For those of you who missed the 20th, we had a whole weekend of events surrounding the “formal” reunion night shindig (I’m still trying to find photos, anyone who wants to share, please email!) which was held at the Marriott in downtown Baltimore.
OMHS School Tour
The turn out was pretty good for the school tour – yes, we actually toured the school that left us all scarred for life where we spent our youth – and boy! Did it look different!!! OMHS was not in session at the time, so we wandered around as a group and didn’t run into any teachers or admin staff. I think it’s safe to say that our small band of classmates definitely found the tour an interesting trip down memory lane. For most of us, the school seemed a lot smaller than we remembered it, especially the gym! Also, it was the first time many of us had seen each other since we graduated, so there were quite a few exclamations of, “Oh my God!”, “You look exactly the same!”, “You have HOW MANY kids?”, “Who are you?!” (okay, that last one was not said 😉 ), Many thanks to the classmate who does not age Ray Kelso for working so hard on getting us access to the school. It took some major wrestling around to make that happen, and Ray was the man for the job! Any interest in touring the school for the 30th?
Oriole’s Game
Later that night, those who had signed up to see an O’s game together, gathered at the members-only O’s club at Camden Yards to catch a game. Only thing is, it rained cats and dogs…all night. We had designated the club as the meeting place, so of course we hung out there for hours getting sloshed reaquainted with each other, and waiting out the rain delay. They finally called the game, upon which time, we continued to drink more reminisce about HS days, until they kicked us out. FUN! Many thanks to Mr. Universe Roch Kubatko who was kind enough to introduce me to Steve Freeman of the Baltimore Orioles organization, who in turn was incredibly kind in helping me get a bank of tickets so all the classmates could sit together (and get us VIP access to the club bar). Despite the game being called due to rain, everyone who had signed up to go had a really great time. Roch has let me know that he’ll put me in touch with the O’s organization again, so any interest in catching a game as a group as part of the 30th reunion weekend? Please leave a comment.
20th Reunion
The night of the reunion was a hopping one in Baltimore. The event’s dress code was “festive”. Tina Nigh-Johnson’s comment to me was, “Erin came dressed in her pajamas!” Okay, maybe not my best design, but still. 😉 So, the dress wasn’t a hit, but man, the name tags were! Huge thanks to Renee Diffendall Sosslau for scanning everyone’s senior photos and making the very popular name tags. Renee also took photos of everyone who attended the 20th, so be prepared for more photo surprises at the 30th. Renee is again taking the laborious task of doing the name tags for this reunion!! Patti Jo (sorry, Patti, I know you hate that, but I love calling you Patti Jo!) Clawson Cortina and James Brown (aka, Jimmy, JB, Sailor, and some other names you can ask me about if you’re really curious) were instrumental in making the whole shebang so successful, and keeping me sane. Patti and JB were two classmates I didn’t know well in high school, but wow, what a privilege to get to know them out of school. I have the honor of calling both of them a good friend, and the 20th couldn’t have happened without them! We do think everyone had a great time, even though there was some pre (and post)-reunion grumbling about the venue, formality and ticket price. If you have thoughts on what you’d like to see for the 30th reunion, this site is your chance to give feedback about ticket prices, venues, dress code, etc. We can’t please everybody, but we do welcome your feedback. It’s YOUR reunion, and we’ll do our best to make as many people happy.
Sunday Picnic
The day after the reunion, a picnic was planned at a popular park. — CORRECTION (thanks, JB): the picnic was held at Bodkin Yacht Club. Everyone brought something and the bar was open. — It was a place where you could bring the kids along and spend an afternoon catching up with classmates and meeting their families in a very casual setting. While I did not attend this, I was told the turnout was pretty good, so if a casual family picnic interests anyone, your feedback is most welcome, so leave a comment.
There are lots of people involved with the 30th reunion, and I’ll be introducing them in the coming weeks, along with reunion details. Meanwhile, let us hear from you. Please leave your suggestions, feedback, ideas, etc. by clicking on the “Leave a Comment” link!
I want to make sure that everyone who attends gets a photo name tag, but there are a couple dozen classmates who 
Old Mill Senior High Class of 1981 
