The Class of ‘67 met on a summery weekend when the calendar claimed it should be autumn. The alumni gathered at the Temple Hill Tavern on Friday, Sept. 22, at the Homecoming Football Game on Saturday afternoon, and then left for a party at the Black Rock Fish and Game Club.
The 67s had not been the most active of classes. Some members hadn’t seen one another since high school, although they didn’t live that far apart. But that seemed destined to change, with one graduate suggesting monthly gatherings for people who lived in the area.
Cornwall was different in 1967. The high school, which included Grades 7 through 12, offered new courses in music theory, American Institutions and public speaking. The Christmas Ball was a bargain at $3 a couple.
The Senior Class put on three shows that year. Armand Assante (who became famous in movies and television) starred in one of them. Sally Faith Dorfman (who now produces Cornwall’s Fourth of July Pageant) had a leading role in another.
After going undefeated the previous year, the football team compiled a 4-3-1 record. The basketball team won about as many games as it lost. But the Dragons were undefeated in wrestling.
Although Cornwall has changed, current day residents would recognize many of the sponsors of the 1967 yearbook — such as Black Rock Fish & Game Club, Cornwall Coal, The Cornwall Local, Lulves Funeral Home, Hazard’s Pharmacy, Merritt Florist and West Point Tours.
The people celebrating their 50th reunion received an ovation when they were introduced over the loudspeaker at the Homecoming Football Game. Later, at the Black Rock Fish & Game Club, they presented flowers to Deb DeGraw (who arranged the three events), and they recalled the class members who left for Vietnam soon after graduation. There was also a silent tribute to fellow graduate Susan Barnes LaMothe, who passed away in Florida on the day before the celebration.
