50-year reunion on tap

The Baldwin Senior High class of 1965 will celebrate its 50th Anniversary the weekend of Sept. 11-13.

The class was an important one (many think they are but ’65 truly was). The class kept growing from kindergarten through their senior year. Some were among the first students at Brookside, Milburn and Harbor schools, which opened during their careers. Some attended kindergarten in church basements. Not church-based nursery schools but Baldwin School District kindergarten because their new elementary schools weren’t open yet.

Some attended elementary schools that have since closed: Coolidge, Harbor, Milburn, Prospect and Shubert. The junior high they attended, in split sessions for three years, was razed more than thirty years ago.

The senior high they attended was also over crowded, study halls were held in the Commons and the Auditorium because the 600 building was still under construction. There were almost 700 of them — the three-class population of the senior high was about 2,100. Today’s four classes, with an extra gym and a score more classrooms only number about 1,400.

The first young man drafted to fight in Vietnam from Baldwin who was killed was Bobby Ludecker, who perished in Ma, 1967 not two years after graduation.

Some members returned to their alma mater as teachers. Fred Coleman taught in the “New Junior High.” Jim Mugavera taught math at the senior high. Robin Atkin retired from service to the district as a specialist and member of the Baldwin Teachers’ Association. “B.A.” Schoen was a wrestling coach and then, for 16 years, a member of the Board of Education.

The classmates achieved success in many areas. Carol Kydd Frost is an award-winning poet; Jerry Diskin was a federal prosecutor who gained a conviction in a large West Coast terror plot. Joe Tomaselli enjoyed a very successful career in business and has shared thousands of dollars with the Baldwin Foundation for Education.

David H. Farb PHD. is professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine.

The class has held a reunion every five years since 1975. Some have attended every gathering, some only a few and some have never looked back. This year, the reunion committee is hoping to get 180 alumni and guests for what might be their last big blast.

They have a weekend filled with activities and hope to see as many of their friends as possible. The main event is a dinner/dance at the Freeport Yacht Club on Saturday, Sept. 12 (the same day as the Baldwin Foundation for Education’s All Class Beach Party). Tickets are $75 per person and must be purchased in advance.

For further information, please contact Sue (Ampel) Wyant susan.wyant.526@gmail.com.