Classes

This year we will celebrate the reunion years ending in 4 and 9: 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009 (but all alumni are welcome to attend, each and any year!). See below for a message from your class committee and let them know if you'd like to help with developing plans for the weekend (you may look up their contact info using the online directory within IRIS). Also, we encourage you to help locate lost classmates; if you have contact info for any of these lost alumni, please let us know at alumni@reed.edu so that we may invite them to the festivities.

Class of 1954 Class of 1959 Class of 1969 Class of 1974 Class of 1979

Class of 1984 Class of 1994 Class of 1999 Class of 2004

Class of 1954

Come to our 55th! Commit now!

Had we but world enough and time
This coyness, Reedies,were no crime
We would sit down and think which way
We'd go to Portland some fine day...
But at my back I always hear
Times winged chariot hurrying near
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity...
After 55 fast flying years
We'll laugh, shmooze , share a few beers...
Thus though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him

Following email to '54 classmates in September about our 55th reunion next June, we now have a committee of 11. They include many who worked on the 50th and a few new daring souls: Abe Bergman '54, Julie Bishin May '54, Bob Fernea '54, Barbara Frank Beach '54, Dorothy Frey Marshall '54, Don Green '54, Richarad Grillo '54, Bobo Kamb Marinacci '54, Charles Hedtke '54, Ayama Ogimi Flint '54, and Jerry Whalen '54.

We expect another enthusiastic gathering of old friends and acquaintances; we encourage all to try and work in a visit to Reed next June, 2-6, or at least for the weekend June 5-7.

We plan on lots of time for informal hanging out, as well as a few tours of new dorms, the student run nuclear reactor, and gatherings with faculty and staff to learn what's new. Our memories may still be alive but a few things have happened to us and to Reed (and by this November, even more important, to our country). So reserve plane, train or driving fare and plan to join us next June. Unlikely we could mount a repeat of our Pirates performance of 54 and 04, but we have enough talent to entertain each other in various ways.

We look forward to your ideas and seeing you all.

Dorothy Frey Marshall '54 and Don Green '54, co/chairs

Class of 1959

Of course, we're all too young to have a 50th reunion, but the alumni office assures us that it really has been 50 years since we left Reed. So, let's make the most of it! Whether or not the time has flown by, and no matter where you find yourself, we want you to come back and hang out on the gorgeous campus with the interesting and wonderful people with whom you shared the Reed experience. This includes our classmates who may have spent only two or three years at Reed, as well as those who lived off campus and may have been members of the "Married Students Club." We have lots to share--memories and stories of Reed, what we've learned and done since then ,and what the future holds. Steve Piker '59 sums it up well: "What I most want is to schmooze with and feel warm about and solidarity with dear friends who became dear friends because we were all at Reed together." There will also be opportunities to explore the canyon (and its ongoing restoration), the "new" new dorms across the canyon reached by a swaying bridge, and the humanities conference for 500 (open air discussion and reception hosted by Reed vintners). Help spread the word about Reunions by contacting your best friends and former roommates.

We look forward to seeing all of you this summer (June 5-7, 2009).

Janis Bueling Dairiki '59, George Forester '59, Bella Halsted '59, Frances Land Moore '59, Steven Piker '59, Peter Renz '59, Jim Riles '59, and Herschel Snodgrass '59

Class of 1969

Can you believe that it has been more than40 years since you first arrived at Reed. Members of our class now live all over the United States and the world.   We have all evolved and aged. The campus is much changed, but still there. Precious few of the faculty of our time are still there.

