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Ruth Keesing, with her second husband Fred, began the Clinton Township
Newsletter in 1982. Ruth often delighted in telling stories about her high
school classmates, and how close they all were. Looking through her senior
yearbook, Class of 1945, it seemed like they had so much fun... despite
the fact that a major war was happening overseas.
6 0 Y E A R S A N D C O U N T I N G
by Ruth Keesing (from 2 0 0 5)
Preparing for my high school's 60th reunion
was nothing short of traumatic. I wanted
to dazzle any former boyfriends who might
attend and impress their tacky wives as well.
No longer possessing a size 8 figure and long
blonde tresses, I took the route of Lady Clairol.
The dye that covered my gray hair washed out
after two shampoos, but the dye on my cheeks
and forehead lasted two weeks and gave me
a nasty rash. Lucky I did a trial run on hair
color. What about the wrinkles? When I finally
got the courage to consider a face lift it was
last Tuesday and the reunion was Saturday.
Scratch that idea. No way to lose 20 pounds
in the time left so I concentrated on a belly-
hiding frock. After all, I was to be Mistress
of Ceremonies, and to be a Mistress at my age was, in itself, a thrill.
Scrounging through closets filled with sweatsuits and tee shirts I finally
found a few A-lines that could accommodate my expanded waistline
(what waistline?) and complement my flat orthotic-filled shoes. Ready
or not, October 15 arrived - as did I at the Basking Ridge Marriott.
The good-looking ex-heart
throb was still handsome. In
fact, most classmates seemed
to glow. In a word, we looked
kind of "robust"! Like fine wine
we had aged remarkably well. It
helped to have name tags, but
in a flash you could match the
face on the name tag with the
60-years-later face in person.
Surprisingly, there was little
talk about illnesses, surgeries,
medications or arthritic joints.
Even less about children and
grandchildren. We focused on
the "good old days" at Westfield
H i g h S c h o o l a n d s h a r e d
countless stories of adolescent
escapades. It was as if only 60
DAYS had passed since we had last seen each other. The passage of time
may have dimmed a few eyes and ears, but not the bittersweet memories
of those years between
1942 and 1945. Gosh it
was good to be together
again!
Some of our classmates
w e r e k i l l e d i n W W 2 ,
having left the class to
join the service. The "In
Memoriam" list was much
too long. But revisiting the Tums/
Prunes/Maalox crowd was a real blast.
Will there be a 65th? At my age I don't
plan that far ahead. I don't even buy
green bananas anymore. But memories
of the night of October 15 are going to
keep me smiling for a good long time.
185 Center Street, Clinton
908.735.4499
