Forty years ago we had no Twitter. No cell phones. No iPods. No email.
Now that we have those things, and more, you might think it would be easier to stay in touch with all those folks you knew back in the day. But no, things have only grown more complicated.
Joe Pirro, an alumnus of Liverpool High School Class of ’74, found out the hard way. He and a determined committee of 10 are planning a 40th reunion for this coming June.
“In the early 1970s, computers were the size of tractor trailers,” Joe remembers. “The computers ran off punch cards. Flash forward to today when six out of 10 people own a smartphone.”
Here are more of Joe’s thoughts on creating a catalyst for reconnecting:
Catalyst for reconnecting
Six hundred and twenty eight senior portraits in the yearbook. Six hundred and twenty eight heads full of dreams, ambitions and carefully laid out plans. Six hundred and twenty eight blank slates with one thing in common — Liverpool’s class of 1974 survived four years of high school in one piece.
A couple of casual Facebook conversations between 1974 Liverpool grads this past summer started talk of a 40th reunion. Was there going to be one? Who was going to plan it? Events like this don’t just happen. It takes a laundry list of herculean tasks to make one a reality.
Springing from those initial Facebook chats, a 40th reunion planning committee emerged. It consisted of friends, casual acquaintances and even total strangers connected only by the school they attended and the year they finished. The newly assembled team attempted to get organized through Facebook messaging and Google documents.
One of the committee’s first challenges was to attach a name to every face captured in two group photos from their 20th reunion. While facial recognition software does exist, the NSA couldn’t be convinced to make it available for this task. It became a manual process of recall and breaking out the old yearbook. And even that wasn’t a complete solution.
After checking off the instantly recognizable faces, the committee posted the photos on their class Facebook page and asked for other classmates to help out. Not surprisingly, the majority of the alumni had changed considerably from 1974 to 1994. This exercise wound up being fun for a lot of the participants. It pulled some “lurkers” out of the shadows to chime in. After many days of playing pin-the-name-on-the-graduate, everyone was finally identified.
Email and Facebook
The goal of this 40th reunion planning committee is to reach out and invite as many ’74 grads as possible. The challenge is to get a hold of the classmates far enough in advance to allow flights to be booked, rooms to be reserved and personal schedules cleared in time to attend. The truth is we need your help. We ask that if you know any 1974 Liverpool graduates, their parents, or their siblings, you let them know about the reunion.
Please pass along the contact info below. Even if circumstances prevent them from joining us, by having their email address will give us a chance to reconnect and enjoy seeing photos from the upcoming magical evening — email [email protected], or visit us on Facebook “Liverpool High School NY Class of 1974.”
Ethnic eateries
Basil Leaf Ristorante has risen at the old Fresno’s location across from Sweetheart Corner, at the junction of West Taft Road and Route 11. Chef Billy Stamboly, a proud native of Utica, keeps diners satisfied with his tasty array of Italian specialties. The dinner menu features no less than eight veal dishes along with seafood, chicken, beef, pizza, plenty of pasta and, of course, Billy’s Utica greens; 214-0340.
Here in the village, Ascioti’s To Go is coming soon to the old Squadrito’s location in Ponderosa Plaza. The Ascioti family also operates a landmark meat shop in Solvay; asciotismarket.com/
Meanwhile, Moe’s Southwest Grill plans to take over the former Friendly’s location on Route 57. There’s already one in Cicero at 5663 West Circle Drive; 214-0130.
‘The Education Station’
WCNY-TV and FM celebrated its grand opening Oct. 30, at its new facility at 415 West Fayette St. down city. Everything’s sparkling new and divinely digital, but we’ll still miss having the public broadcaster on Old Liverpool Road where its first telecast originated on Dec. 20, 1965.
