A 50th anniversary is always something to celebrate. For the Office of Alumni Relations at Elizabethtown College, 50th anniversaries mean golden class reunions and a special precession in that year’s commencement ceremony.
24 graduates from the Class of 1969 will participate in the optional precession during the 2019 Commencement Ceremony. As of Wednesday, April 17, 69 people had signed up for the reunion event.
According to Senior Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Kaitlyn Miller, ’12, a process of three committee invitations, as well as recommendations from the class being recognized, go into planning this event.
During the event, attendees can expect to hear popular music from their graduation year, watch photo slideshows, answer trivia questions, view old memorabilia including first-year “dinks” and reacquaint with an unexpected guest to this reunion: the Blue Jay himself.
For reference, the class gift of the class of 1969 were the chimes that are currently located in the High Library, and the class of 1969 also founded the annual Homecoming parade.
“We try to make it a celebration,” Miller said. “It is amazing and incredible to see the reaction they have when they first see each other. They all remember each other, and it is touching to hear the memories they share.”
“This is a special and unique celebration,” Executive Director of College Engagement Opportunities Mark Clapper said. “This is a substantial event each year that celebrates the graduating classes from 50 years ago and up, and we use it as an opportunity to continue these special anniversaries.”
Regarding the class of 1969 specifically, those who walk in the precession will be awarded with a 50-year reunion medallion to commemorate their achievements.
Although the precession before the 2019 commencement will only feature members of the class of 1969, the golden reunion celebration will continue to celebrate graduation anniversaries in five-year intervals.
“It is not just about the class year,” Clapper said. “It’s about the relationships within the class years. These alumni create connections that do not focus on just one class year. This is a celebration of connections and special relationships.”
Clapper cited a few examples of returning alumni that frequent the golden reunion celebrations. One such alumna, who was a member of the class of 1937, attended the annual reunion, even after she turned 100 years old.
Another alumni couple, Robert “Bob” Balthaser, ’58, and his wife Gerta, ’60, have attended golden reunion celebrations where B. Balthaser played his banjo and performed for his former classmates.
“Taking into account these stellar examples of ‘Blue Jays. Always,’ [the Office of Alumni Relations] is constantly finding ways to showcase and lift up our classes,” Clapper said. “There isn’t anything I don’t love about this special celebration. It shows that your relationship with your blue jay lineage never truly ends.”
As for the students of the class of 2019, their time to participate and celebrate a golden reunion will be in 2069.
“It doesn’t have to end when you graduate,” Clapper said. “The college experience is special, and it always will be special. Living up to ‘Blue Jays. Always,’ and bringing it back to Etown, that’s what this event is truly all about.”