Consider coming to our 40th reunion next June. Find out what has happened in the lives of your classmates and see how the campus and the city of Portland have changed. You have the opportunity to relive being a student by attending Alumni College. You can visit with your classmates and with Roger Porter, professor of English and humanities, and Virginia Hancock, professor of music, at our class dinner. A raucous game of bocce ball on the front lawn is one of many possibilities for a class activity.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Janet Neuburg '69, Sherry Charles '69, and Jim Mirel '69

Class of 1974

When thinking and talking about Reed, the parts that come to our minds are the exuberance, imagination, and sense of community that went into the day when Nixon's representative showed up on campus, the resolving of the takeover of Eliot Hall with conversation and pizza, the presence of both a barefoot student with his pet pigeon on his shoulder, and a student with a crew cut and a briefcase, folk dancing, owl adventures, calligraphy, late-night talks without the specter of political correctness, being allowed to stay in the infirmary when recovering from the London flu as an off-campus student, and the custom-made hot newly invented crinkle fries in the coffee shop. Now, when we are living in a world of serious problems, together with a resurgence of purposeful, though measured optimism, we have a chance to visit our earlier selves, share our lives since then, and reflect on the changes that have come to our college. We invite you to come to our 35th reunion to see old friends, enjoy conversations with fellow Reedies, and be part of our special Class of '74 event, which we would like you to shape. Please share your ideas through Janet Burstein Svirsky '74 , Loraine Shields '74, and Katie Bretsch '74. For more information about Reunions see our Yahoo group, Facebook group, or contact Loraine at loraineshields@alumni.reed.edu.

Class of 1979

You've got lots of old friends who'd love to see you! So why should you come to the reunion? You are a Reedie and part of a special community, and we need you. Plus, this is a 30th reunion; it should be something special. The campus has changed dramatically and beautifully. Having changed little over the intervening years, you will certainly want to come and taunt your portly, graying friends

Thirty years is reason to celebrate! Sure, there are a lot of reasons that you might not attend Reunions: kids in school (but there's daycare provided for evening events), the expense (hey, it's only once every five years, this IS our 30th, and have you heard about Kayak.com?), don't want to see somebody (well, it is a much larger campus now, and there are beautiful new dorms and canyon paths to hide in), all of our professors are retired (not  true; we get to invite two professors--on  Reed's nickel--to our  reunion dinner, and, by the way, retired faculty love to attend, too). So, c'mon!

Remember these top 10 reasons to return to Reed:

10. Free beer--and a wine tasting!
9. A great party with no papers due
8. Sunbathing on the Great Lawn (good weather is the rule) 
7. See and hear how old friends have turned out
6. Thesis Parade re-enactment without stress
5. Be with hundreds of interesting people who have actually heard of Reed College
4. Folk dancing in the SU (or not)
3. Tour the stunning new Cross Canyon Dorms 
2. Use your hard-earned capitalist dollars to buy a new "Communism, Atheism, and Free Love" t-shirt
1. Free beer

What are you waiting for? Don't miss out on what's always a great event (more than 1,000 people now attend Reed's Reunions weekends--really!)  So mark your calendar for June 5-7. You'll remember this weekend for the rest of your life.  

We had so much fun thinking these up, in fact, here is our long list--can you add to it? Bring your ideas and recollections to Reunions! We also invite you share them ahead of time. We've put together a Facebook page and are collecting reasons to attend. To add some thoughts, please visit http:// www.facebook.com and type in the search "Reed College Class of '79 Reunion."

Online registration will be open in mid-February. Please contact us if you have any questions whatsoever. We hope to be in touch in the intervening months, and we look forward to seeing you at the reunion.

Vera Boals '79 (vrboals@yahoo.com ), Steve Littlewood '79 (scl@sclwood.com ), Neil Minturn '79  (MinturnN@missouri.edu ), and Richard Roher '79 (rsroher@roherpr.com )

More Reasons To Return To Reed:

• The MLLL, pinball, and pool in the Commons basement
• Blue movies in the Chapel
• Campus buildings
• Topless sunbathing on the Great Lawn
• Free  beer on the Great Lawn
• Finally turn in that last Hum paper
• One more sprout sandwich at the Coffee Shop
• Go to the bookstore and DON'T buy a Hum book
• Renaissance Fayre
• Friday night social
• Saturday morning social
• Saturday night social
• Free beer
• Thesis Parade
• Protest the disappearance of the library steps
• Hunt nutria in the canyon
• Sex in a dorm room with someone you love
• Show your kids where it all happened
• Be an experimental test subject for a behavioral psych thesis
• See mount hood and the Rose Gardens
• Around the World at Produce Row
• Reassemble Mount St. Helens
• Bagby Hot Springs
• The Hotcake House
• Ski Cabin and Timberline Lodge
• Hung Far Lows at 3 a.m.
• Nude sauna at the Ski Cabin
• Catch up with what's going on with your classmates
• Dire Straits on the jukebox
• Continue your quest for the Doyle Owl
• Reflect on how surprisingly mature you were in '79

