From as far away as Phoenix and New York, and as close as Bell Road, members of Newbury Schools’ Class of 1960 celebrated their 60th reunion at the home of Barbara and Roger Wilber Aug. 3.
From as far away as Phoenix and New York, and as close as Bell Road, members of Newbury Schools’ Class of 1960 celebrated their 60th reunion at the home of Barbara and Roger Wilber Aug. 3.
Of the 18 seniors catching up and chowing down all afternoon, seven actually graduated together in 1960, while the rest were spouses or friends invited for the picnic.
Newbury Schools’ last class will graduate May 2020 and the rest will move on to other schools when West Geauga Schools absorbs one of the last township schools remaining in Ohio.
That eventuality didn’t appear to dampen the excitement at having another opportunity to gather in the Wilbers’ garage and chat about old times and new.
Roger and Charlotte (Sabo) Bell, in town for a family reunion, sat with friends on picnic tables far from their home in Arizona.
They moved from Newbury to San Diego while Roger was in the military, then retired to Phoenix in 2006, Charlotte said.
Roger Bell accepted the fact this year’s senior students will be the last to graduate from Newbury Schools because of the territory transfer as a sign of the times.
“It’s kinda sad, but it’s probably for the best,” he said, and a few heads nodded.
But the group changed tunes quickly to happier times.
Charlotte recalled playing bass drum in high school band and the tympani drum in orchestra, while her husband bragged about being on Newbury’s champion football team, even though he allowed how he was only a freshman on the team.
“I don’t miss a party,” said Esther (Borsi) Westfall, who drove down from New York for the reunion.
Her brother, John Borsi, still lives in Newbury Township, she said.
In fourth grade, the school loaned her a flute and she was expected to learn to play it over the summer, she recalled.
Later, her parents bought her a flute.
“I never could memorize. I just read the music,” she said, remembering what a thrill it was to be “pulled up” to the orchestra her fifth-grade year.
“I had to wear real stockings and keep the seam straight,” Westfall laughed. “Even though we were a small school, our orchestra was always at the top. We went to Columbus every year.”
“Newbury’s orchestra was Number One in the state of Ohio for many, many years,” Charlotte added. “There was very stiff competition.”
Both Charlotte and Westfall credited the “awesome” music director, Mr. Freeman, for the success. No one at the reunion remembered his first name.
“He was just mister,” Westover said.
They recalled how they rode the bus to the school on Auburn Road. Back then, they sat on benches running down the sides of the bus, they said.
Today, the majority of teens who start high school in Geauga County will graduate, but that has not always been true.
Roger Bell said there were 63 freshmen in the Class of 1960, but only 37 graduated. Charlotte said six decades ago, if the boys lived on a farm, when they turned 16, they usually quit school and went to work with their family.
Classmates gathered around the enlarged picture of their class in first grade, pointing out familiar faces and, sometimes, talking about where they are now.
Attending the reunion were the Bells, Richard Martell, Herb and Esther Westfall, Kirk and Sarah Zenizek, Richard and Linda Sedivy, Beverly Cline, Mary Lee Brezina, the Wilbers, Kathy Blair, Lois and Pat Cavanaugh, Jeff Brinkerhoff and Peggy Saraney.
