A school reunion spanning the ages
Class no barrier to Medway event
Tim Sheehan attended Medway High School's multiclass reunion as a teenager. Because of his youth, it didn't mean much to him, and he doesn't remember much about it.
"It was like, 'Why am I here?' " he said, chuckling at the memory.
Fast-forward 25 years and Sheehan is in charge of organizing the dinner and program that hosts about 400. He said he now realizes the importance of the traditional gathering, which will bring people from far and wide to town on May 12.
He sat in the dining room of Lisa and Walter Johnson on a recent Sunday afternoon with Tim Kenney and Margery Ward -- all of them former classmates -- opening RSVPs mailed in by people from as far away as Florida and Missouri.
Some letters included personal notes along with checks, people wanting to touch base with their high school alma mater before its 123 d annual Alumni Banquet .
One note asked for help finding an affordable place to live so a graduate from the mid-1960s could move back to Medway. Sheehan tucked it in his briefcase, promising to work on it.
It's traditional for the president of the class marking its 25th anniversary to organize the event, though all of the school's alumni are invited each year. Sheehan was class president in 1982.
The father of five, a property manager who lives in Hopkinton, had little event-coordination experience. But he inherited the step-by-step "banquet bible" from alumna Vickie Stillwell .
He learned the deep roots of the gathering from another alumna, Kathleen Choate, who is an expert on the history of the event, including the night near the turn of the 20th century when Town Hall burned down following a reunion banquet held there.
Sheehan said local businesses have been generous with sponsorships, and volunteers have stepped to the plate to organize a fund-raising race and trivia night at Mickey Cassidy's, a local pub.
Sheehan's team is on the home stretch now, having secured Glen Ellen Country Club for the event, raised most of the $7,000 needed to get it off the ground, and mailed the invitations.
"Even though it's a lot of work, you bond with the committee," Sheehan said. "But it's not all as smooth as it looks. It can be like a wedding on steroids."
The group of stalwart helpers stayed up into the wee hours of a Saturday morning at the Early Real Estate office, stuffing 5,000 invitations into envelopes, drinking beer, and telling stories about the classmates whose names were on the address labels.
They've found the work transcends generational differences among the school's graduating classes.
Paula and Romi Zulawnik are 1975 graduates and keepers of the Medway alumni website, medwayalumni.com, who have also helped Sheehan find his way this year. The "Class Couple" of '75 has been deeply involved in the banquet since their class hosted it in 2000.
They mention the fun they've had at the banquets in the past. One time the high school principal was presented with a necktie embroidered with the school mascot; another time a group of women celebrating their 50th reunion wore their Medway High basketball uniforms and performed school cheers during the dinner program.
But there are worries, too.
Paula Zulawnik said people are concerned that the event could get too expensive to manage, and that many of today's students won't stay in the area, eventually putting an end to the tradition.
"It's like trying to hold a family together. Could it end? That's why we stay so active," she said.
Alison O'Leary Murray may be reached at amurray@globe.com. 