"It had been 20 years since they merged. People told me
aft erward, ‘I thought it was a crazy idea, because who would
want to relive their Hebrew school days? I can’t believe you
pulled it off .’"
No one knows whether there will be a next one for the Chel-
tenham Class of ’67, with members in their late 60s. A sobering
“It was a new school,” Simon said. “We were the second class
to come in as eighth graders.

“Mike Kaplan, who won awards as a costume designer
in Hollywood for Star Trek, was in the class, and there were
plenty of doctors and lawyers. I’d say we contacted about half
the class. We had people coming from the West Coast and
“We just want to celebrate the fact that we’re
here and that this is a special moment — a
once-in-a-lifetime event.”
reality they’ll note is that 45 classmates are now dead.

“We’re doing a plaque for them,” said Carol Alsberg Siegel,
who selected the DoubleTree because it was a place for class-
mates from outside the area to stay, while suiting other reunion
needs. “For everyone else, we’re having something informal on
Friday where people can stop by and have a drink and socialize.

“Saturday night is the reunion, then Sunday there’s a brunch,
which is included for hotel guests and open for anyone else from
the class. I’ve been on the committee for every reunion we’ve
had, and it’s been fun.”
Th ey also came from far and wide for GW, which was in its
infancy when the Class of ’67 graduated.

Hawaii. When you analyze it, people who had a lot of friends
in high school, people who’ve been successful in life, they
show up.”
Th at is, aft er all, the whole point of reunions.

“We just want to celebrate the fact that we’re here and that
this is a special moment — a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Seltzer
said. “And we’ll still have our website up for three years or so
aft erward so people can post pictures and send emails. But I
still fi nd it hard to wrap my mind around that we’ve been out of
high school 50 years.” ●
jmarks@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
Legendary. I n t r i g u i n g . Connected.

Id e a l l y l o c a t e d i n P h i l a d e l p h i a ’ s Ri t t e n h o u s e
S q u a r e , t h e Wa r w i c k o f f e r s a n a t m o s p h e r e t h a t
combines a sense of history with culture and
i n n o v a t i o n . Fr o m c a t e r i n g s e r v i c e s t o e v e n t
p l a n n i n g , l e t t h e Wa r w i c k h a n d l e e v e r y a s p e c t
o f y o u r s p e c i a l d a y. Ce l e b r a t e w h e r e l e g e n d s
have stayed and history’s been made.

Contact Lauren Belsh, Catering Sales Manager
lauren.belsh@warwickrittenhouse.com 2 2 0 S o u t h 1 7 t h S t r e e t \ \ P h i l a d e l p h i a , PA 1 9 1 0 3
2 1 5 . 7 3 5 . 6 0 0 0 \ \ WA RW I C K R I T T E N H O U S E .CO M
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SIMCHAS
OCTOBER 26, 2017
21