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DENNIS-YARMOUTH —
After battling Lyme disease for a decade, Richard Sylver of East Dennis appreciates the value of time. Sylver was only in his 40s when a tick bit him as he was mowing his lawn, landing him in a wheelchair as the disease went undiagnosed for years. Unable to work, Sylver spent his days fighting for his life.
“It’s been 15 years since we have all come together,” says Sylver, who is grateful to walk again and be able to enjoy life despite his limitations. He is well enough to have spent the past six months planning a 45th class reunion for the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Class of 1968. “I have learned that in that time, 20 of our classmates have died, so I’m glad we didn’t wait for a 50th reunion.”
In tracking down classmates, Sylver has spent many hours on his computer and telephone. “Some calls are very sad and painful,” he says. “Dave Clark of North Dennis was class valedictorian. When I called, I was told that he passed away from cancer several years ago.”
Along with Sylver, several of his classmates settled in their hometown and established professional careers here, including Joel Crowell, Julia Johnson and John Symington. “Joel, John and I were like the Three Musketeers growing up,” says Sylver, whose family lived on Whig Street in Dennis, neighbors with the Crowells and Symingtons.
Todd Walker was student council president in 1968 and has since settled in Maryland. “Todd is on our committee and helping us track down classmates,” Sylver says. “He’s coming for the Aug. 17 weekend and wants to be sure that we make every effort to get all our classmates here.”
Of the 188 members of the Class of ’68, 77 have confirmed that they are coming, including Christine Beaman, who is traveling from Alaska and Mimi Studley, who will fly in from Oregon. “Those two girls were very close in high school and can’t wait to see each other again,” Sylver says.
Helen Sanborn-Cotter is collecting the $50 per-person checks for dinner at the Harbor Point Restaurant in Cummaquid. “Helen is receiving little notes with the checks, filled with reminiscences of our high-school days,” Sylver says. “She is having the best time with this. I am too.”
While some classmates have returned to the Cape for the occasional visit over the past 45 years, the Cape Cod they remember from their high school days was a very different place. “It was rural and very tight-knit,” Sylver says. Patriot Square in Dennis and Union Station in Yarmouth had not been built. Areas that are now heavily developed were stretches of woodland that Sylver and his classmates explored as children
This class came of age in the ’60s, listening to the music of Peter, Paul and Mary, James Brown, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, songs and sounds that today are referred to as “the golden oldies,” a style of music that their own children learned to appreciate. “My son Sean had his own radio show at Tufts, and he played a lot of ’60’s music,” Sylver says. Sean Sylver has volunteered to be the disc jockey at his father’s reunion, where classmates will dance—and sing along with--the music of their youth.
Sylver has planned a special musical tribute to class members who have died. “It’s going to be a surprise, and I know it’s going to bring a lot of tears, but isn’t that what class reunions are for, remembering the past?” he asks with a wistful smile.
Cindy Higgins, who has made a career in the military, is stationed in Virginia. “Cindy hasn’t be able to come to any of our past reunions, but she’s coming home for this one,” Sylver says. “I’ve known Cindy since we were in first grade together at Ezra Baker.”
Sylver has set up a Facebook page in the hope of reaching some of the classmates that he can’t find: dennisyarmouthregionalhighschoolclassof1968. Any class member can reach him by sending a request to join the page. “So many of my classmates have thanked me for doing this,” he says. “At this point in life, it’s time to come home, if only for a visit--and a lot of hugs.”
Nicole Muller can be reached at nmuller@wickedlocal.com.
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nmullerRegister
Read more: Missing: D-Y Class of ’68 grads - News - - The Register http://www.wickedlocal.com/dennis/news/x1522346894/Missing-D-Y-Class-of-68-grads#ixzz2PfcYoGFR
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