For weeks, organizers of a gala Roslyn High School reunion, scheduled to take place at Roslyn Pond Park, had no idea exactly how many alumni from all over the country would turn up at the event. However, all of them were pretty sure there would be a large turnout, possibly one exceeding expectations. Organizers also knew that the weather forecast called for a 60 percent chance of rain. That would drive the entire event indoors, back to the old high school itself.

As it turned out, the day was overcast, but the rain mostly stayed away. Nearly 500 graduates, teachers, and attendees of the Roslyn High School gathered at the Duck Pond for the reunion. Many of them enjoyed the day so much that they met later at the high school itself, with some of them wrapping up the day at Ragtime, the restaurant formerly known as the Roslyn Café, which for decades, was the most popular gathering place for young people in the village.

"The Roslyn spirit is strong and lives on," said Merri Hollander, (Class of 1963), one of the three principal organizers of the event. "All of us gathered there only to see one another. We just posted an invitation on Classmates.com and worked for a month or two to spread the word that everyone should simply show up. It was kind of like the anti-reunion and everyone loved it."

Co-organizer Ken Merena (Class of 1966) who rode his motorcycle from his home in Provo, Utah to be at the reunion, arrived at the park at 7 a.m. For weeks, Mr. Merena boasted that he would greet the big day by arriving at the park at sunrise. That he did, but was met at the park by an even earlier arrival, Roger Paradine (Class of 1962). From there, the gathering grew.

The reunion attracted alumni from the 1930s to some current RHS students. They included longtime Roslyn photographer Ray Jacobs (Class of 1937) and Shelia Gallagher's (Class of 1968) 94-year-old grandmother. Four-year-old Audrey Godnick, daughter of Lorne Godnick (class of 1977), showed up wearing a badge that read "Class of 2014."

The gathering also included former assistant principal, Herb Slutsky, current Assistant Principal Marguerite Barone, plus other faculty members, former and current, including Adrienne Danzig, Joe Longo, Joe Katz, Ward Bell, Bill Howard, Dave Hoffman, Tom Lynch, Alan Friedman, Lynn Jacobson, Joan Greenfield, Art Peterson and John Loret. Ms. Danzig in particular spearheaded the effort to notify teachers and administrators about the event.

When the rain began to fall more steadily, the reunion moved indoors to the high school cafeteria. Students wandered the halls of their alma mater, seeking out places where memories still lingered. According to the organizers, the "long, successful day" ended with new memories being born and old friendships renewed.

The organizers have already begun planning for the next reunion, to be held next year, one that may not last just one day, but possibly last for an entire weekend. If you are a RHS graduate or former teacher or staff member and would like to be added to the mailing list for future events, send a request with your name, graduation year, email address and phone number to: Roslyn High School Alumni Association, c/o Cynthia Shub Kirsch, 925 Central Avenue, Woodmere, NY 11598. Photos can be seen at http://members/aol/com/cynshub/Roslyn. News of other attendees will appear in next week's issue.

---Merri Hollander assisted with this article.