Class of 1984

IIliad and Odyssey, the library, the front lawn, the Old Dorm Block, the canyon, Spanish coffees at Huber’s, and above all else Reed… lasting memories and enduring bonds in those years that were challenging, but free, fun and formative. Let’s reconnect on June 2-7, 2009 at the 25th reunion and share ourselves--see how far life has taken us and how far we’ve taken life, the boundaries crossed, and the envelopes pushed. It’s a great opportunity to renew old acquaintances, laugh with some old friends, and make some new ones. Bring yourself and your loved ones, and as we head back to our "regular" lives on June 7 we’ll all be glad we took some time out for those wonderful Reed years. While not quite the bacchanalia of our youth, it’s going to be a blast! And, if you still need an excuse, remember it’s the Big 25 and let’s not forget that Portland has become quite the happening city.

Ali Raza '84 & Jean-Laurent Rosenthal '84

Class of 1994

It's been fifteen years since we left Reed: long enough for the petty (but often rather amusing) intellectual and social rivalries we participated in every time we entered the Pardox, the SU, and the library corridor to have softened into "misty water-colored memories of the way we were." Ann and Anna (1/2 of committee--Esteban are Morgan are the other half) met up at our five-year reunion in 2003, on accident, and had a wonderful time connecting with close buddies, and an even better time sitting around and sharing job drama, children, romance, marriage, and which thesis nightmare we "usually don't tell others." We now know that virtually all Reedies make interesting acquaintances, so put that mature citizen-of-the-world knowledge to use by attending Reunions June 2-7, in lovely PDX.

Also, visit our Facebook group!

Anna Billstrom '94, chair, Ann Campbell '94, Esteban Gutierrez '94, and Morgan O'Toole '94

Class of 1999

Greetings, Class of 1999! At the time of this writing the stock market has plummeted, leaving our economy in a mess and our futures uncertain. So, you're probably thinking.... how can I justify the expense of celebrating my 10th? Well, Reunions provides a fun-filled and cheap vacation! Here's how:

1. There's nothing better than Portland in the summer.
2. Stay in the dorms and save a ton of $ on lodging.
3. Three square meals a day at an affordable price.
4. Childcare and other kid's activities are provided.
5. Entertainment is free!
6. This is a great time to network--not only with your class year, but with all those Reedies who came before you who can give great advice on career choice, parenting, etc.
7. Take the opportunity to load up on books at Powell's!

In addition, past visions of naked blue people, eating bugs out of strange bodily orifices, and a glow opera performance of works by Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein can be reconfirmed as reality rather than simply a bad side effect of academic bliss. By returning to Reed this summer, you'll get to reconnect with friends who may challenge your perspective, but gain some hope that we can be ourselves in a world where conformity is king. We all look forward to hearing everyone's tale on their trip down the yellow brick road after graduation.

Lloyd Dollar '99 and Anya Such Ronshaugen '99

Class of 2004

Have you found yourself in your cubicle wishing that the Blue Bridge Club was about to start? Do you catch yourself saying you're still 21, even though you're obviously not? Are you aghast that you're receiving calls for the Annual Fund, from some freshman who's complaining about being in the basement of Eliot? No? You mean that's just us? Oh, okay... well, regardless, we're feeling old already and the only way to counteract that (short of finally discovering the fountain of youth) is to go back to the scene of the crime for a weekend jam-packed with familiar faces and fun. Your class of '04 reunions committee, and co-chairs Michael Jacobs '04 and Siiri Sampson '04, are frantically planning ways to help you forget the past five years of painful adulthood from June 2-7, 2009. Don't let the recession get you down. Come eat, play and celebrate six months sans W.

If you have any questions or comments for your reunions committee, please write Michael Jacobs '04 at michaelljacobs@gmail.com.