From Jerry Schuster:
Oct. 2003. It was about two years ago that my
brother Mark floated an intriguing email across my computer screen. I was
to contact an unknown person from my past with an email address that began
with "oldfishinbuddy." Now who could THAT be?
It didn’t take long to put two and two together and
figure that it must be Steve Cornish. He and I used to be best friends. I
introduced him to Cherie, who became his wife and she, in turn, introduced
me to Di, who became my wife. Then he and Cherie ran away and got married.
Like so many of us, we lost touch and this moment of re-connect felt
awkward. What do you say to someone you’ve had little contact with for
nearly 40 years?
My awkwardness was in vain. It didn’t take two emails
to be right back into the thick of it – needling each other like it was only
last week since we had seen each other. Plus, there were about 6 other AHS
grads that he had in the email loop. It was really enjoyable
re-establishing old contacts and finding new friends in folks that I wasn’t
really close to in high school. One graduate – Emmett Harding – was even
raised from the dead. (Not really, but the rumor was that he was killed in
Vietnam. See his bio for the exciting details.)
Well, Steve has served as the grand ringmaster of this
circus (this seems like a totally fitting term to use) organizing people and
heading everyone toward the inevitable reunion. It’s doubtful that any of
this would have happened were it not for his energy, craziness, and
guidance. The email group grew over time to dozens of former classmates.
All of this fueled an enthusiasm for the reunion that would have never
materialized had it not been for the miracle of the Internet.
When it came time to get serious about the reunion,
interested parties were recruited to form a committee. Tasks were assigned
and folks took on the responsibility of bringing the reunion to life. Three
of us – Rick Block, Sherrie Deem Auman, and myself, took on the mission of
documenting the entire event, including photos and biographies.
Initially, we wanted to provide something – we didn’t
know what – for those attending the reunion to take home with them. Perhaps
we could create a sort of reunion yearbook. That was impractical, so we
decided to put everything on a CD and do the photos in a slideshow format.
We had hoped this could be produced after the event and sent to all
attendees by October. Fat chance! We spent a lot of time searching for a
program that would be compatible with all the different computer setups, to
no avail. Ultimately, it was decided that the only way to make it work was
to produce it as a website that would run right from the CD. There were
some technical issues to overcome, but this was clearly the way to go.
What this has evolved into is, in many ways, grander
and more far reaching than any of us could have initially conceived. While
all the reunion attendees will receive a CD that will be a permanent record
of that event, we now have a permanent website that will be maintained for
our enjoyment and amazement.
Instead of a static, one-time record, this website can
now be a living, dynamic, ever-changing document that tracks the members of
our class. In the beginning, the website on the CD and that on Internet
will be nearly identical. However, over time, the online website will
change as more information is gathered. We hope to make contact with more
people, get updated photos from time to time, and keep the interest level
up. By the time the next reunion rolls around, this website will look a
great deal different than it does now.
It has been very rewarding creating this for all of
you. Watch it as it continues to grow. And for heaven’s sake, keep us up
to date on your walk through life. Encourage those whose information
doesn’t show up here to submit their own photos and biographical details –
if you know where they are.
Information can be submitted directly to me at
jschuster@nc.rr.com.
Sincerely,
Jerry Schuster