Prospect High's Class of 1966 to celebrate 50 years
Forget that outdated notion from author Thomas Wolfe.
You can go home again, particularly if you're a 1966 graduate of Prospect High School.
The Prospect High School '66ers will celebrate the 50th anniversary year of their graduation with an event-filled Friday-Saturday (Oct. 7-8) class reunion.
The All-Knight weekend includes a pizza party in the school cafeteria, the Prospect-Hersey homecoming football game, a postgame reception, a Prospect High School campus tour (wait until you see the new $13 million swimming pool and other renovations, including an elevator), the Class of 1966 Golden Anniversary Gala at the Mount Prospect Golf Club, and, hopefully, a few fun surprises.
The reunion is the brainchild of Prospect grad Eileen Neal (Cuny), who has been tracking down the 480 members of Prospect's sixth graduating class for almost two years.
"Back in the spring of 2015, I was looking through some old stuff at home, our senior Crest yearbook and some of the previous Prospect reunion booklets, and the realization hit that 2016 was going to be our 50th," Neal said. "I guess somebody needed to start planning a class reunion."
Previously, the Prospect High School Class of 1966 had reunions in 1976 (10th), 1986 (20th), 1991 (25th), and 1996 (30th), plus several local mini get-togethers in recent years. To date, the 2016 reunion has 129 RSVPs.
Assisting Cuny on the Prospect High School 1966 reunion committee are classmates Bob Goffinski, Mike Korcek, Michele Meucci (Kutten) and Alan Travis.
This Prospect class grew up with the Northwest suburbs in prairies that transformed into a megapolis. The original Randhurst mall opened their freshman year in 1962-63, when Prospect High School upperclassmen solicited elevator "passes" at school.
How can you forget? The shocking news over the school's internal PA system on Nov. 22, 1963, about President Kennedy. Our "own" Top 40 rock band, the Shadows of Knight, The Cellar and the ascension of their hit single "Gloria" to No. 1 on WLS-AM radio in 1966. Our nonexistent senior lounge. The state-ranked Knight boys' basketball team, etc.
Prospect High School Class of 1966 Reunion Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 7
• All-Knight Pizza Party in the Prospect High School cafeteria, 5-7 p.m.; price $15, preregistration required to determine pizza order, featuring Malnati's pizza, water and soft drinks.
• Prospect vs. Hersey homecoming football game, 7:30 p.m. at George Gattas Memorial Stadium. Admission is $3. There will be a section reserved for the Class of 1966.
• All-Knight postgame reception, 8:30-11 p.m. at Smokey Bones Bar & Grill, 164 Randhurst Village Drive, Mount Prospect. The pub will reserve the north end of the bar and patio for the reception. Food and beverages are your responsibility.
Saturday, Oct. 8
• All-Knight Prospect High School guided tour, 1:30-3 p.m. Park behind the school and meet in the cafeteria.
• All-Knight 1966 Golden Anniversary Gala, 6-11 p.m. at Mount Prospect Golf Club (formerly the Mount Prospect Country Club), 600 S. See-Gwun, Mount Prospect. Price $35, preregistration required so correct amount of food can be ordered. Fee covers tent rental, bartenders and "heavy hors d'oeuvre" trays. A cash bar will be available. Preferred dress is "tastefully casual." Sixties music and a photographer will be provided.
Spouses and friends are welcome. Just don't forget your old Prospect High School "elevator pass".
Advance payment options: Send a check in the amount of $50, made payable to: "R. Goffinski PHS 66," and mail to: 27454 Devine Way, Sycamore, IL 60178.
In addition, special commemorative 50-year Prospect High School reunion T-shirts are available for $18 each. A printable reservation form is available on the website at phsreunionclassof66.yolasite.com.
Deadline for RSVPs is Friday, Sept. 16.