Arlene Hockman, Jay Weaver, Donald Usner, Fred Kreider

The office of Vice President of an organization is a good choice, because you get some glory, but seleom have any responsibilities. Well, since we are now without a president, it has become my duty to offer greetings to the class at their reunions. Since this was a very special occasion, I decided to write out a little speech so that I would be sure to get it right. You know how it is when you reach this age. You sometimes get on your feet and your mind goes absolutely blank. I thought I might share my thoughts at this occasion with you kind folks. So here goes:

Wow! Fifty years have gone by since we stood on the stage in the auditorium at Ephrata High School in the old Highland Street building and received our diplomas. Back then we wondered what the future would hold for us. Would we successfully complete a college program or get started in a good job? Would we achieve a measure of success in our chosen careers? Would we find a spouse, and possibly raise a family?

Well, now we know. I think that for the most part, we had a good life. I'm sure that it turned out differently for most of us than what we expected back in 1951. Surely we could not have dreamed of what life would be like in 2001. Back then we had no Internet, and no home computers (In fact, the UNIVAC, the first commercial computer had not yet been built). There were no cell phones, no color TV (Very few people even had B&W TV's), There were no CD's (We had 78 RPM records), no transistor radios, no jet planes. I could go on, but you get the idea. In our lifetime we lived to possess all these things as part of our daily lives. Our generation probably has had the best standard of living of any group of people in history. We are so fortunate to have lived in this time and at this place.

Now as we approach the twilight of our lives, we wonder what comes next? We came here tonight with our pacemakers, heart bypasses, artificial knees and hips, dental implants, hearing aids, and all the other wonderful things that people our age have installed in or on their bodies. We came with our arthritis, cataracts, hearing difficulties, our canes, walkers, and various and sundry other illnesses and miseries. Someone said, (Getting old is not for sissies.) But, I think getting old is far better than the alternative; not getting old.

I opt for life, even with all its difficulties. We have our friends, our children, our grandchildren, our homes, and all the things that make living a glorious adventure. We share what we have with others, and serve out our time here on this planet, so that we might leave this world a little bit better than the way we found it.

And so, as Vice President of the class of 1951, Ephrata High School, I welcome all of my classmates and their spouses to this wonderful celebration. May God bless each of you as you live out a future that is both bright and meaningful, and in many ways still a lot of fun.