…

Comings & Goings: Orland Area Chamber installs new officers
Spread the loveRamzi Hassan of Edwards Realty Company was installed last week as president of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce. The 2023 board of directors was also installed and annual membership awards were handed out during ceremonies last Thursday at the Crystal Tree Country Club. Installation duties were performed by Orland Park Mayor…
You all will not be lumped into the Golden Alumni. You WILL be invited to join us and we would love to have you. We are a continuing celebration of high school along with providing scholarships thru donations to BOTH North and South deserving students. To get your invite to our annual banquet please provide your.mailing address to [email protected] or on our web page
TF Golden Alumni. Have a great reunion
Thanks for the great recap, Bob! We appreciate your help in getting the word out for us because as hard as we tried we could not locate many classmates.
We hope to see you there! It will be a great time and we currently have 112 paid attendees and we are expecting more before the deadline.
See you in September!
Not sure if Phil Weisner knows about this. I can give you his contact info if you’d like.
Not sure if Phil Weisner knows about this. I can give you his contact info if you’d like.