With some members of the class of '72 traveling halfway around the world to attend, more than half of the graduates from Eastchester High School reunited on Saturday evening at a 40 year reunion event organized by Barbara Dallas, who now resides in California and Allan Schiffman, who lives in Tarrytown.
"This has been an amazing experience," remarked Schiffman as he addressed the 135 attendees, many of which he has remained friends with.
"Hearing everyone's words and being brought back together in one place after so many years, is truly a special thing," he continued.
The evening was not only made possible by their efforts but by the efforts of about a dozen of EHS graduates from 1972, who contributed in booking the event, decorating and the hardest of logistics, finding and contacting all members of the graduating class, over 275 former students.
For those who did attend, the night was one for the ages, with classmates reuniting after a lifetime apart and with each classmate wearing a name tag with a picture of their former 1972 self, many of the 40-year transformations usually involved hairstyles, especially with the guys whose hair seemed darker, longer and bigger in the 1970s.
"I think the fact that we were able to bring together more than half of our graduating class says a lot about how we always seemed to come together as a class," said Dallas.
"Over the years I have gotten emails from old classmates and then finally just decided to wait until 2012 and do a big 40-year reunion so tonight is a culminations of months and months of work," continued Dallas.
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As with most reunions, a fun distinctions always goes to the attendee who had to travel the furthest to attend and this evening's award was won far and away by author and businessman Vinny Oconnell, who travelled all the way from Thailand to meet up with his old High School friends.
Back in 1972, he played hockey, baseball and football for the Eagles and was surrounded for much of the night by former teammates and as he put it, "life long friends".
"I still speak to many of the guys I went to High School with, despite where we are in the world and not a lot of people can say that," said Oconnell.
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