Saturday morning the reunion committee assembled to decorate the Rescue Squad hall for the dance later that night. Kim added a nice touch to the tables with pumpkins, fall foliage and brandy snifters. Lori, Sonja, and Natalie helped each other set up seating for about 90, and the DJ assembled his PA system and lighting rig. We then went to the Valley Central United Church of Christ for the family picnic.

Valley Central UCC is located 3 miles south of New Market on US 11, and has a picnic pavilion. We set up snacks and drinks in the church basement and "Chef Sonja" began to boil hot dogs. Then we put up a sign at the road that had an arrow and a big "'81" on it. Mark Jordan later commented that classmates might get confused and think they were going to Interstate 81- I said that if they honestly thought that, they never should have graduated....

Again, we waited, and eventually received classmates. New arrivals included Scott Miller, who had been married less than a month and sported a goatee (and a little less hair than I remember... although I'm one to talk) and Bill Jones and his family from Wilmington, NC (we subsequently found out that Bill was at the game but never found us... he sat with the Class of 1966 reunion!). Michelle Taylor Cissell with some awesome kettle-cooked potato chips was next, followed by Jenny Miller Grogg. Last but not least Patrick Osborne pulled up with wife Melinda (Barb, Class of 1982) and daughter, Ashley.

The best thing about the picnic was the children playing on the swingset. Twelve kids... and Kim Miller... I guess that makes 13! It was amazing to see how everyone had started families and had become domesticated. I was particularly struck by Richard Baker's daughters. They were so affectionate! It was also obvious that Horace has a way with children. I always knew he'd be a great father.

Things were getting crowded under that pavilion as we received more and more old friends. We traded even more stories, and allowed the new arrivals time to acclimate themselves to seeing faces from the past. I think Scott and Pat had a particularly difficult time in doing that because they hadn't been to prior reunions. But I know from previous phone conversations that they were happy to be there and genuinely appreciative that we found them.

The picnic lasted from 12:00 noon until 2:00. Then it was time for the old geezers to get their afternoon naps and prepare for the dance...

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