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Hi Everyone,

I often think about how rare and wonderfulisis the is Class of 1962.  I think about the friendships and bonds that started at Tee Jay or during junior high school, or that began at our reunions or on the website and have only grown stronger over the years. The Class of 1962 is truly remarkable. I have many friends that remark on how close we all are.  Below is a letter from our good friend Bobby Bayliss that testifies to this and stirs those warm feelings.

Mike Floyd

Mike,

         I really appreciate having the opportunity to see everyone at the upcoming reunion luncheon of our TJ ‘62 class in October. As much as I would enjoy being with all of you, a prior commitment will not allow me to join you. Living in Indiana makes it a tough commute, but I must admit that TJ and our class of ‘62 are never far away in memory. In fact, this reunion jogged that memory enough to drag out my 3 “Monticello” yearbooks, and I spent several hours thumbing through them.

         What jumped out to me was how much I remember and how fond those memories remain. We arrived from different junior high schools - predominantly Hill, Chandler, and Westhampton - and lost many close friends as classmates when George Wythe and the ‘new’ John Marshall opened. What a different time that was - gas at $.31 per gallon, bread at $.21 per loaf, a new car for around $2,500, and a home for about $15,000. I have distinct memories of morning announcements, reading the “Jeffersonian“, football games at (then) City Stadium, sock hops, basketball games in which the doors to the auditorium were opened to allow more people to watch, assemblies, PE classes. Not to mention the Jr. Sr. Prom, Sadie Hawkins Dance, and the fantastic Broadway musicals (Carousel, Finian’s Rainbow, and Bye Bye Birdie). Add to that the assemblies, pep rallies, fire drills, snow days when we couldn’t wait to turn on the morning radio and learn that school was canceled, Junior Stunt Night, our Senior class play - The Mousetrap - and dancing to The Squires. We were fortunate to have an array of clubs and extracurricular activities from which to broaden our horizons. And who can forget the smoke billowing from the girls’ bathroom on the second floor? Or the sound of a penny rolling forward from the back of the auditorium towards the front on the slanted floor, as the teacher presiding tried to catch whoever was bold enough to initiate its descent?

       Of course, we all experienced The Clover Room, Bill’s Barbecue, and those warm, fresh donuts on Saturday or Sunday mornings. We each paid 5 cents to the attendant at the ‘Nickel Bridge’ who almost ripped your arm from its socket to ensure that you didn’t sneak through. In our TJ days, many historic things happened: Johnny Carson debuted on NBC, Kodak introduced color pictures, Viet Nam began heating up, JFK narrowly defeated Nixon in our sophomore year, Dulles Airport opened, and aluminum tab openers were put on cans of soft drinks. K Mart and McDonald’s came to Richmond.

        And then, as quickly as it began, we all scattered in many different directions. I certainly never envisioned moving away from Richmond, yet life sends us scrambling. So, while I will not be able to join you, I will anxiously await news from this October reunion. Who knows if it might be our last? I stopped buying green bananas a while ago.

        So please send my best regards to everyone in our class who is fortunate enough to get together on October 24th. I will be with all of you in spirit and hope there are some photos to see. Many thanks to you, Russell, and the committee for so diligently making this possible. Anyone hesitating to attend needs to jump on board…..

Best wishes,

Bobby

Thank you, Bobby, and we will miss you.

The Reunion Luncheon is on October 24^th at 11:30 AM at the Oliver Garden Italian Restaurant, 7113 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23294. We will each order from the menu and pay for our meals individually. The Registration for the luncheon is located on the Class website, and you can register by clicking on 2026 Reunion Luncheon located on the top menu bar adjacent to Home Page. 

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WHEN: October 24th from 11:30 AM Until

WHERE: Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

7113 W Broad St. Richmond, VA 23294

Click on 2026 Reunion Luncheon on the top menu bar to register.  Deadline for registration is October 18th.