A
10th, 20th or 50th high school
reunion is a big deal. Some might
think a 55th reunion wouldn’t be.
They would be wrong! Especially when it
comes to the Oak Park High School Class of
1969.
More than 100 classmates gathered the
first weekend of August to fan the flames of
friendship that have lasted a lifetime. Oak
Parkers traveled from New York, Los Angeles,
Washington, D.C., Nashville, Albuquerque,
Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Grand Rapids and
elsewhere to meet up once again. Thanks to
Ken Korotkin and his team of Ilene Shapiro
Bershad, Anita and Alan Resnick, Nancy
Davidson Handleman, Sue Lane Seidman
and Sherryl Moss Anctil, the reunion was a
resounding success.
The Saturday night party took place at
Big Tommy’s Parthenon in Novi. Squeals of
delight could be heard every few moments as
people spied someone they knew and hadn’t
seen for years. Guests enjoyed a delicious
buffet dinner and two beautiful “OPHS 55
REUNION” cakes.
Overheard conversations were not about
today’s political race, but rather about
Murray, the Good Humor ice cream man who
made Oak Park summers fun, and winning
football games with the then OPHS Redskins
quarterbacked by Leon Weiss with help from
David Wiener.
Judge Gerald Rosen and celebrity
psychic Char Margolis were there along
with photographer Todd Weinstein and
contractor-turned-artist Larry Ravitz. Former
cheerleaders Suzi Miller Wiener and Paula
Sherberg Weiser took to the stage with some
cheerleader wannabes for a rousing version of
the OPHS fight song, “Oak Park High School
cheer for your might, with the colors of red
and white!”
The party continued Sunday with a picnic
at the nostalgic location of Oak Park Park.
Spoken GPS directions were given in relation
to the Oak Park Park Hill, the site of fun
childhood memories of sledding down the
snowy hill.
New faces showed up with friends who
couldn’t come Saturday night. Danny Cutler
and his wife, Chris, drove down from Ann
Arbor. Larry Kantor, Elaine and Mark
Blumenfeld and about 60 others kept the party
going.
A few more wrinkles, some extra pounds
and maybe a little less hair, but one thing that
hasn’t changed in 55 years — the love our
original high class still has for one another.
Double Nickel Oak Park
High School Reunion
NANCY MAGNUS IRWIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Larry Ravitz of Takoma Park,
Maryland and Lia Farber of
Raleigh, North Carolina
Sherryl Moss Anctil of Tucson, Arizona; Ilene Shapiro
Bershad of West Bloomfield; Anita Sonne Resnick
and Joni Collen Fischer, both of Farmington Hills; and
Deborah Goldenberg Haberman of Berkley
Nancy Magnus Irwin of La Jolla, Calif.; David Johnson Sr. of Southfield;
Char Margolis of Palm Desert, Calif., and Southfield; Hermione Pickens
of Detroit; Suzi Miller Wiener of Oak Park; David Anderson and Trent
Harbin, both of Detroit; and Bev Blitz Tepper of West Bloomfield
Catherine Rollin
Krinsky and
Irwin Krinsky of
Bloomfield Hills
SEPTEMBER 5 • 2024 | 31
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